February Joy!!

I've made it through January. This in itself is a distillation of pure Joy! Someone posted a poem on FB about the days of the month. It was a parody on the old "Thirty days hath September." They managed to incorporate all the months and their respective days except for January, which the poet noted had 3,648 days. - Yes, I endured everyone of them!! 

So my Joy for the last half week of January and the first half week of February was:

1. My daughter went with a friend to watch one of the games in the 6 Nations Rugby final at a local pub. This was England vs Scotland. When she came home, I asked a few questions over dinner, you know, just making polite conversation - such as, "What was the score?"..."Did they play at Twickenham?" 

She said, "How did you know that?" Well, I lived in England for two years in a flat full of Rugby enthusiasts. I have watched, in person, finals (The old Triple Crown) at Twickenham and at Cardiff Arms Park. Sadly I have never been to Murrayfield, in Scotland or Landsdowne Road in Ireland. Over here we collect Baseball parks. Over there I collected Rugby stadiums. I always like it when they say, "How did you know that?" It's happened a few times, even with American Football - we share an Eli Manning joke. It was another, "How did you know that?" Well, ... I'm not just a pretty face :)... I'm also an amazing font of useless knowledge.

2. My purple orchid is in bloom again. This would be the third time since I was given it a few years ago as a Mother's Day present. It always brings me Joy. I have four other orchids. Only one of them has re-bloomed. So, more Joy is just waiting to happen!! In fact I have a total of 55 plants, not counting the ones in my daughter's room (8) which she has the duty to care for, that brings me Joy!

3. That being said there is an Anthurium Lily in her room, which is back in bloom - Hidden Joy!

4. A friend finally posted that she was settled, having bought a house in Northern Ontario and will have her yarn business back up and running again soon. Friends and their successes always bring me Joy.

5. My son has had a few photography gigs and is working on his own headshots. Pending Joy......I know he will eventually find a full time job!!

6. The snow that fell last Sunday has stayed, especially on the trees, which makes the city look very pretty. As I have said before, I am not a fan of Winter, but I look for its positives where I can. It's like shaking Joy from an almost empty jar. Still, if there is enough in there, it will work!

7. I had a long trek to the burbs to pick up product for a store in NS. I used to hate the drive. Now, I just put in a CD and listen to music and the drive has become a tiny sliver of Joy.

8. I found chicken legs on special - 12 for $6.00. Now that's 6 servings of Balsamic Chicken at $2.00 a plate. Saving money always brings me Joy.

9. I had lunch with a good friend on Wednesday. We share an interest in so many things. Common Joy!!

10. I cooked a number of interesting meals this week. Cooking is an inherent Joy. Remember the book, "The Joy of Cooking." I have my mother's copy.

11. I couldn't find a particular pair of scissors the other day. You know the ones you use to cut cat ears out of felt with. Yes, I have more scissors than I need, however, I needed that pair, that day. Soooo, I had to sort through all my craft supplies - destashing as I went and finally found them!! I also have a very organized craft space, as a result. Decluttering always brings me Joy!

12. I hadn't actually planned on going to Ikea, however, I gave my daughter a lift to work, as she had file boxes to carry and it had snowed and I knew her work was on the way to Ikea and you know, you just go with the flow...or Joy. I went for a picture frame and came home with bowls, containers, cutting boards and yes, 3 picture frames. The Joy of spending an hour and a half at Ikea for about $50.00.

13. OK "Baker's Dozen's" worth of Joy. Friday was a day filled with orders at work. It was a surprisingly eventful day. I love the busy-ness of my business and though there are times when I'm not that motivated, I would still miss days like this and talking "yarn" with people I have known for over 25 years, if I were to ever close it. Joy in the long term.

It's hard to pick just one to write on a slip of paper and add to my phantom Joy jar, however, I think that I will pick the flowers - the orchid and the Anthurium Lily in bloom - OK that's two. They remind me that the days are getting longer. It's light now until 5:30pm. Orion will soon be in the South sky and Spring will come again, as it has for millions of millennia. Joy has its own calendar. I just steal a day or two here and there.

Have a Joyous Imolc, Candlemas, Ground Hog, and Billy Murray month!!