Open-hearted joys 開開心心 № 21

Capturing the tiny details of my everyday mundane and the small moments that weave poetry to my days.

Sundaze Book Café is the home of everyday magic, joyful living and conversations likely to be had over a hot drink with a friend in your favourite café, capturing the syrup-slow feel and glow of a Sunday. I’m Michelle, and I’ll be your host today.

Happy Friday, my loves!

I missed last week’s post in this series, as I was suffering particularly badly with flu-turned-COVID. And even though I was sort of keeping an offline gratitude list to get me through the worst of it, I certainly didn’t have the brains for a publicly facing post! I fear anything that I did write would make zero sense with all the brain fog and fatigue I was experiencing. Thankfully, I’m on the mend now and I think that I might even be ready to rejoin society tomorrow with a long dog walk and perhaps a country pub lunch! And I’m feeling extra grateful for my little life.

There’s a lot to be said for appreciating the smaller, not necessarily finer, details of the everyday mundane. Here’s to another list of petite, open-hearted joys, the moments that’ve brought and woven poetry to my days, this week.

一. A string of sunny days to welcome in April, admired mostly from bed. Oh, what a sadness it was to have to watch idly as the sunshine beamed across my part of England. I’d been coveting it since early January, too! Hoping to spend many, many hours outdoors tomorrow.

二. Somehow still managing to stay on track with my fiction writing plans. I’m now dedicating at least two evenings to my manuscript and getting more words in than planned, which is hugely boosting my morale. I’d love to share some extracts or behind-the-scenes details and character profiles with my paid readers, in time.

三. Good books. For a little while, I was so unwell that I couldn’t properly focus on reading! So, it’s a real joy to have reclaimed some brain power and space for my books.

四. Watching ‘8 Simple Rules’ for the very first time. It’s great!

五. All the cuddles with my dog. Finally, he’s at ours for the weekend after my illness stint. There’s not much greater than our extended sofa cuddles after work, and seeing the unbridled joy on his face when we nip out for a bonus park walk.

六. Prepping for an interview at work, and realising how far I’ve come while noting all of my achievements and accolades. Often it’s hard to gain proper perspective of your path.

七. Chequered blankets on grass.

八. Getting to set up my new Traveler’s Notebook insert. I picked up a 28-week weekly diary book, ready for when my bullet journal notebook runs out in around 30 pages. Very much looking forward to this refillable system and having several books in one place.

九. Glimpsing freshly laundered sheets on the line while I tackle the dishes.

十. Bringing out my spring and summer clothing rotation, and realising – at last! – I can fit all of my yearly clothes in my wardrobe. This feels like such an achievement after working on whittling down the clothes that I own and wear.

Share a joy from your week in the comments, and I’ll see you again next Friday.