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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 Zoé 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


11 comments:

  1. What a summery delight to read your post this week. I can imagine your surprise sunflower growing, growing, growing. Is it peeking over the fence into your neighbour's yard?
    I'm pleased to say we have so many more bees this year as well. I planted specific flowers with them in mind so I feel like they come to say thank you.

    Of your stack of books, I have read "Beloved" and really liked it. Also, "Nature Writing for Every Day" ... a little spark in every day. "Theo" sounds very interesting.

    Your "lovely writing buddy, Joy," must be in her flower era. :)

    Looking forward to reading the anthology.

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  2. Brenda, each time I come here it's like coming out of the sun into the cool welcomes of the shade. If there's a blog about living well and living right, it's certainly yours. It's great knowing that your essay is part of the upcoming anthology. May your gift of gently reminding others to live right settle into even more meadows.

    Sweet surprise it was too to see that postscript about not postponing joy! Thank you so much for the reminder. I'm glad I 'left stuff behind' on Saturday to make an out of state trip which did my heart so much good in the end.

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  3. Another very beautiful post, dear Brenda, lifting my heart as ever. I read many of Rumer Godden's books and thought they were so descriptive, so well written. A the moment I am re reading a series of books by Elizabeth Falconer, all set in France ....where else?!

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  4. Yes, always, always, always Brenda!!! SO happy for your 5 on Friday!!!!! “Don’t postpone joy!” I think I’ll make a conscious effort to think on that each day this week!
    Very happy for you to know that your “work” and thoughts will be in that lovely book!!! Definitely will order a few copies!🤗
    Take good care! | Ann from Ohio💗

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  5. I always enjoy your posts, Brenda. I also enjoyed the YouTube video and look forward to reading your essay in the book.

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  6. Good morning, Brenda,
    I hope you are enjoying your little jaunt away from home. We've had some refreshing rain and the day feels quiet and still. Good for mulling over things.
    Your interview was lovely to watch, and I loved hearing your voice. It's interesting how a voice makes a person come to life. I well remember your series on "Pressing My Books into Service" that you did during Covid. It was a highlight of my day to find a new post from you. For my part, creativity was poured into teaching online, and I rather envied people who had more freedom to pursue creativity of various kinds. It was a tumultuous time, wasn't it? Yet many wonderful things came out of it (like your blogs).

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  7. After a hot and humid weekend, our temperatures have dropped this week. I almost needed a sweater during my afternoon walk! I also noticed that it was getting darker around 8 am. September is coming...

    Love the pretty floral notebook! It's the perfect size for a purse!

    Congrats on the book publication! I don't have a Kindle so will there also be a physical book available?

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  8. Dear Brenda...Congratulations on being included in "Creativity and Chaos." That is a wonderful accomplishment. I enjoyed listening to the YouTube interview, too! You are famous now! Your blog is always a delight, Brenda. Your writing is impeccable. And no, I will never postpone joy. Have a wonderful rest of the week. Susan

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  9. Brenda I so enjoyed seeing you on You Tube being interviewed. As always, your blog and God working through you here, brings joy and encouragement to so many of us. You are such an artist with your words. God bless you. Hugs Debbie

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  10. I, too, enjoyed seeing you "in person" (well, sort of) and hearing your voice. Your blog posts are always so full of beauty and ideas to ponder. I hope you enjoyed your road trip and have come back refreshed!

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  11. Lovely interview, Brenda. I lost most of my Commenters during the pandemic. I really miss the interactions we had in the comments section so I know what you're talking about!

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To My Beautiful Readers,

Some people come into our lives, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same. ~ Franz Peter Schubert

Thank you so much for leaving your 'footprint' here in my comment box. I do appreciate you taking a moment to share your thoughts today.

Brenda xo