I LOVE this Substack newsletter, with its jolly, exuberant use of capital letters, exclamation marks and words like ‘AVAIL’. It also contains a good dose of dogs (in this one, a tiny jack russell and a dignified greyhound, as well as some dogs made of brocccoli).
Reading it, with its “JOY PARADE”, made me think about cheerful things. Where better to share a list of them than here, on the blog, which has always been the home of my Small Things lists.
So, here is a list of cheery small things. I’d love to know what is bringing you joy at the moment.
We have been rewatching episodes of Poirot (the one with David Suchet) and I have been enjoying the gentle humour, the slightly hammed up characters, and the nice, satisfying way each episode resolves itself. Never mind that I rarely get to the end without falling asleep. Life is busy!
I am big on warmth, lately. I love the fire, and a good bowl of homemade soup, and a good jumper. On the subject of warmth, I’d like to try this hot chocolate recipe soon.
My mum helped me to sort my wardrobe and get a couple new things and it has made me feel much brighter, somehow.
As recommended by Hannah Bay at Midnight Crumbs, I am putting together a December basket: things that I am looking forward to getting out when the festive month arrives. This is my basket so far. Of course, it includes my Robbie Williams Christmas CD, and I am not embarrassed about that at all…
The children have been non-stop, as usual, and their creativity and play, rather exhaustingly, know no bounds. There is a constant smattering/explosion around the house of homemade slime and squishies, paint, lego and other paraphenalia. They even donned their bike helmets without direction the other day, albeit to have a head-butting war, rather than to do any actual cycling. It is true that my response to these things can often veer between exhasperation, downright panic and cheer. Overall, though, there is lots to celebrate about colour, creativity and sheer, exuberant eccentricity. Of the more orderly of these exploits is my daughter’s duck painting. I sat next to her and did a Draw with Rob Canada Goose, which was very pleasing.
The animals are entertaining as always, with the dog getting his head stuck in a cardboard box, the chickens peeking in to be handfed mealworms, and the goats running about with wagging tails. The whole menagerie generally is in fine form at the moment.
I have got really into journalling, and I love this list of whimsical journal prompts.
We have a new shop in town. I am not usually a shopper, but I love this one! Sostrene Grene is full of the scent of pine shelving, and pleasing things like stationary, baskets, crockery and blankets.
At work, I am learning a lot and trying to develop my practice in my new “PMLD” (Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities) class. I visited another, similar class and it was an absolute joy watching children communicate through signing, speaking or using technology. The ability to communicate is so very powerful, and often taken for granted.
What are your cheery things this week?
