Tag Archives: Mason jar

My Joy Jar

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The things that made me smile this week are:

  1. getting my finished 50 for 50 book
  2. having a cat sitting on my lap
  3. seeing the creative expressions of the candy class participants
  4. looking at the card from Waffle and Carole
  5. installing Adobe CS 6
  6. cleaner air and warmer temperatures
  7. Bill finding the Christmas Card from Waffle
  8. Zodiac standing at the top of the stairs on my blanket
  9. the way zodiac runs through the snow, tucking his legs under and sort of pogo sticking around the yard
  10. being an animal sandwich (taking a nap between Zodiac and our cat)
  11. Zodiac playing hide n’ seek under the blanket
  12. thinking of getting a new puppy next week
  13. the way zodiac looks to me for a kibble when he resists jump on someone who walks by
  14. the toddler walking down the hall at the clinic
  15. the email with photos from Carrie and Casey
  16. getting Adobe CS 6 Premium
  17. photos of Waffle in her new home
  18. sharing the fun of candy as an art medium
  19. the hope of getting someone help for their challenges
  20. talking a walk in the “warm” weather with Zodiac
  21. Yakira in phase #7
  22. hot and crusty sourdough bread
  23. snow
  24. a female yellow lab with a “D” name coming next week

My Joy Jar

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I had so much fun doing something every week last year for my 50th birthday that I decided I wanted to something this year but of a different sort. I think the seed got planted when I was doing research for Gift Idea #49 – Memory Jar. One of the ideas was to put slips of paper in a jar as things you want to remember happen each day. The next piece came when I was listening to a talk by Dieter Uchtdorf called “Of Regrets and Resolutions”  One of the things he suggests we decide our own happiness. And I believe he is right. I think these two ideas combined somewhere in my brain and the “Joy Jar” was born.

I took an old canning jar that I really like and added some ribbon and tags in the happy color, yellow. I also collected a bunch of yellow tags and pieces of card stock to write my joyful moments on. My plan is to post a list of my Joy Jar moments each week (hopefully on Saturdays) for the rest of the year. So here goes my first list:

  • bright sunshine
  • Yakira is in phase 6
  • seeing Zodaic and Kai romping through the snow in the backyard
  • Bill and Zodiac playing
  • taste of good ice cream
  • how good heat feels after being outside on a cold day
  • eating pomelo
  • Zodiac’s cute little face
  • 99 countries visited my blog in 2012
  • a brand new year (2013)
  • eating Lindor chocolates
  • visual image of Lotus (a puppy in training) wearing ankle socks in pink and yellow because his raiser thinks his feet are cold
  • Zodiac’s joy
  • aurora borealis
  • thinking of our trip to Alaska
  • homemade pizza
  • being back inside our warm house
  • cuddling with our cat, Gandy
  • Tillamook yogurt for $.59 each
  • seeing Zodiac and Gandy looking out the window together, Gandy in his tower and Zodiac with his front feet on the bottom part of the tower and his body underneath.

I had fun doing this. I’m looking forward to the coming weeks. What has brought you joy this past week?

 

 

 

Gift Idea #49 – Memory Jar

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idea numbers49The idea behind a memory jar is to gather little things that remind you of a person or an event. There are so many ways to put together a memory jar but they fall into two basic categories or a combination of both. You can put stuff inside the jar or you can decorate the outside of the jar. Most jars are both with decorative elements on the outside put on in such a way that you can still see what is on the inside. But there are memory jars that cover the entire jar with trinkets and odds and ends. A memory jar could also just have slips of paper with short memories written on them.

I like the idea of mostly putting things in a sturdy wide-mouth jar with minimal decoration on the outside. I think a memory jar would be a great way to share some of the little odds and ends that we collect over a lifetime but no one knows what to do with after we are gone. You could also put together a memory jar for a more distant ancestor with items that are symbolic of the person if you don’t have anything that was actually theirs.

How To Make a Memory Jar

Vacation Memory Jar

Save memories on a Jar – Not in it

Memory Jars or Jugs