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This is a wonderful gift that the Relief Society Presidency in my old Ward back in the UK gifted all of the Sisters in the Ward with. Its called the Kintsugi Women and is a piece of art by Paige Payne.
This piece of art was inspired by the Japanese pottery technique called Kintsugi, golden joinery. Broken pottery is fixed by applying a golden lacquer, which reattaches the broken pieces together and makes the object whole again. The purpose of this is to honor and highlight the integrity of the piece of pottery, treating the breakage as something of beauty.
From Paige's page:
We are all broken in different ways. Some of us get injured physically, some of us deal with mental health illness, others of us fight eating disorders and feel at war with our body. For years I have felt like my mind was broken. Struggling with anxiety and depression, I have felt broken so many times. But I believe that our struggles and our broken pieces make us all the more beautiful.
What a wonderful gift for the RS Presidency to give the sisters. I was so inspired by this photo and the writings that I had to order a print for myself. It so beautifully encapsulated my experience.
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MUSIC (Just skip over the ads)
Last year I arrived back in Canada, totally broken with a life that had been shattered beyond what I ever could have imagined my life being shattered. I did not think I could ever be happy again, or feel whole again, or be able to find peace . . . I was like a robot, simply putting one foot in front of the other . . .
That is the way it is when terrible things happen to you. You feel as if you are stuck in some horrible film, devastated, unbelievable and yet it is real. It is happening to you and you are the star of the movie. A role you never wanted to play or aspired to, and yet you go on, because moving forward is better than the alternative of staying still.
Slowly over this past year I have been putting the pieces of my broken life back together again and they have been knit and welded back together through threads of lacquer. Oh, I know I do have a ways to go yet, but when I look back and see how very far I have come, I am amazed. I could never have done it without my God and the many prayers, love and support of others. My family, my friends, each of you . . . I will be ever grateful for all of it. Even the broken bits . . . especially the broken bits.
How could I ever resist buying this beautiful Print. I cannot wait for it to come so that I can frame it and hang it on my wall with the other beautifully meaningful pieces I have chose to honor my home with. I decided last year I was only going to invite into my life things and people which brought me joy and meaning . . . and peace. If you are a part of my life, you can know that you are part of my Kintsugi picture . . .
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Naturally as we start to draw towards the end of another year, our thoughts turn to things and ways we might embrace in the year and months to come. Not resolutions per se. I don't believe in resolutions. I can never keep them . . . maybe just hopes.
Over this next year I hope to get back to my art and paint more, to sew more, maybe start crafting a bit so that my life is not all about work and a bit more about joy.
I have been thinking also about what word I want to embrace in the coming year. I think my word shall be AUTHENTIC.
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May all that I share and all that I invite over the next twelve months be authentic. Not just perfect little corners of what I think others will want to see.
I am not sure I will get all my Christmas Cards out again this year. I did buy some boxes of cards to send out, but once again life has carried me away. I will have to resort to Jacquie Lawson once more. I have goals each year to do it all, but somehow I always fall short! Life has a habit of getting in the way!
I have this friend, Swedish Marie. We have known each other online for quite a number of years now and stayed in close contact and she is always commenting daily, cooking a lot of the recipes on the food blog, and private e-mails etc. The last comment I got from her was on the 27th of November and I am worried. I privately e-mailed her, but no response. That is so unlike her. She (unlike myself) usually responds within 24 hours. I am really worried that something has happened to her. I know she had some serious health problems about a year or so ago. That is one problem with online friendships. People can disappear and you never know what happened, and are left thinking the worst.
And in these days of Covid the worst is more likely than ever. 😥
Nutmeg is doing beautifully. He thanks everyone very much for the happy thoughts and prayers. So far they have worked wonderfully. He is pretty much back to his old cheeky self. sorry for the bad light in this photo. I took it while I was talking to Eileen yesterday on my phone camera and the light was very poor in here. She always wants me to send her photos of the cats.
Here he was giving her a very vigorous bath! lol If he is not bathing her, she is bathing him! I have not had to use the cone of shame once. I borrowed one from my sister just in case. I hope she will let me keep it until after Cinnamon has had her operation in January.
And with that I will leave you with a thought for today . . .
° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
*.˛.When you are doing the work of God,
you can expect Him
to show up in your workspace.
Look for Him, He will be there.
~Emily Belle Freeman•。★★ 。* 。
In The English Kitchen today . . . Baked Pasta with Spicy Tomato Sauce. Delicious!
Have a wonderful day today! I think I am going to meet up with my father and his harem tonight for Fish and Chips. It will all depend on how my day progresses. Must capture these memories and moments while I still can! Don't forget!
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