Joie de Vivre

"This week share with us what brings you joy!", Inspiration Avenue asks us.

"What a nice challenge", I thought. "That shouldn't be difficult."

And it wasn't.

There is so much in my daily life that brings me joy - little things, big things.

Like this black-crowned night heron that I see so often when I walk around my lake. Of course it's not always the same one, but I do think of him (or her) as my little friend, and it's a highlight every time I see this beautiful bird.

And talking about birds - I love the view out of my studio window. It goes right to the garden and the bird feeders, so that I can observe our feathered friends, and that brings me tons of joy.

Especially when an oriole lands here.

Or this little titmouse who looks so darn cute.

But there are more than birds - squirrels, of course. They enjoy chewing on the moose antler that I brought from Maine six years ago. They are pretty noisy chewers! 

I enjoy taking pictures of the moon and let her sit on the wire or be a pole dancer. If the pictures turn out pretty fine, that's an extra slice of joy!

Of course I enjoy my garden as you have seen in so many posts before. I felt tremendous joy when finally, at the end of August, my seeds of "Heavenly Blue" morning glory turned into the first flower. By now there are so many more of them climbing up the trellis that I feel like living in Provence.

Joy is to be able to bike to my favorite nursery and buy flowers. Priceless (well, not quite....).

Joy is to play with my family. One of the newer games we enjoy is Sumoku. Kaefer's best friend Becca is the real master of this game - she even beat the Geek!

Living off my garden - turning the harvested vegetables into delicious sauces, soups and meals - is a BIG joy in my life. Seriously, nothing tastes better than the food you grow yourself.

I don't always enjoy cooking, but most of the time I do. Especially - see above - if I can use super fresh ingredients, preferably from my garden. Then turn them into something delicious, like this tomato mozzarella gratin. Joy of eating... 

... accompanied by good wine. Ah, the joys of life!

A deep satisfying joy is the return of my creativity. Over the past two weeks I have spent more time in my studio than all summer long, creating tags for Halloween, greeting cards and journals. I haven't returned to painting, though. However, Kaefer requested a "custom order" - an elvish mixed media painting featuring Galadriel. Now, that will be a challenge!

Halloween Cemetery Coffin Tag

But what or who brings me the biggest, deepest, richest joy? 

She.