This Joy’s Life

All kidding aside, I HEART my family!!!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

• Dancing Queen http://t.co/ujzSET5S #
• backyard tent city http://t.co/QCRgJ61v #
• Madonna rocked it! #
• Another tooth gone! http://t.co/zrY5bSSS #
• Not sure how it happened but earlier today I spent $70 on socks. Socks! (Husband if you are reading this, it's not true.) It is true. #
• I'm so in love with the New Girl. Swoon. #
• I'm so in love with the New Girl. Swoon. #newgirlonfox #
• bangs again http://t.co/LKtEJHGi #
• bedtime story http://t.co/g6oGwSeI #
• Doorstep suprise! http://t.co/WFl2SumK #

Powered by Twitter Tools

. . . and it’s hard to believe she’s been gone almost a year already.  It doesn’t seem like that much time could have passed without her here.  Though in the end, it wasn’t much of a life she was living in the nursing home, truth be told.

My grandmother, my mom’s mother, was the matriarch of that side of the family for so many years and I like to think we honored her that way.  The pastor at her funeral noted that she “invested in her grandchildren.”  She really knew each of us and offered sage advice and wanted to hear our stories.  She was full of life that way.  But, she was living in the past more and more and seeing her become more confused about what was real and what was not was hard to watch for all of us, I think.

I have a sense of peace when I think of her, knowing that when she passed she was not alone and was surrounded by children and grandchildren who loved her, even enjoying her favorite dessert of vanilla ice cream.  She taught me so much and there is so much about her I want to emulate for my own family.  I miss her and regret not spending more time with her when I was younger, before I had moved across the country.  She had that infinite country wisdom about things that I wish I had paid more attention to while I had the chance.  That is my only regret, that I didn’t spend more time and pay more attention to the little details and the ways she had of making everything special.

She left us in March of 2011, yet it still it seems like just yesterday.

Weep deeply.

A terrible malady took her mind,

Left no thought of present time,

But remembered for all that went before,

What followed of consequence no more.

Weep deeply.

Weep gently.

Remember now those festive meals,

so lovingly prepared with her special skills.

Shared both by family and by friend,

Created with love that had no end.

Weep gently.

Weep quietly.

Think now upon her with love,

Remembering all she did for others.

For certainly now she dwells above,

In that special place reserved for mothers.

Weep quietly.

- excerpt from a poem written by my father, Cecil R. Kersey

I came across this picture of my “Granny” (who is now 95) last night while cleaning out old photos.  It appears to have been taken in the ’60s because of her youthful age and the fact that I don’t recognize the kitchen of the house she is in (she has lived at her current residence since before I was born in the mid-seventies).

With my renewed appreciation of all things vintage, there is so much about the moment that has been captured here, most likely by my father, that I absolutely love.

I can guess that it was my father that took this picture because a) she is his mother, b) he loved photography and c) I can just make out the folds of her chenille robe, hinting that it is likely morning before she has gotten dressed for the day.

I can tell that she is making biscuits not only by the assumed time of day, but also the fact that her hands are covered in flour.  Yes, this could mean she was making something to be fried up, like catfish or okra, but it is more likely she is working with dough by the way her hands are clasped.  She is known, at least by me, for her chicken and dumplings, so one might argue she could be making dumplings.  However, the final clue is the little glass juice cup sitting in front of the bowl.  Her dumplings where rolled out flat and cut with a knife, whereas her biscuits would have been made perfectly round using the glass as her biscuit cutter.  This is a “Depression-era” woman, she is nothing if not resourceful, like many of her generation and the one that followed.

I love seeing my grandmother in this moment of “domestic bliss” (let’s hope she felt that way at the time).  I also love taking in the details of her (now) vintage kitchen.  Pots as art hang directly from the wood panelling. I LOVE that. Even the Coca-cola calendar shares its nail with a copper pot.  If it were a better quality photo I might even be able to tell exactly what month it was by that calendar.  But, it doesn’t matter because this scene, I am certain, was repeated like clockwork with the dawn of each new day for many years.

I’ll have to show this picture to my granny the next time I see her and ask her if she still has that big red rimmed enamel pot – it’s fabulous! I’d be shocked if she doesn’t, though finding it may be a problem.  She’s not one to throw much away “just in case” she needs it again one day.  Shoot, I wouldn’t be completely surprised if that same Crisco tin isn’t still being washed out and reused to store something to this very day. The Cool Whip containers like the company, you know.  I tease a little, but please don’t mistake that for mocking.  I have the utmost respect for all the mothers in my life, especially being one now myself.

If my dad was still here, I would ask him to give me more details about this image – What year? Which state (Georgia or Alabama)? Why did he choose that moment? He is not here, so I’ll ask her instead, though I think I already know that she will tell me it was too long ago to remember and will wonder why in the world I would care so much about such a (seemingly) insignificant moment.

This is exactly what I love about photography, that it can magnify the tiniest moments of everyday, ordinary life and remind you how quickly the mundane and routine (that we all sometimes take for granted) can be gone.  If you are looking for it and open to it, photographs help us see that it’s not “having what you want, it’s wanting what you’ve got.”  In this case, a loving grandmother who’d make me homemade biscuits in a heartbeat if I asked her to, just like she did all those years ago for my father.

I heard about and quickly downloaded a new iPhone app called My365.  And easy way to put a picture a day into a calendar and see what your life is made of.  I’m loving it so far, though I’m having trouble remembering to take the photo each day AND I didn’t start it until the day after my 36th birthday, so half of January is missing.

Actually, I like the idea of the 365 being based from birthday to birthday so you can see what each year of your own life is like.  Maybe that’s a setting I can change? Got to play around with it a little bit more, but expect to see my My365 tweets showing up daily on this blog (and Facebook, if we are friends there).

I expect you’ll be seeing a lot of my children as these 365s are all about taking care of them right now!  I’m perfectly fine with that.  I hope that I can find a way to download or print a copy of the calendar it populates each year.  A neat keepsake that would be!

Below are a couple pictures from our days of snow leading up to my birthday that didn’t make into the app. Enjoy!

I’ve been redecorating in the playroom/library/office/music room and decided to walk around taking pictures of some of my favorite thrifty finds in here.  I used the Hipstamatic App on my iPhone for the pictures (Lens: Buckhorst H1, Film: DreamCanvas, Flash: Off) and cropped them on my Mac in iPhoto:

My most recent find, this sunburst pottery piece was a no brainer from the local Value Village for $4.

I fell in love with the color of this vintage typewriter.  Paid $15 for it at Value Village.  I guess they knew it would be coveted by crazies like me.  Still, I get happy every time I look at it.  Plus, it makes me think of my mom as she worked in an office and when I was little I remember her typing things up and the keys just flying!

This AWESOME candelabra came from St. Vincent de Paul.  I passed it up the first time and found myself thinking about it later that day.  Thought sure it would be gone by the time I got back the next morning.  The hubby can’t imagine why I would think that OR make two trips for the thing.  My favorite holiday is Halloween and I think that is explanation enough.

The frames alone were worth this Goodwill purchase (as was the $2 price tag), but I am a  HUGE fan of Alice in Wonderland and so, again, these babies were a no brainer.

Last items for this post is to show off my Thermos(TM) collection.  I finally have a place to display them in a way that I love. So happy!!  This collection was inspired by the original Thermos(TM) that my father used when he hunted and that he painted smile-y faces and inspirational sayings on (back row, far right).  I confiscated it from him when I was in college.  My recent foray into the world of thrifting has me finding these beauties for $1 and $2 dollars a pop.  Looking at the collection as a whole, it’s easy to see that I’m drawn to the geometric patterns and blues.

So there is a peak at what kinds of things are flying off the shelves when I go thrift shopping!

You wouldn’t think a bundt pan could send one’s heart a racing, but that’s just what happened one afternoon in the Salvation Army when I was perusing the housewares aisle and picked up a striking gradiant orange bundt pan.  To my surprise is was super heavy and did I mention the awesome color?

Don’t believe me? Well, let me tell you that right then and there I decided to start collecting these beauties and now I have about five in orange, green, yellow, cream and even a mini-Bundt(TM) pan also in cream.  And since then, I’ve come across two other yellows (currently listed in my shop) and just recently a red/orange one like the very one that set my heart a-twitter (just added to the shop).

Still not convinced I’m on to something? Ok, well, to each his own, but I did see another Etsy seller who makes some pretty cool lighting out of vintage finds, including bundt pans.  She made these a while back (they’ve now been sold):

Come on!  That’s TOTALLY cute and totally DIY-able.  Cuter, I must say, that the ones from Ikea (below and which they apparently don’t sell anymore) and way more one-of-a-kind.

I heart Vintage!

happy everything!

Well, it’s January 1st again and up until this point I’ve been “mailing it in” on this blog for quite a while now.

In the beginning, my blog was called “A Southerner In Ireland.”  That was in 2005, before kids, when my hubby and I were living there for a 6 month stretch.  It was so much easier to keep friends and family in the States updated on our experiences and I found that I really enjoyed writing.

Later, in 2006, we had our first child and I merged the Ireland blog with This Joy’s Life since no longer were we in Ireland and this Joy’s life was a changin’.  I guess at this point, I was one of those “mommy bloggers,” if you’re the kind who likes labels.

During this time, I found that I still really liked to write and I needed to write about my experiences figuring out motherhood and what that meant for the Joy that I was.  This blog helped me figure out the Joy that I am and not too long after our second daughter was born, I stopped needing to write my experiences here so much.

Our second is just over 2 now and I find myself coming back around to wanting to write about my life and what I’m doing these days.  I’m obsessed with design and vintage and creating a home that can’t be found in a Pottery Barn catalog, though I LOVE to look there and covet pretty much everything in its pages.

Truth be told, it was my father’s passing in June of last year (2011) that renewed my interest in old things and junk shops/thrifting.  It’s a complicated thing, but let’s just move on to the part where rarely do I go a day without thrifting and my thrifting tastes are changing with that experience.

I’ve become obsessed with blogs like A Country Farmhouse and An Urban Cottage and am working on my own vintage Etsy shop Yesterday’s Finds.  It’s slow going with a 5 year old and a 2 year old underfoot.  Plus, I live in Seattle and miss home in Georgia.  Winter finds my self diagnosed Seasonal Affective Disorder doing a pretty good job of stripping me of my motivation to work on my shop or take the time and effort needed to work on this blog.

But, it is a new year, which holds the promise of a fresh start.  And so, resolutions for 2012 include getting back into the joy of blogging here, continuing to develope my photography skills, listing one item a day in my Etsy shop until it’s all done, and cooking one (just one) meal a week for a year. Somewhat random, but there you have it.

And, yes, losing weight is in that list as well, but come on, that’s such a given. amiright?

Happy New Year!  Happy Everything!

I’ve just pulled out of the oven, my very first loaf of homemade (wheat free, gluten free, dairy free) artisan bread! Just typing that sounds so . . . fancy.

I purchased Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free Homemade Wonderful Bread Mix:

And followed the mixing directions to make up the bread by hand, but then followed the directions in the link below to a post about how to bake it in my dutch oven to get that artisan bread look:

www.AtisanBreadInFive.com: Bread Baking In A Dutch Oven

Basically, I pre-heated my oven to 500 degrees with the dutch oven inside while I mixed up the loaf and baked the loaf inside the dutch oven with the lid on (I removed the plastic knob of my Le Cruset as it is only recommended to go up to 450 degree temps) for 15 minutes. Then I removed the lid and baked it for another 20 minutes. And it came out looking like this:

Joy's Artisan Bread

So, watch out Grand Central Bakery, you’ve got some competition in the neighborhood!

I’m so excited to share the news that one of my cousins and her spouse have announced to the family their plans to adopt a child through an independent adoption process.  As she has explained, this means that they need to get the word out to a potential birth mother and it is the least I could do to share their profile letter here on my blog in the hopes that it might reach the right people.  Who knows, life is funny that way . . .

Below is my cousin’s profile letter with the information for contacting their adoption attorney.  Let’s find out just how small this little world of our really is!

***

Little girls dream of finding their Prince Charming and riding off with him to live “happily ever after”. My story is no different.

My “ever after” began when I met Mike while we were both volunteering at a charity fundraiser. Our relationship grew stronger and stronger as we shared stories and realized our childhoods were so similar. We were both brought up in loving families strongly rooted in faith and surrounded by extended families made up of aunts, uncles, grandparents and even great grandparents….and cousins galore! Our fondest memories growing up are times we shared with our families.

Our dreams united when we married six years ago. We both have college educations, good jobs and a home in the suburbs with a big fenced in backyard. Our lives are secure. We know that we have been blessed. Love, laughter and respect are but a few of the characteristics we share in our lives together.

Having our own family has always been a dream of ours. We long to hear the laughter of our child as he or she runs and plays in the backyard or joins the other neighborhood children going to the excellent schools offered within walking distance.

We want to share all the wonders of our own childhoods with our little boy or girl. We want to go to baseball games, play games or enjoy swimming and playing at the lake. We want to introduce them to their aunts, uncles and grandparents. We want them to know the joy of toasting marshmallows in front of a fire or giggling under the covers late at night as they share secrets with their cousins. We want them to know there is a big beautiful world out there and we want to share every bit of it with them.

From ABCs and 123s to Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny, we look forward to sharing it all!! Every experience, big and small will be shared within the warmth of our family.

We can’t begin to imagine what thoughts are running through your mind as you search to find the perfect home for your child, nor can we explain the emotions we feel as we beg you to consider allowing us to give your child a nurturing home in which to grow. We can only hope to show you how much love, laughter and compassion we have to share and to try to give you a glimpse into who we are.

We hope and pray you or someone you know will want to get more information about us. If that is the case, please contact our attorney Justin Hester at 770-446-3845 or toll free at 1-888-446-3645 or Justin@hesterlawfirm.net. Please refer to us by our file number: 9/10-A-51

We thank you for taking the time to read our profile.