Folk Art Banners
I was born in a town named for water and trees. Lake Forest, Illinois. Lived my first five years in that place where the puddles on our street were dark pools that reflected high branches and were simply too scary to step in for how endless and deep they appeared. I feared I might fall into another … [Read more...]
I once broke an old thermometer on the bathroom counter. The broken glass spilled the silvery mercury, which separated and rolled like beads across the tiles. Defining joy feels to me like capturing mercury – it can’t be gathered and contained. Joy is metaphors and images – describing, … [Read more...]
Kris Severson joins us at Joy in the Small Things as a guest blogger. Enjoy! Joy “Where do I find joy?” The question is asked. Initially I thought this would be easy to answer as I could give you my definition for joy, contrast joy to other emotions, and give plenty of illustrations … [Read more...]
Last fall when Alyssa asked if she could take a cooking class at her school it sounded like a great idea. She loves cooking, being in the kitchen, and has thoughts of owning a restaurant one day. While I hadn’t met the chefs, Derrick and Chris Melton, I knew they owned Mimosa, a French restaurant … [Read more...]
It is true that I once thought Grace was a blue-eyed, blonde and joy was found riding next to her in a convertible. Older now and perhaps a tad wiser, I realize that while that may have been Happiness (with a capital H) it wasn’t joy. Happiness depends on happenings and is mostly fleeting. When … [Read more...]
Thanks to Jen in Australia for sending this picture of her joy banner. It has been an unexpected blessing "meeting" wonderful people all over the world through Joy in the Small Things. … [Read more...]
Hi Everyone, So sorry I have been quiet for a few weeks. A lot of work has been done on the site to make it easier to navigate and you can now browse archived posts! Thanks for taking a look, and a big thank you to Rich and Kerry for all of their hard work! Look for a post from Mike … [Read more...]
Joy. It’s such a small word, really. Still, its meaning has escaped and puzzled me, pushed and nudged me and kept me generally bemused by its essence for nearly a decade now. As I round the bend and head toward forty this is what I’ve come to see: that joy and pain, beauty and depravity … [Read more...]