Frissons of Joy

  

Any one who knows me, knows I'm neither a shopper or materialistic. However, that doesn't mean I don't like beautiful things. There are things I own that give me great pleasure for myriad reasons.

Here's three.

 I came across this piece of furniture on the sidewalk of an antique store. I loved the color and the design. I also LOVED the fact it wasn't mass produced. I know nothing about the person that painted it, but I imagine him/her (gender depends on the day) mixing his/her paints. I can almost taste the fruit.

If I walk by it 20 times a day I get a frisson of joy at least half of the time. 

I discovered this hand-carved, hand-made desk in a depot-vente. The man who made it lives a village away, but we never did find out his name. Again, I imagine him with tools. I can almost imagine the smell of wood. Sometimes I like to imagine the conversation the figures are having. 

At one point I thought of painting it in realistic colors, but decided that would ruin it. 

There is a place in Elne where we found most of our furniture. Much of it was used and restored. Not only did we save money, it was giving people work. 

Rick spied this coffee table. The tiles remind me of a restaurant in the Alps where I ate several times. They had a wonderful wild herb salad, fondue and an atmosphere one would imagine the Alps to have.

When we eat on the table, there's another frisson of joy when we clear a dish or cup and see the stream, a cow, the pines.

I love my home. I love being at home. My treasures may not be expensive. They definitely have NO BRANDS no STATUS value. What they have is the ability to make me feel totally at home, totally happy. 

It helps my goal of being content with the simple and reveling for all the good things in my life.