I’m a month late with my One Little Word post. I originally thought there’d be two posts, one a reflection on 2016’s OLW, and then this one. But I’ve decided that although I’ve done quite a bit of reflection, it’s too late to justify two posts.

My 2017 word literally leaped out at me in November while reading a blog. I lived with it for several weeks, and time and again I’d find another reference to it that resonated with me. So I’ve been living with it for awhile, and for many reasons, believe it will be a significant talisman for the year, particularly give the political climate in the United States.

I purchased and framed this print for my office.

JOY is the word for the year. For me it flows easily from SIMPLIFY and MINDFUL, my last two One Little Words. The kind of joy I’m speaking of is not the stuff of dictionary definitions, but joy that is rooted in gratitude. Our church chooses a theme for each year, and in September we began a focus on “reconciliation.” Again, it seems a remarkable choice given the divisiveness that is so rampant now. Our pastor gave a sermon on “Reconciliation and Joy” in December—one of the many connections that occurred after I chose my word. In it he quoted a theologian, Daniel Hardy, who wrote that, “Where there is vulnerability and sorrow [joy] still appears, but adversity alters its character to . . . trust and perseverance.” It speaks to me, but I’m under no illusion that it will be an easy task.

The only book I finished in January was The Book of Joy by The Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu. It, too, speaks to the ability to find joy regardless of your circumstance and has a wonderful section at the end of daily practices. Last year as part of my Mindful practice, I took a course in mediation and did quite a bit of reading about it. I never did establish a daily practice, but I do practice some mindful techniques on a daily basis, not the least of which is I’ve pretty much abandoned trying to multi-task. Many of the meditative practices in this book seem very doable to me. Now that I’m back into routines at home, I’m hoping to give a couple of them a try.

The best definition for joy I’ve found so far is “Happiness is an emotion and temporary; joy is an attitude of the heart.” (Randy Alcorn) So I’m off to try to find joy in the every day through reading, photography, volunteering, and creative pursuits. I’m going to struggle through the hard times, remembering how very grateful I am for my many blessings. And I’m going to move on with both SIMPLIFY and MINDFUL, because they too have proven to be good words to live with.

Happy Monday! Waving to Sian and the Monday Memo Makers. It’s been just one week since we returned from Chicago, and much to my surprise, I have completed a nearly total purge and reorganization of my office/craft room. I anticipated that it would take several weeks, but once I started, I devoted the better part of every day to the project. Shortly before the holidays I started scouring the internet for a set of affordable bookcases to replace the ones I purchased at Target ($25 a piece) nearly 15 years ago. They were literally falling apart. I found some I liked at Wayfair (50% off), but had to wait for a restocking. They arrived at Matt’s while we were away and it was a huge motivator to get ready to have them assembled and in the office. 

I ended up with two boxes and three stuffed shopping bags of materials that I donated to the charity craft shop, a bag for a friend, and several larger items I’m saving to see if another friend might be interested in them before I donate them. I have LOTS of stamps (I’ve been at this for 25+ years) still to go through and repackage if I decide to keep them. Here’s a look at the new set-up. I did take before photos as well, but really, no need to see them! 🙂 There was a mish-mash of storage containers and stuff stuck in and around. I had a couple of the gray CD holders from Target, and fortunately, they still carry them. These bookcases are wider than the old ones, and we removed a CD cupboard that held my Papertrey Ink stamps that were, for years, packaged in CD cases. Now the boxes hold stamps, paper pads, embellishments, kits, and stamps that need to be repackaged. I must say, I get a lot of pleasure out of having a color coordinated storage system.

For many years, I resided in a tiny bedroom at the back of the house, but after Sarah moved into an apartment, Tracy encouraged me to move to the front of the house to a much larger space. I resisted for a couple of years. Why, I can’t tell you, because it’s just a wonderful spot! There’s a built-in bookcase and desk in the front corner. It used to hold my sewing machine, but when I had to replace my printer the only one that had a top feed was a wide-format printer which no longer fit on my desk. The sewing machine is now in the guest room, and the result is I rarely put it to use. 

I still need to go through the book shelves here, but for the most part, I think I’ll keep much of what is there. Next to the filing/die cutting station is a chair that folds out into a single bed. We don’t often have to use it, but it’s come in handy a few times, and it’s a great place when someone “visits” me for them to sit down and chat.

And lastly, my desk. When I moved into this room, I purchased the desk and the filing cabinet from an inexpensive, put-it-together yourself, furniture store. It’s held up very well. and works for me. The iMac was a surprise Christmas/Mother’s Day/birthday gift from Tracy, and was just replaced with a newer model last year when I ran out of memory. This one has the new higher resolution screen. After editing photos on my tiny laptop for three weeks in Chicago, I had a new appreciation for it when I returned.

I am, I know, spoiled by such a lovely space, and I never take it for granted. When I first moved in here, Matt was still living at home, and his comment has stuck with me. “This is the best possible use for this room. You should have moved in here a long time ago,” he said. “After all, you live in here.” There’s some truth to it. Until Tracy and I started our morning reading time together by the fire in the living room a year ago, I spent almost all my time in here.

So, now you know how my week went. Tracy put the bookcases in on Friday night, and Saturday I celebrated by doing some card-making. And that’s where the happy mail comes in. I received my February Simon Says Card Kit last week, and it stayed in the box until I finished cleaning.

The first card I needed was for a friend in hospice, and the stamp set and stickers weren’t appropriate. I did, however, want a card that was bright and cheerful, so used the cardstock, patterned papers, and one of the epoxy hearts to create the card.

The basic design of the card came from the inspiration sheet that is also included each month with the kit. The papers are from Doodlebug, and the sentiment from Papertrey Ink’s “It’s the Thought” set. I hope it brings a bit of cheer to the recipient. The dies are both from Simon Says:  Stitched Circles, and Stitched Banners. The banner die I’ve had for some time, but broke open the package for the first time. I’m entering this into the NBUS challenge, which I need to participate in more often.

I made several other cards as well this weekend, so they’ll be popping up on the blog soon. 

Hope your week is off to a good start. I have lots of fun engagements scheduled for this week, so I’ll be squeezing crafting time in-between breakfast, lunch, and coffee dates as well as book group and bridge! It’s good to be busy during these gray days of winter.