This week I sat in my studio and watched the garden out the sliding doors.

My peach and cherry trees are filled with flowers. Daffodils are blooming and everywhere I look outside, spring is progressing.

I sat in the dining room with my coffee, cereal and journal.

“I’m crabby. Crabby. Crabby. Crabby,” I wrote.

I’ve been in a bit of a creative funk. I know it’s just a natural part of the ebb and flow of my creativity. It’s taken me years to be able to recognize this and let the funk happen.

When’s the last time you noticed something that made you pause to look, to think, to wonder? A little moment seemingly outside of time?

Noticing beauty needn’t be limited to seeing it. Last week we focused on COLOR, something we experience with our eyesight, but this week I want you to awaken your other senses.

Summer is speeding past and before it’s gone I want to make sure I savor all the things I love about it.

To remind me to slow down and savor the days, I’m devoting the month of August to gratitude and joy.

The days are flying past faster and faster. I can’t believe June has already come and gone. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I’m trying to slow down and enjoy summer’s magic and yet, time still flies.

I stumbled into my shoes, pulling on my hat and coat before rushing two wagging dogs out the door.

I was still wearing my nightshirt.

I wasn’t wearing any socks.

I hadn’t even put on my glasses.

Bright sunshine and warm breezes. Clear blue skies and crisp snow. Cold, dark, wet days. This month I’ve tried to be present for it all.

November has been a gift. A strange month, but a gift, too.

The other day my cousin Sarah* shared a post on Instagram which was a part of a longer piece she shared on her blog. In it she wrote “stepping out of the box I decided I was going to do something to treat me.” Although her words were about the importance of doing something for yourself, what kept running through my head was idea of stepping out of the box.

I sit in the garden and watch the robins taking turns on the nest in the birch tree. The nest is perched in a crotch of branches high above my patio. It doesn’t look very secure, but I’ve watched it hold tight when its windy. One robin swoops to the branch and the other plunges away. A few minutes later they switch. And switch again.

I talk about JOY a lot. The word is up there in my logo. It write about JOY in my blog posts. I describe my paintings with the word and when you sign up for my newsletter I send you a set of Joy Lists as a thank you. On top of that, I call my newsletter a JOYLetter.

When is the last time that you were filled with joy? How happy are you right now?

I've read that each person has her own set range of potential happiness, determined in part by genetics.

It's been ages since I've done a Joy List Monday post  (I've never done one in this space), but this morning I am overflowing with joy and wanted to share it with you (and encourage you to discover some joy at the start of a week, too).

It's the last day of August. I can't quite believe it. Throughout the month I've been noticing the beginnings of fall. It seems early this year.

Summer's my season and although autumn can be beautiful its arrival always makes me a bit melancholy.