Friday, August 30, 2024

Hello Dear Friends




"Deep summer is
when laziness finds respectability."
SAM KEEN


Popping in to say that I'm still away from the blog for a little while longer. I meant to have something written for you this week, but here it is already Friday and no post to speak of.

Let me just say, we've been enjoying the summer days - doing a bit of road traveling, spending time with friends and family, reading, hanging out in the garden, going out for iced coffees and the odd ice cream cone, watching the blue skies and reveling in warm summery days. Just being a little lazy and feeling quite respectable about it (thanks to Mr. Keen's wisdom above). I'm so glad for days of leisure with time to while away the hours in little pursuits... or not.

I have been reading. Quite a lot. A few books that have held my interest this summer include: The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan (she writes and sketches about her encounters with the birds in her own backyard - it's a delightful book); A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine L'Engle (memoir); Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver (novel); Monk's-Hood by Ellis Peters (a Brother Cadfael mystery). I started September by Rosamunde Pilcher (Scottish novel) earlier in the week thinking this fat novel would carry me through into the first days of September, but I got so carried away, stayed up late, and turned the last page yesterday. It was a rainy day so it kind of felt autumn-y as I read. Close enough to September.


One of my great joys of summer is having bouquets of sweet peas to cut and bring in the house. Or take to my mom or hand some to the mail lady or surprise my doctor with a vaseful, who has young children who love them. I was so looking forward to the treat of them. Alas, our crop was hugely disappointing. The plants grew tall and lush but only three bright pink stems bloomed (as you see above), and that was it. Not sure what happened - we planted them in a different spot that was sunnier, which we thought they'd love. But apparently not. Rick finally cut down the plants now turning yellow as if they think they'd done a good job and could retire. Big sigh... here's hoping for a better crop next year.

I see I did manage to cobble together a few paragraphs to post for you on this last Friday of August. I do hope it's been worth your visit. Until next time, dear friends, here's wishing you a beautiful weekend.
 

Sending love and heart hugs,
Brenda
PS. I completely forgot to include the link to my latest Guest Post I wrote this week on InScribe. It's a little meditation titled The Thing About Tests - you'll find it HERE.

Photo credits:
Brenda Leyland @ It's A Beautiful Life


Friday, August 16, 2024

Five on Friday: Flowers, Books, Surprises


 Clematis 'Polish Spirit'

"...to withdraw from the world ever deeper
into his own private consolations of the spirit."
from Brother Cadfael's Penance by ELLIS PETERS


Happy Friday! As you read this, I'm away on a short road trip to the southern part of our province. As I won't have access to my blog, I hope the post goes up properly today. We didn't do as many day trips as we first planned for the summer, but it's also been lovely to be at home, enjoying the quiet in our own backyard. On these languid August days, it's so easy to zone out into one's own mind space... "into (the) private consolations of the spirit"... meandering amongst the flowers, feeling the breeze brush our faces, letting the mind wander or read a riveting story, meeting friends for an iced coffee, taking short naps on a lazy afternoon. For a little while we forget about the cares of the world, returning then to normal routines—the fray of life—refreshed and energized.

I offer today's edition of Five on Friday. Hope you enjoy and thanks for stopping by. 


One. Outside my window

A person doesn't have to look at the calendar to know that we're well into August. The slant of the sun in the early morning indicates September fast approaches. We hope for many days yet where they remain languid and calm. Thankfully, the heat wave has passed, and as I write this there is no wildfire smoke in the area, so we're enjoying summery days that don't melt us into puddles on the sidewalk.

The bees are busy amongst the flowers. We haven't seen so many golden souls around as we have had this summer - this is a trend that makes us happy. I must also mention that we're watching the growth of a single sunflower which volunteered, seeds off the bird feeders, and is now towering about six feet—its greenery huge like rhubarb leaves. All energy goes into forming the seed head which is still small, maybe the size of a saucer, petals in sunflower yellow. On rainy days, the petals are tightly closed, but how I enjoy watching them open, turning face towards the sun on sunny days.


Two. On my mind

Looking through an old journal, I found something I once wrote down by John Cleese: "By creativity, I simply mean new ways of thinking about things." In light of his definition, it brings creative endeavours into the common realm where every single person can be, and is, creative in his or her daily life. There isn't one among us, I venture to say, who isn't looking for better ways to think about things, e.g., How can I do this? How can I do it with better results? More beautifully? Simpler? Creative work is what we do in life. Thankfully, it's not just artists or writers or musicians who have the gift. It's all of us, doing the work we do best... hopefully for our own good and for the good of others.


Three. Current reading pile

This pile includes recent purchases from the thrift store, something borrowed from the library, and several resident books from my own shelves. I seem to be mostly into novels this summer, although "Dear Theo" is a collection of Vincent Van Gogh's published letters to his brother, Theo. I earlier read the historical novel Mrs. Van Gogh (not shown) by Caroline Cauchi, the story of Vincent's sister-in-law who eventually came to be the caretaker of his art and letters after his death—she believed so much in his art and wanted to ensure it would be there for future generations. Reading Caroline's novel first has given me a lovely backdrop for my leisurely reading of the letters.


Four. Sweet surprise in the mailbox

A visit to the mailbox revealed a wee package from my lovely writing buddy, Joy. I love surprises especially when they're as pretty as this one. With floral stickers decorating the envelope, the floral theme continued on the inside—a gorgeous notecard of Monet's garden by artist ZoĆ© Elizabeth Norman with the cutest pocket-size notebook tucked inside. Which a person could use from front to back or from back to front, because the pages worked either way. A person could write about one topic on one side, turn it around and write something else on the other. This little surprise from Joy boosted my spirits considerably and made me feel almost as if I were floating with the puffy white clouds in the summer sky.


Five. New anthology coming out soon

I have had the great joy—and fun—of being on the editorial team of the new anthology being published by InScribe Press. I now know how much collaborative effort goes into producing such a work and am excited about the upcoming release of Creativity & Chaos: Artistic Endeavours for Trying Times. It's an inspiring collection of stories, poems, essays, and crafts from writers who "share their experiences and the often surprising ways in which they learned to cope with their chaos through creativity".* The book launches on September 9th, and I will host a Giveaway on my blog at that time. Right now you can pre-order the Kindle version on Amazon for only 99 cents. Find the link HERE. *excerpt from the Foreword by Marcia Lee Laycock

I am also delighted to tell you that I have my own work—a personal essay—included in this volume. In a recent interview, I shared what inspired me to write the piece and a little of my writing journey in general. If you're interested, check out the YouTube video HERE. It's about 20 minutes in length.


On that note, I'm off. Our regular blogging schedule returns to normal next week, if things work out as planned. In the meantime...

"Do not postpone joy."
as seen on CAITLYNNEGRACE'S blog


Heart hugs to everyone,
Brenda
All Photo credits:
Brenda Leyland @ It's A Beautiful Life

My Summer blog schedule:
I post on Fridays