Taking Joy in Difficult Times

With the Stay-at-Home and Social Distancing orders still in place where we live the Take Joy Society has not been able to get together since February.  This is indeed a difficult and strange time we are living in, and I know many difficulties have arisen for many people.  Each of us are managing the best we can according to our resources, whether financially, physically, emotionally, and mentally.  As for myself I have used this time to sort out some things that have been bothering me which has led to my rereading a book on my bookshelf.  It came into my hands in 2012 while on Martha's Vineyard, and I read it on the journey home.  But I must not have been "ready" for it yet because it did not impact me then the way it has now.  I am finally able to understand my difficulty in enjoying my life these past few years.  That is why I am sharing it here because it is a great resource for bringing joy into your life right now. 

❤️ Of the Home - October

❤️ of the Home - September

❤️ of the Home - August

❤️❤️A monthly post dedicated to Susan Branch❤️❤️

Growing herbs is fun because you can grow them in pots near your kitchen door. . . .

❤️ of the Home - April

Now that March winds have simmered down we can look forward to April showers bringing May flowers. . . .

❤️ of the Home - February

    

          

February is the L❤️VE month because of Valentine's Day.  Susan Branch shares her recipes for a romantic dinner for two HERE.  Click on the recipe title to go to it.

❤️ of the Home - January

How do you bring in the new year?  This year on the first of each month I'm featuring Susan Branch's ❤️Heart of the Home❤️ sensibilities using illustrations and quotes from her calendars and books.  She is an author/illustrator, and whether she intended to be or not, a lifestyle maven for her many followers, affectionately known as Friends of Susan Branch (F.O.S.B.)   She keeps in touch with her "friends" via her BLOG, FACEBOOK page, and TWITTER.  Do not be surprised if she responds to your comments because she values hearing from us all.  You will soon feel as though you ARE a friend!

Besides her many cookbooks and memoirs she has calendars, scrapbook pages/stickers, journals, stationery, and a host of other things which can be found HERE on her website's shopping page.  And while you're at her website print out this year's Full Moon Bookmark found on her FREE STUFF page. . . .

Simple Abundance - December

"Simple Abundance"

Simple Abundance - October

Simple Abundance

If I could pick only one favorite month of the year I'd have to choose October.  I'm sure it has to do with the vivid colors this time of year.  Spring's colors are certainly lovely, but the colors are more pastel except for an occasional bright red tulip🌷or deep yellow daffodil.   I can see myself in Anne Mary Lawler's description of October "dressing in flame and gold like a woman afraid of growing old."  I've always loved color and tend to buy colorful clothing, but as I grow older I find that colors speak to me even more.

This month Sarah Ban Breathnach's Joyful Simplicities from "Simple Abundance" include these possibilities. . . .

🍁     Plan an outing to a pumpkin patch of farmers' market.  Select the perfect jack-o-lantern, but get an assortment of smaller pumpkins on which to carve different designs🎃, like checkerboards, hearts, or the moon and stars.  Pie pumpkins are the perfect size for creating luminaries for steps or driveways, and midget pumpkins make charming votive candle holders for dinner tables.

🍁     Create a seasonal table.  Set aside one small space on which to arrange an autumnal still life:  wheat sheaves, pumpkins, gourds, Indian corn, or bittersweet, with bouquets of dried flowers and preserved autumn leaves.

🍁     If you live in a four-season climate, take a Sunday drive in the country to revel in Mother Nature's flamboyant fancy dress.  Pack a picnic.  Linger as long as you can.

🍁     Mull cider and/or wine on the weekends for an autumn cup of cheer, especially delightful after raking leaves!

For years I planned an autumn get-away for my family during the long Columbus Day weekend.  The boys loved hiking in the woods and following the trails to hidden water falls.  Now that it's just the two of us our choices of when and where to go and where to stay have opened up considerably.  The world-wide web has certainly helped facilitate finding wonderful places.  Here are some we've been to. . . .

Eagles Mere, PA

Glenlaurel Inn, Ohio

New Castle, DE

Skyline Drive, VA

Western Maryland

World's End State Park, PA

Little Grand Canyon, PA

I also love decorating my house for Autumn.  I even change my dining room curtains from blue to red and summer paintings to autumn scenes. . . .

It is also a time to change my menu.  Now I'll make Sausage-Bean Chowder with pumpernickel bread, Meatloaf with acorn squash and baked potato, Beef Brisket with mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts, Chili with crackers and butter, Sauerkraut and Pork with potato pancakes and peas, Beef Stew with corn bread, to name a few--all dishes I haven't had in months!

What about you?  What delights you about Autumn?  Do you change your decor?  Go "leaf peeping" (as it's called in my part of the country)?

.•*¨`*•. ☆ .•*¨`*•

Take Joy!

Midsummer's Day

Today is Midsummer's Day.  I wrote about Tasha Tudor's Midsummer's Eve celebration earlier in the month.  Sarah Ban Breathnach wrote about Tasha's festivities also in her book "Simple Abundance," then goes on to tell us how she, herself, celebrates Midsummer's Day. . . .

I wander out into the backyard very early in the morning and pluck a blossom from the garden heavy with dew.  With my fingers, I’ll pat the dew upon my face, for legend has it that any woman who washes her face in the dew of Midsummer’s Day will grow more lovely with the passing year.  Fairy cakes are made for tea, midsummer’s syllabub (a delightful concoction of cider, lemon, berries, and whipped cream) is prepared for a moonlit picnic, and personal dreams are renewed.

I think it's a lovely idea to find reasons to celebrate the seasons.  There was a time when Summer was all about children home for school vacation, finding activities and trips to keep them busy and enrich their young lives.  Now Summer is about enjoying my garden.  Things are growing and therefore my garden must be tended:  weeding, watering, fertilizing, deadheading.  But I also take time to just enjoy it. . . . .the fragrance of Lavender as I harvest it. . . .

The sight of daisies and evening primroses rioting together. . . .

Climbing roses creating bowers over my garden path. . . .

Hearing the high-pitched croak of the frog as I startle him back into the pond when I draw too close. . . .

But I think one of the most joyful beauties of the place where I live is the sun filtering through the tree tops. . . .

Anne Shirley in "Anne of Avonlea" says it best. . . .

I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens, but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls sipping off a string. 

May you find Joy in every day!


.•*¨`*•. ☆ .•*¨`*•

Take Joy!

Beatrix Potter Tea Party Get-Together

The Take Joy Society members got together today to celebrate Spring with a Beatrix Potter Tea Party!

When everyone arrived they browsed my collection of books by and about Beatrix Potter. . . .

After which lunch was served. . . .

The Menu was mostly from Susan Wittig Albert's "Cottage Tales" website*:

Pea Soup

Cucumber Sandwiches*

Tomato Dill Sandwiches*

Ham Salad Pinwheels

Nutty Cheeseball w/apple slices*

Lemon Lavender Mint Iced Tea

The recipes marked with an asterisk can be found HERE.

The Pea Soup recipes comes from "An English Cottage Year" by Sally Holmes & Tracey Williamson. . . .

At each place setting I put a violet plant in a teacup that was to go home with each member. . . .

We watched a short video about Beatrix Potter that can be found in the extras on the DVD "Miss Potter".  Here is another short biography on Beatrix. . . .

               

Then we made English cottages using cardboard, glue, moss, and plaster, sticks, and pebbles. . . .

We took a break for tea and carrot cupcakes*. . . .

Then resumed working on our cottages.  Here are the ones that were finished before everyone had to leave. . . .

I chose Beatrix Potter as our theme because she was an example of someone who took what gifts she had and shared them with others and in doing so found great joy in the process.  She'd always loved to draw and think up stories and shared them in picture letters to children she knew.  Eventually she thought other children might enjoy them, too, so she endeavored to have them made into a book.   When she couldn't find a publisher she self-published and the rest is history.  This year is the 150th anniversary of her birth (July 28).   She wrote and illustrated 28 books for children, but then went on to become a sheep farmer, raising prize Herdford Sheep.  She is also known for her philanthropy for having donated 4,000 acres of land in the Lake District to the National Trust which millions of people enjoy each year for it's bucolic scenery.

.•*¨`*•. ☆ .•*¨`*•

Take Joy!

Repose of the Soul

"We have all met her, that special woman who draws you into her orb with a radiant smile.  Her eyes light up as you tell her how you've been.  She attracts men, women, children, and animals, for her complete attention is soothing and hypnotic.  When you walk away from her you feel as if you have been bathed in a beautiful warm light."   --Sarah Ban Breathnach, "Simple Abundance"

When I read Sarah's description of the type of woman that makes you feel "bathed in a beautiful warm light" I immediately thought of Susan Branch.  I took this photo at a book signing in 2014 as the couple in front of me were getting their book signed by Susan.  As you can see, Susan had a big smile on her face.  I was the last in line and she'd been signing for over an hour!  When it was my turn she rose up out of her chair and hugged me when I told her my name because she recognized it from all the comments I've made on her web journal over the years. . . .

Bringing joy to her readers is one of Susan's hallmarks.  She has been someone I've aspired to be like, besides wanting to draw and paint as she does.  I practice my handwriting in hopes one day it will suddenly look like hers, but practicing her warmth does not come easily to me.   She does not profess to be an outgoing person, yet she gives you her full attention and makes you feel special while you are in her "orb."  So I was glad to read further in Sarah Ban Breathnach's "Simple Abundance" how I might acquire this ability. . . .

Sarah reminds me that if I will take the time to "step outside my own sphere to embrace others, [I] open [myself] up to the power of Spirit. "  She says, "We are suddenly lit up from inside, and this illumination can transform our looks more effectively than any fancy salon beauty makeover."  This, indeed, is repose of the soul.

P.S.  If you want to print out Sarah's quote with Susan's artwork, drag it to your computer desktop.

.•*¨`*•. ☆ .•*¨`*•

Take Joy!

The Joy of Gardening

If you are a gardener and live where there are four seasons, you're probably like me in February--itching to get your hands in dirt.  Along about now I find myself longing for color.  It helps if there is snow on the ground to cover all the brown, but after a while that doesn't even help.  So this morning I found myself looking through my Photo Library where I collect the photos I've taken of my garden through the years. . . .
I planted my first garden when my youngest was two.  He would be my last child and I knew that nurturing a garden would help me let go of my children as they grew up and left home.  Over the last 26 years I've dug, and hauled, and planted, and weeded.  I've enjoyed walking through others' gardens to get ideas and perusing garden centers for plants.  Each year I look forward to Spring when the perennials begin to poke through the earth again.  I'm eager to discover what has made it through the winter.  Some do not survive, but this gives me an opportunity to start over.

Designing my garden beds is intuitional for me.  This is the part of gardening I love the most.  It allows me to express my own sense of beauty--putting textures and colors together.  But, like life, gardening has it's struggles.  Sometimes it can be disheartening when after a beautiful Spring, Summer brings heat and humidity to decimate my garden.  Colors fade, leaves shrivel, then the bugs and powdery mildew have a field day!

This is why I take photos.  They remind me, like memories, of the best part of gardening and give me hope for Springtime. . . .

                      

For best viewing, click right corner for full-screen

.•*¨`*•. ☆ .•*¨`*•

Take Joy!

Little Golden Books Get-Together

♫Childhood Memories♫

To go along with last week's "Picture Book Perfect" Get-Together the Take Joy Society planned another outing in order to see the Golden Legacy: Original Art from 65 Years of Golden Books exhibit in Hagerstown. . . .

But first, member Carol Brashears, who planned today's activities, wanted to share the mission and lovely building of the Women's Club of Hagerstown. . . .

Here we are admiring a flower arrangement in the Club's very large banquet room, where dinners are served for special occasions and concerts and plays are sometimes performed by local groups.  The portrait is of Mrs. Emmett Gans, the founder of the Women's Club. . . .

As we toured the first floor we passed several displays the ladies had put together and I thought how fun it would be to have another house to decorate. . . .

They had a collection of teapots and dishes to choose from for their Teas. . . .

We sat in one of the parlors while Carol told us the history of the house.  Here we are looking at the Federal-design border along the ceiling that was added during the remodel following a fire in the attic in 2006. . . .

In 1838 Susan Hughes had the Federal-style house built. It has a very interesting history of women owners.  Hughes sold it in 1844 to David Barr, whose widow was able to keep it and pass it on to their daughter Martha Wroe in 1864.  Being Southern sympathizers, the story is told, Dr. and Mrs. Wroe invited Robert E. Lee and his staff to dinner as they passed through Hagerstown after their defeat at Gettysburg.  As they entertained the men one of their sons apparently provided further entertainment by hiding the officer's pearl-handled revolvers in the barn until his conscience forced him to confess.  The house stayed in the Wroe family until the Women's Club bought it in 1923.  You can read more about the house at the Washington County Historical Trust.  What I find unique and special about this Women's Club are the 14 rooms upstairs they rent to "women in transition"--women who need somewhere to live until they can manage on their own.  If you would like to see more of the building (including the banquet room) you can take a Virtual Tour.

The Washington County Museum of Fine Arts was only a mile away in the historic City Park.  This scene greeted us on the steps of the Museum from the Little Golden Book, The Pokey Little Puppy. . . .

On the other side was a scene from Scuffy the Tugboat. . . .

Inside we viewed original art from various artists (no photos allowed), but we were able to photograph scenes from the books that were set up in the Atrium. . . .

Edie was a good sport and modeled for the "photo op" from a scene in the Little Red Riding Hood, . . . .

. . . .which, incidentally, I included in a post last September on Morning Musings after my visit to the little house where Elizabeth Orton Jones lived and used as a model for this story.  You can see the house and the entire book here.

This photo was taken from the Atrium looking through the museum toward the City Park's lake.  Diana of the Chase by Anna Hyatt Huntington adorns the enclosed portico overlooking the lake. . . .

Cindy told us of her visit to the sculptor's winter retreat near Myrtle Beach, SC.  She says the gardens and sculptures throughout are a must-see.  Here is a close-up I took last year on January 11th when I visited the Museum.  We had snow on the ground then. . . .

As we walked through one of the galleries Cindy took us past the Museum's only Norman Rockwell painting, The Oculist. . . .

Whenever she visits the museum she makes sure she hunts it down (they move it about apparently) She told us the story of how her Dad, an artist himself, visited Rockwell's studio.  She was along, but being four at the time, doesn't recall the details herself.  She said her mother, who was also present, remarked that she wished her husband would keep his studio as neat as Rockwell's.  She said Rockwell told her father he wished he could just paint the way he wanted to like Cindy's father was able to do. As a hired illustrator, Rockwell said he had to paint what would sell.

Outside the Museum was another sculpture that caught my eye.  This little girl gets moved around, too, because she was in the Diana portico last January. . . .

It was lunchtime so we headed into the downtown area to the Rhubarb House. . . .

While we waited for our table for six. . . . 

Carol surprised each of us with two Little Golden books. . . .

As you can see we were having a great time. . . .

Most of us got the chicken salad sandwich and either the tomato or corn and potato soup. . . .

Then we ordered several slices of lemon cream-filled cake, which we shared, and demolished it before I remembered to take picture!

.....Sometimes the joys in life just can't be captured except in one's recalling of them.  

 .•*¨`*•. ☆ .•*¨`*•

Take Joy!