Open-hearted joys 開開心心 92
Happy Friday, my loves!
Exhilarating morning frost and smoke-wisps of yesterday’s bonfire scent the mood of this week’s gratitude list, for I’ve started to lap up writing with a window cracked open again. We’re about to dip into another cold snap and I’m already excited to bundle up in snug layers again, even though I will be complaining about the chill to anybody I see. Between girl dinner with my friends (food for the soul as well as the belly) and waving my fiancé off for his solo trip to visit family in Vietnam, it’s been a busy little week around here, but I’ve still managed to carve out time to pause, ponder and reflect. (And pen a good few upcoming essays!) Clearly, I am still lapping up the January start feeling in the softest way that I can muster!
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 chocolate and banana muffin eaten mid-work day. Essential.
二. When ‘it’ finally clicks on essays you’ve been trying to write for weeks and weeks.
三. Cosy study evenings! It’s been hard to be a beginner at something again, but I am so proud of past me for investing in my interests and giving myself the best chance for the future. (This makes it all sound so much deeper than it is!)
四. Girl dinner with friends. Sometimes, all you really need is a mid-week evening of food, conversation and the best company. Beating those January blues in the best way!
五. Designing our wedding save-the-date cards.
六. Profiteroles, joyfully shared with my fiancé after a long day in the office. I’m convinced food tastes better shared.
七. Gentle winter fog coiling above farmers’ fields in the morning.
八. Being completely immersed in Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Wind’s Twelve Quarters, a short story collection from her earlier years in publishing. The stories are just great!
九. A cup of tea after dithering around outdoors for any stretch of hours.
十. Not doing anything.
