Daily Joy Log

This morning I got up groggy after a late night out. I looked in the mirror with a scary mess of a hairdo looking back at me. I have big hair so it can get in quite a heap after a good nights sleep. Poor Ken has to look at me. I certainly don’t look like one of those Desperate Housewives when they get up.

I opened the curtain to the shower and turned the little handles on. Amazing. Water came pouring out! Not just water but really warm water. I climbed in and stood there for a few moments blessing the shower.

What a wonderful thing that we take for granted. If you’re a shower hog like I am, I sometimes stand there for five minutes just enjoying the water pouring down on me. All of a sudden my awareness kicks in and I think to myself “You’re wasting water, stop that!”

Isn’t it the best feeling to jump into a warm shower after taking a long hike, or after working in the yard all day?  There you are with dirty fingernails, a sweaty body, and stinky pits. You strip off all of your gummy clothes,  toss off the socks with bits of grass and leaves in them and jump into the warm spray of water. You grab the Dial soap and lather up. Ahhh. What could be better? I’m not sure.

If you are lacking joy in your life try to become aware of the little things that are so easily glossed over. For me, a shower is one of my greatest joys and I am thankful every time I look up at the shower head and water comes pouring out.

Experience Joy And Pass It On!

Just leave a comment below this post, or click here “WHAT BRINGS YOU JOY” and tell us what brings you joy.

I think I’m Ken’s first love but a close second is his guitar. He’s been playing since he was twelve years old and the guitar is like an extension of who he is.

With all of the free recorded music available to us I think we’ve forgotten how special live music is. It is such a treat to have a live human being play live music in the house.

Sometimes I take Kens playing for granted and don’t even notice it. I’ve been spoiled because it is the norm around here. When I am truly aware, which I try to be, I realize what a gift this music is and I sit and listen to Ken play. It is quite special and I feel privileged to be the one who gets to hear it. After all, how many people have a strolling minstrel in their house?

In downtown Asheville there are many musicians busking on the corners. Some of them are fair, some are good and some are very good. I try to be aware of them, listen, and acknowledge their gift by putting some money in their guitar case.

It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to be a musician. Just because we can switch radio stations with a touch of a button we must realize that all of these artists are real people who have been working at their craft for years. It is their gift which they share with us and it brings us joy.

One of my very favorite songs on the planet is “He Played Real Good For Free” by Joni Mitchell.  It is a hauntingly beautiful tune that says it all.

Experience Joy And Pass It On!

Just leave a comment below this post, or click here “WHAT BRINGS YOU JOY” and tell us what brings you joy.

The last posting I challenged everyone to give a compliment to a complete stranger. I managed to find a unique individual to give a compliment to today.

I was standing at the front desk at the YWCA and an African American girl about twenty five years old came in. She had a head full of braids down to her waist. Perfect. I said “Wow, I love your braids, you look just great. May I touch them?” She looked at me a bit cautiously at first but said “Sure.” She relaxed and we proceeded to have a conversation about the braids and how they were woven into her hair. We discussed how the process was done and how long it took. I asked her if the braids were made of real hair and yada, yada, yada.

After about 10 minutes we smiled and went our separate ways. She was very nice and appreciated the compliment, and I learned a little something about braided hair extensions. Quite interesting actually.

About fifteen years ago I met a girl in an elevator. We said hello and it just so happened we were both serving jury duty that day. We ended up in the same waiting room so we spent our time getting to know each other.  She and I became good friends after that and are still very good friends to this day. Fifteen years later, how cool is that?

Reach out to people, be open, be friendly, you just never know who you’re going to meet.

Experience joy and pass it on!

Just leave a comment below this post, or click here “WHAT BRINGS YOU JOY” and tell us what brings you joy.

It’s always nice to get a compliment isn’t it? It’s even nicer to get a compliment from someone you don’t know. I like to compliment strangers every now and then. It truly is a way to experience joy and pass it on.

The other day I was in the grocery store and this little elderly lady was in my aisle all by herself. She had beautiful white hair nicely styled and a cute little outfit on. She must have been in her 80′s. I noticed her right away and she made an impression on me for some reason.

Why not let her know what I was thinking?  I said, “Excuse me, but I just want you to know that I think you are a very pretty lady.” She didn’t know quite what to say. She was just stunned that I would notice her or even care. “She laughed a little nervously and said “Oh, why thank you.”  in a shy, delicate voice. I smiled and went on my way.

Now, you can’t tell me that didn’t make her day. Something as simple as a compliment. Who knows, maybe she lives alone and doesn’t get much company. Maybe this is her only social outlet, a big day at the grocery store. Then again, maybe she’s popular and head of the church bazaar. It doesn’t really matter. I just know that I felt good giving her the compliment  and I know she felt good receiving it.

I challenge all my Daily Joy Log friends to compliment a stranger tomorrow and write about the experience here on this blog post. How did it make you feel and what kind of reaction did you get?

Experience joy and pass it on!

Just leave a comment below this post, or click here “WHAT BRINGS YOU JOY” and tell us what brings you joy.

I used to work for a vet, that’s trouble right there when you are a dog lover.

At the time, Ken and I  had two dogs Gaylord and Sheba. Sheba was actually the neighbors dog but chose to live with us because we gave her love and attention which she wasn’t getting at home.

Frito was brought in to our office by a woman who had almost run over him.  He had been a stray hanging around the golf course for several weeks.  She had five cats of her own and was leaving to go back to Florida the next morning so she couldn’t possibly keep him.

He spent the day with us in the vets office and the resident cat Vivi Pitsi Paw had just had a litter of kittens. Frito got a little too curious and Vivi clawed Frito in the eye. Lets add some commotion shall we?  Yelping, screeching, drama all around. The Dr. quickly picked Frito up and checked his cornea which had been scratched open. Isn’t that great? Now we have a traumatized stray with a punctured eyeball.

I’ll just take him home for a few days until he heals and we can find a home for him. “Look Ken, isn’t he the cutest?”  The story always starts that way doesn’t it? We’ve had him for ten years now, eye in tact.

It’s amazing how love can change an animal. Poor Frito was skinny, his little face was sunk in and he was afraid of everything. He would hide under our coffee table and not come out. He chewed the lamp cord out of nervousness and was very skittish around people.

If you were to see Frito now he is a big mush and will sprawl across your lap in a heartbeat to receive a good belly scratch. He goes to the bank and does tricks for the tellers in order to get his biscuit, he sings to the harmonica in his horny tenor voice. He loves to go for car rides and he’s the best canoe buddy. He is always right there at the helm never afraid that he’s going to fall over board. When he does go plunk into the water on occasion, Ken grabs him by the scruff of the neck and pulls him out. He shakes a bit and climbs right back up on the rim like nothings happened. “I’m a big boy!”

Frito still has a few issues like his disdain for motorcycles, but I suppose we all have our quirky somethings don’t we? Why should animals be any different? We all have our unique personalities.

The love we’ve given Frito over the years has completely transformed him into this wonderful, lovable, fur baby and every day I am grateful for his presence. What a joy it is to have him as part of our family.

Gaylord and Sheba lived to be sixteen and are no longer with us. The joy we shared with those two will stay in our hearts forever.

Experience joy and pass it on.

Just leave a comment below this post, or click here “WHAT BRINGS YOU JOY” and tell us what brings you joy.

My mother came to visit me last spring from Ohio and gave me the most gorgeous Hydrangea. We hadn’t seen this variety before. It was a combination of pink and purple and we thought it was quite amazing.

I enjoyed that plant for a long time and then one day it started losing its leaves, the blooms died off and I wasn’t sure if it was still alive. I didn’t know what to do, I certainly didn’t want to throw it out. This was a special plant from my mother. What would I tell her?

Each time I would talk to her on the phone she would ask about the plant and how it was doing? “Oh it’s doing great mom, healthy, lots of blooms, just beautiful.” I was getting nervous. I can’t let this plant die. It meant so much to us.

I pruned it down to nothing and it basically looked like a dead twig. I decided to plant it outside and hope for the best, what else could I do? I just prayed that it would make it through the winter.

The other day I closed my eyes, crossed my fingers and went outside to see if our Hydrangea made it. There it was, looking as healthy as could be, with it’s bright green leaves popping up out of the ground about a foot in diameter. I was so grateful and happy. I called my mother and told her that our Hydrangea was on it’s way to greatness!

If I ever move, that plant is going with me. It will be a reminder of all the special times my mother and I have shared.

Mom will be here in May and I can’t wait to show her our little plant. If we’re really lucky, maybe it will have a bloom.

Sometimes it’s the simple joys in life that mean the most.

Experience joy and pass it on!

Just leave a comment below this post, or click here “WHAT BRINGS YOU JOY” and tell us what brings you joy.

I’ve been going to the YWCA in Asheville for the past four years. In fact, I worked at the front desk for a while. I became very good friends with the Director of Memberships and she has been after me for two years to teach an aerobic class.

“Me?” “Why me?” “I never even go to classes and you think I’m going to be able to teach one?”

I was a cheerleader in my youth so I do have some rhythm. I do love to dance so I can probably create a funky routine that might be fun. I do have a big mouth and I like to motivate people so why not? How hard could it be?

I agreed to teach a class if I could create my own unique thing. The director gave me the liberty to do what I wanted and Funk Fit was born. A mix of funky dance steps, aerobics and a bit of weight work. For the heck of it I added a bit of Afroceltic music and we River Dance to it. Can you believe it? It’s a work out all right. I can barely get through the routine myself without passing out. When it’s over I am beat red in the face and drenched. I think I got confused and thought I was still a 17 year old when I created this monster.

The great thing is, last week I had 11 people and we really started to look like a little dance troop of sorts. How cute we are jumping around and what fun we have! We sweat and get our heart rates up and pretend we are going to be the next contestants on Dancing With the Stars. Isn’t that something? Who knew? Sometimes when you think you can, you can. You just have to try.

I really look forward to my Tuesday morning class at 8:15. Join us won’t you?
Experience Joy and Pass it On!

Just leave a comment below this post, or click here “WHAT BRINGS YOU JOY” and tell us what brings you joy.

What a joy it is when things run smoothly.

We’re quick to complain when things go wrong, but are we aware enough to see and be grateful for the times when things go right? Do we even think about it?

Last Sunday our band played at Harrah’s in Cherokee. What could have been a complete nightmare ended up being a fairly painless event .

First of all, the place is under major construction. We were given all kinds of instructions about loading in. We would need to get security badges over here, take a shuttle over there, leave our cars here, drop off equipment there, park over here, take a shuttle back there and on it went. “Are you kidding me?”

We were supposed to do all this shuttling around and set up in an hour. Again, “Are you kidding me?” They assured us that there would be people to help us. “Oh yeah, right.” The amazing staff and valet attendant  did actually show up and were so helpful. They met us promptly, drove us around, helped us load in, shlepped the stuff up the elevator and down the hall through the laundry room and kitchen, took us to get our  security badges, and shuttled us from the parking lot to the venue two or three times.

The. staff stayed with us the entire time helping all five of us however they could. What could have been one more nightmare gig became just an inconvenience and we made it on time to play.

Ok-so I had a little mishap with my shoe as well. The elastic strap broke and two minutes before we were to start I was in the bathroom with a safety pin trying to somehow keep the shoe on my foot long enough to get through the gig. I managed and everything was fine.

I could have looked at the whole thing like the biggest pain in the neck. I chose to be grateful for the opportunity to sing, grateful to all the other musicians who arrived on time and were happy to give up their Sunday, and grateful to the staff who were there willingly to help us.

Experience Joy and Pass it On!

Just leave a comment below this post, or click here “WHAT BRINGS YOU JOY” and tell us what brings you joy.