Take Joy!

Dear Diary,

Years and years ago I read this quote from Fra Giovanni:

The gloom of the world is but a shadow.  Behind it, yet within our reach, is joy.  Take Joy!

I was cleaning out some old video tapes and found this one about Tasha Tudor. There was also one, Take Peace, about Christmas with Tasha.  They elicited all sorts of memories.  First and foremost is that wonderful quote, an idea that I try to live personally, and then it was the memory of Christmas in July, a New England tradition.  It was so named because women who had to make all the Christmas presents for their family had to begin in July so they could finish by December 25th.

Then there's Tasha Tudor herself.  She was one of my favorite illustrators and a New England native.  She died in 2008 at the age of 92.  Her beautiful farm is open to the public now on certain days of the year.  I really must try to see it some time.  It is in Vermont.

That got me thinking of another beloved illustrator whose house I did visit on my trip to England in 1990...Beatrix Potter, who lived in Near Sawrey in the Lake District.  You see how my mind works?  I think I will watch the video tonight and remember my grandmother beginning her red mittens each July which she made for every child in the extended family each year.  Good memories one and all.