Half a Year of Gratitude

Photos 179, 180, 181 & 182

When I started this photo journal of sorts back in April, the intent was to post a photo each day of something which brought me joy and delight. At first I did a written post one day a week and the other days I would post a photo. Life, being what it is, has had its own agenda and the practice morphed a bit. I still hold that focus of being grateful for the joy and delight in the every day, wherever I find it, but I’m not posting nearly as much. Honestly, I think I just need a break from life for a bit. That being said, I’ve still got joy and delight to share and will continue to do so where, and when, I can. Thanks for reading and looking and just being here on the journey with me. I appreciate it.

Kintsuki to the Rescue | Paw Prints of Snow | Ice Boating! | A Blaze of Sunset

Photo 179 - Last Christmas (2023) I gifted myself a kintsugi kit to repair some broken treasures of mine. This January (2025) I got around to using it. These two pieces are precious to me: one a perfect size cup for my morning coffee, bought in a small village outside of Coffs, with a friend. It holds special memories of time, place and purpose. I’m glad it’s back in my coffee rotation. The other one, a small plate, was gifted to me by a friend last year when we were back visiting in Australia. We were out for morning tea at one of my favourite cafes and they had these little plates/dishes which I adored. She surprised me with it and it’s held a special place ever since, until it broke. It’s all fixed again now. So many inanimate objects hold stories dear to our hearts. This ancient Japanese practice of kintsugi offers a way to continue to treasure them, cracks and all.

Photo 180 - What a joy to see these dog prints on the beach, filled with snow!

Photo 181 - When I lived here, on the island, in the 1990s, each year when the ponds froze everyone would leave work and go ice skating. It is one of my most treasured memories of living here during that time. Seriously. The island would stop to go skating. The ice wouldn’t last long, sometimes a few days; sometimes a few weeks. There would be skate swaps year to year and it was a thing. Ice boating was also a thing, but something I never did. It was fun to watch, though. I believe the last time there was enough ice for ice boating was in 2019. This year, though, those boats are back! They’ve been dusted off and tuned up and it’s a highlight of my day to go check them out.

Photo 182 - It has been frigidly cold here. On the coldest day of the last three years we had to take Opal off island to the vet for her check up. Coming back, the boat coincided with sunset. I braved the sub arctic temps to go outside to snap some photos. I love this one with the joyful colours setting over the light house.