Around My Home

Here are a few things around my home that make me happy and bring good thoughts to the busy days I have been having. A book and my journal. I am loving this book Unfinished Tales by J.R.R. Tolkien. I bought this in Oxford but am just now starting to read it. The words on these pages are so beautiful. They are stories Tolkien wrote that were not completed, but the way he was so detailed and thoughtful about the history of elves and men is inspiring. He truly took his craft seriously and I get swept up in these characters' journeys. These are unfinished, and yet they express his immense and deep love of writing more and more history of Middle-earth.

All my little cacti and succulents are doing so well in my home. I am not one who knows about gardening or plants, so I am pretty happy with these little guys. I leave them for weeks and they are good. They are probably the easiest plants to care for.

The photographs on the left were taken by my brother's friend with an old camera, and developed by that friend. My brother is the one in the photo, and he took these prints and framed them in shadowboxes for me some years ago. He knows I love photography and old things, so I treasure these square black & white prints. The wreath on the right was given to me by my brother and sister in law several years ago. They got it at an art & craft fair, and it's made from pages of books. Naturally, they thought of me, and I really like this little piece.

A mostly thrifted outfit. Dress and sweater - thrifted. New shoes, though I have been looking for these exact shoes for quite awhile. Necklace made by me.

My books. Oh my lovely books! Books make me so happy. Everything about them. The look. The colour. The feel of the pages. The scent of the pages and ink. The weight of them. The aesthetic. Oh yea, and the words inside, of course! My large bookshelf is a little bit messier than I like, but I am out of space!

A blank page on which I will write a letter. I am the old-fashioned kind who likes that sort of thing. Also, mustard yellow is my colour of the year. I cannot get enough of it. And this slanted afternoon light is lovely.