…surprised at how much joy this process gave me
This puzzle took me only two days to complete but then there were only 550 pieces. I probably spent 2 to 3 hours each day with a few breaks in between. I think the coffee and sweets theme energized me. Now I should go back to a bigger one that I had started last year and never finished.
…no New Year’s resolutions
Just making the best of every day. In the past I’ve tried making resolutions that were too ambitious. For example, I used to set a goal of making art every day. As soon as I missed two or three days in a row I felt like I had failed and instead of getting joy out of making art it became a chore. So this year I’m hoping to do one thing a day that brings me joy.
Yesterday I read my first book of the year. It’s a children’s book but I highly recommend it to anyone from 8 to 88.
Charlie Mackesy is both author and illustrator. The book is full of inspirational quotes and I know that I will be going back throughout the year to lift up my mood and stir my creative juices. I like Mackesy’s loose style of drawing so I picked up my fountain pen and opened my new journal. I wrote down my first quote and copied one of the illustrations.
Other things that bring me joy are walking, taking photos, baking, crafting, spending time with friends and family, travelling, going to the cottage and making art.
My one goal this year is to share my joy with you!
…since December 9th
The clutter on my work table in my studio will give you an idea of how hectic the last 10 days have been.
Apart from the normal craziness of getting ready for Christmas I decided at the last possible moment to take a table at the Holiday Market at the Inn. Initially I was just going to sell our art and photo cards and display some of my smaller pieces of art but then I got it in my head to make a few of my sock gnomes. A few turned into 28 and 9 gnome ornaments.
Sadly on the day of the market a snow storm descended on the city and the turnout was definitely affected. Many people chose to stay home and a few of the vendors were no shows as well.
Since that day I made a few more sales at my hair salon and through friends. Most of the gnomes are now gone and 25 more cards have sold.
On the home front we’ve been busy putting our Rumtopf into jars and labelling them to get them ready to give away. I made up 9 bags of gifts for the volunteers that I’ve worked with most closely this past year at Montgomery’s Inn.
Last Wednesday we had our last bake for the year and will be on a break for about 6 weeks. The staff at the Inn hosted a lovely luncheon for the volunteers as a thank you for all their hard work and dedication to making bread every week to sell at the Farmers’ Market.
So this part of the reason why I haven’t posted as regularly as I normally do. I’ll bring you up to date with what else we’ve been up to in my next post.
Cheers!
…for this week’s Thursday Trios
Last week and this week has been super busy for me. I was burning the midnight oil to finish making my gnomes for the Holiday Market on Dec. 10th. I also assembled over 100 new photo cards. The actual market was a little disappointing because the bad weather kept a lot of people home, so the attendance was low. Despite that I did make sales that day and since then I’ve sold more cards and most of my gnomes.
…for Thursday Trios on BBC December 4, 2025
…I always start out slowly
If you have any trios to share, your choice, please copy my link and paste it into your post. When I get the pingback I’ll be sure to leave a comment. Have Fun!
…you won’t know unless you play Judy Dykstra-Brown’s Number Game https://judydykstrabrown.com/2025/11/24/the-numbers-game-100-please-play-along-nov-24-2025/
…thanks to Judy Dykstra-Brown for hosting The Numbers Game https://judydykstrabrown.com/2025/11/10/the-numbers-game-98-please-play-along-nov-10-2025/
This week’s number is 220.
…thanks to Becky B for hosting NovemberShadows https://thesquaresofb.com/2025/11/14/shadow-square-14/
Can’t believe this photo was taken 12 years ago.
One of our favourite things to do in London was pick up our granddaughter from school, walk back to flat with a stop at the corner store to stock up on drinks and snacks and on one occasion we got Sevin ready for her ballet class and walked her over to to the community hall for her lesson.
Mama Cormier 