Thankful For Simple Pleasures

I've got that New year feeling!  You know, the one that feels all happy and optimistic, the feeling that this year is going to be a good year.  All the little 'hiccups' of 2010 are going to sort themselves out.  There have been times when I thought I had lost my faith, times when it felt just too difficult to remain positive in the face of all the little things that seemed to go wrong one after another.  This blog was always intended to share life's pleasures and I have always tried to steer well clear of anything negative or sad here even though sometimes that was hard, sometimes I just felt like saying this is crap and I need a hug!  A friend of mine recently told me that she started to keep a little book in which she wrote down all the things she was grateful for that day, every night.  This, she said, kept her on track and positive and she firmly believes that this is what turned her life around.  Mindfulness and positive thinking. 

So anyhow I really want to get back to the essence of Life's Simple Pleasures and to that end here's what I intend to do: from today I am going to post at least three things that I am grateful for each day, every night for the whole month of January, just to see how it feels!  If you would like to join in simply do a daily post on your blog or, if you prefer, add them to the comments on here!  So here goes:

1. Last night there was a snow storm and we woke up to lots of lovely fresh white snow!
2. We took the trail to Gog Lake.
3. The sun shone and the sky was bright blue
4. The air was crisp and clean and sparkled like glitter
5. My son was on facebook and he looks and sounds so happy.  That makes me just SO happy too!
6. Living with Lovely Man, without him I just wouldn't be where I am today.
7. Receiving an e-mail from the Editor of The Echo saying my new column is "Great"!

 Wow!  It was hard to stop at three!!!!

Sold out!

Well almost!  Yesterday I did my first ever craft fair.  I sold 8 of my twelve bags and had four enquiries for my silk keepsake books!  For some reason my red velvet xmas stockings and gift bags didn't tempt anyone at all.  I made these last minute to make things look a bit christmassy as it was a christmas craft fair, perhaps people are not so keen on this sort of stuff anymore?  Never mind! 

Earlier in the week we did Thunder Bay one last time before the winter really set in.  The road was really pretty this time! Last time we passed through Schreiber I was intrigued by a number of trees bent over, almost in a perfect arc, at the side of the road.  Our friends, who have lived here for years, explained that there was an ice storm a few years ago and this was the result!  Fascinating! The frozen 'waterfalls' on the rocks at the side of the road are pretty impressive too!

So this week really saw the arrival of winter with our first real snow of the season, although I guess by local standards this still isn't anything to get too excited about!  It dropped to about -18 yesterday then rose back up to about -10!  After the craft fair Lovely Man and I decided to take a walk in the snow.  Having been shut indoors for two days sewing I was eager to get out there.  So eager I did the usual 'grab your boots and coat and out the door' thing.  Note to self - choose something you think will be warm enough and add another layer underneath!  Although I am told we will acclimatize eventually.  It was a strange experience.  Wearing only thin brushed cotton jeans my thighs got real cold even though I was walking quite quickly.  Within minutes of being back indoors they were suddenly on fire!  At one point they were SO hot I considered taking a cold shower!  I did, however, manage to get some nice shots of the beach and lake - all frozen of course!

 

So today is lazy Sunday.  Cooked breakfast, a little tidying up and then a whole day just painting and maybe another little walk in the bush!  Have a great week all!