Pillow decorating and happiness over the simple things in life

A good Thursday to all of you.  I hope all is well out in the blogging world.  My spirits are returning and I am getting back into enjoying the every day things in life again.  My decision to disconnect from social media like Facebook for a while was the right decision.  With the way of the world right now, there was just too much negative attention on all that is wrong with the world.  I want to concentrate on all that is right in the world instead...  And there are so many things that are right in the world.  

I have been playing with the flower pattern that Lucy at Attic 24 designed.  She designed it for a wall hanging but I have been playing with it to instead turn it into motifs for my pillow that will go on my bed.  I will be making them all different sizes and lengths and kind of random as far as colors go from the scrap basket.  Originally I didn't think I would do this and wanted to hold off until some of the books I ordered recently from Amazon.com came, but I am too impatient and decided to play with her design and instead of using it as a wall hanging, turn it into a motif.  I am picturing this with various size flowers and maybe some crocheted butterflies or something to turn it into a fun and festive garden pillow.  

The weather here has been dreadful and the nice warm blast we had a week or two ago with sunshine has gone into hiding.  This is perfect weather for completing such projects.

I have decided to think about things that make me happy!  I was out front with my kitty cat and watching him guard his post on the front steps.  His head moved like clockwork from side to side like watching a tennis match.  This really made me chuckle... He was so intense with his stare.  He is a great guard and takes his job so seriously.

Of course all that guarding of the property makes for a very tired and lazy afternoon nap.  I just want to curl up and sleep next to him.  It is really hard to resist going back to bed when you see a cute and adorable kitty cat all snuggled up.

My new salt mill on the right that I got for Easter from a dear friend, to match the pepper mill on the left that she purchased for Christmas for me makes me giddy.  Are they not the cutest salt and pepper mills you ever did see?  Every time I cook I think of her now.  I have them filled with whole fresh pepper corns and big grains of sea salts.  It really does making cooking a lot of fun.  I will think of Lora every time I cook.  We go way back in our friendship.  She is the friend that we were together and joined at the hip during our teen years.  Can you believe that even as dramatic drama filled teenage girls, we never once had a fight!  I can't ever remember not getting along with her ever..  A friend like that is a rare gem and a rare find.  I am very blessed not only for these salt and pepper mills but more for what they symbolize.  Life is good!

With all the cold rainy weather, hot soup has been on the menu.  I really enjoyed curling up and hooking on my pillow after enjoying a nice big bowl of French onion soup au gratin.  It is such a simple thing but oh so good and oh so comforting.  Yesterday was absolutely stormy in the morning and I already have a giant pot of clam chowder on the menu to make soon.  I purchased all the ingredients at Costco yesterday for that.  

An apple pie goes a long ways in brightening the mood around here.  There is nothing like a hot slice of pie with some tea.  I wanted to tell you all that when you roll out your pie dough and there are little bits of scraps left not to waste them!  Instead roll them out, and use a cookie cutter to make decorative shapes to place on top.  If there is enough flour on the cutting board when you roll it out, then you will be able to "glue" your shapes to the pie and decorate it.  Simply just dip your finger in some ice water and dab on the back of the shape before placing on the pie.  I then brush the pie with some melted butter and sprinkle with some sugar to give it a golden color, which makes the shapes stand out that much more.   A pretty pie makes me very happy.  

All in all, life is good.  I hope these images helped to lift your spirits as much as they have mine.  Sometimes it is just those little simple things in life that keeps me happy.  I don't wish to live in a cave and block out the world completely.  I do like to know world events and what is going on and I am actually very active with the process of democracy, but a little of that goes a long way.  I can only take so much of it and it does not serve me well to sit all day and see reminders of it and concentrate on "we are doomed, the world is one messed up place".   I like to get my news for the day and then move on.  I think one can drive themselves insane by sitting and watching the news all day long with the doom and gloom.  Well, that was what was happening to me with reading Facebook because link after link of news stories and strong opinions on world events.  It was just too much doom and gloom collectively and I was facing burn out.  I am enjoying my vacation time away from it and once again settled into the happy little things in life.  

Life is great if you can just look around you and enjoy the bounty and be grateful for what you have no matter how simple it is.  They say, a person is not grateful because they are happy, but happy because they are grateful.  I find this to be very true!  

So stop what you are doing, look around and pick 5 things you are grateful for right now, no matter how simple it is... it goes a long way in feeling inner peace and happiness.  It works for me :) 

Until next time... xxxxxxxxx