Skip to main content

Moments of Joy

“… because where can we live but days?” Kate Gross’s words from her Late Fragments a book I mentioned in this post, continue to resonate me in a year when it’s easy to be overwhelmed by so much bad, sad and downright stupid news in every direction. Another book which, to my surprise, has also stayed with me is Spark Joy, by Marie Kondo. On one level this playful little book is about decluttering but on another it’s a deeper reminder to choose the things that bring joy to your life. I’ve been wearing a frivolous pair of sparkly earrings even when they’re ‘inappropriate’ simply because they make me happy but this very busy month has also made me grateful for the good things in my life.


My annual eye examination, which is always an anxious time, showed that my eyes, for now at least, are stable. Hurray! 

The following day, Tom and I attended a birthday/anniversary party for my dear friend Hazel, one of the much-loved group of women I met at antenatal classes (we missed you, Rose). There’s a photo of us here… someone said we looked like an explosion in a paint factory!

We’ve had wonderful times with our precious granddaughters. Bee turned two and we celebrated her birthday on a glorious summer day on the beach at Barry Island where we had ice creams and an invigorating swim! Si and Rose came to stay and baby Joy went for a sail on Blue Nun at eleven weeks old.



My words to Holly Jollife’s lovely photos of a beguiling home on the Isle of Wight, appeared in the July Issue of The English Home.


And I received a beautiful new cover for Turning the Tide which is now published in Norway.


Comments

Kathryn Freeman said…
Wow, sailing at 11 weeks old - she'll have sea legs before she has walking legs :-) You're right, we need to grab those moments while we can, and I'm delighted to see you've grabbed a fair few recently. Keep grabbing!
27 June 2017 at 06:25
Chris Stovell said…
I know - they were all very brave! Thanks for dropping by so quickly! xx
27 June 2017 at 06:28
Angela Britnell said…
Lovely pictures - sharing joy is a good thing to do! Angela Britnell
27 June 2017 at 06:28
Chris Stovell said…
Thank you Angela, there's so much bad news around that I'm trying to focus on those small moments of happiness.
27 June 2017 at 07:22
Frances said…
Happy Tuesday Chris!

I so agree with you about the importance of allowing good news and sunlight into our lives ...perhaps even more important than ever as so much negativity whirls around us.

I love the stylish new look of your blog page. As always, your Home Thoughts are wonderful to read.

Best wishes to you and Tom...and happy sailing. xo
27 June 2017 at 07:57
Chris Stovell said…
Frances, thank you! I noticed that it wasn't loading properly on some devices so decided to update it... which took much longer than I thought so I'm glad you like it. I have been a poor blogger lately, both writing and reading. I have another very busy few weeks then I'm hoping to make more time to catch up with online friends - in the meantime there is always IG! xx
27 June 2017 at 08:12
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My First Book Signing!

It’s a fine, dry day and there’s an Italian market in the square outside Waterstone’s. Good for a book signing? ‘Bad,’ says Tim. The stalls are blocking the view of the shop and the fine weather’s keeping everyone outdoors. Hmm, that must be why they’ve only put one small poster up for my event, I mean why waste the Blu Tack? Tim demonstrates handing off the marauding hordes After much refolding of a black tablecloth and a rummage around for some books, I’m invited to take up my position at the author table somewhere between ‘fantasy and horror’, children’s books and a poster of the next author, Bobby ‘Iron Duke’ Windsor who’s signing on Monday. Once Tom, Lily, my lovely daughter, and her partner, Russ, are all sure I’m not going to run away, they leave me to it, taking it in turns to make sure I’m all right and bring me tea. Very soon, I notice a small boy watching me. When he returns with his family I learn that he would like to be a writer. His method, he tells me, is to rewr...
41 comments
Read more

A Winter's Tale

Thursday 2 December Feeling confined in her snow-muffled flat, Ma takes a walk up her front path to take the morning air. As she returns a cat jumps over the wall and startles her. She slips on the icy path and lands heavily on her shoulder. When her injury doesn’t spontaneously heal, she eventually gives in and calls her local GP surgery. In the evening a GP visits and summons an ambulance ‘sooner rather than later’. Around 10.30 pm Ma is admitted to her local hospital. X-rays suggest she has a fractured scapula which will require emergency surgery. She is put on a nil by mouth regime that night and transferred to a larger hospital for an emergency operation. However, she’s picked a busy period for her accident so the operation doesn’t take place. Saturday 4 December The operation is rescheduled for this morning, so Ma’s had a second night of nil by mouth. A CT scan shows that Ma’s humerus is broken in four places. Despite her obviously smashed-up arm, which is in a sling and...
44 comments
Read more

Forever Young

Looking at the blurb for my new Lacura WrinkleStop from Aldi, I see that its active ingredient has been ‘proven to help • Reduce forehead wrinkles by 52% • Reduce crow’s feet by 24% • Restrict 82% of wrinkle muscle activity’ That’s quite a claim, isn’t it? Frankly, after years when my face looked like a lunar landscape thanks to the joys of acne, these days I’m just grateful to see a fairly blemish-free skin. Part of me wants to believe that the wonder cream’s making everything looking a bit smoother and tidier, but, hey, there’s also a lot of ‘aqua’ and ‘glycerin’ in the stuff, too. Besides, I could tamper with my skin as much as I like (and I don’t), but I’ve only got to stand next to my beautiful daughters to see the difference. Ma has wonderful skin, so the chances are there are some helpful genes in the mix, but my dad died far too young of cancer, so it’s not all good news. My dad was a carpenter. ‘You can’t get age from a tin, Miss Chris,’ he’d say when rubbing his hands o...
26 comments
Read more