Sunday, January 10, 2016

'Tis a new year

Yes indeedy, 'tis a brand new year....well not exactly...give or take a couple of weeks, but as I have been lost in action and meandering around the Tassie countryside for a couple of weeks, with my good husband, we'll consider it new...shall we??

A brand new year where the pages of our stories are yet to be written. A year where our illustrations are yet to be painted with God's masterful brushstrokes. A year filled with anticipation, hope and so many possibilities. A year where God is yet to reveal what will be.....will be.

My husband gifted me this little book not so long ago. It is a Little Golden Book where blank pages have been added making it into a journal, where one can jot down one's thoughts. Isn't it sweet? I guess my husband knows I love to write; just a little. =)


When I was a little girl my mum worked for the printing company that printed Little Golden Books. She would always bring these books home for me, knowing I loved books and more than anything in the world, she knew I loved to read. I would escape into a make believe world of stories far more captivating than my wee, small world. Between the pages of a book existed the most loveliest of places to be. Those pages were filled with magic. Those pages were filled with hopes, dreams and oodles of possibilities. They invited you to imaginary and bewitching travel to other lands filled with intoxicating adventures, without ever having to move from your comfy bed, or squashy sofa or perhaps the tree house lodged in an ancient, gnarled tree.

I actually remember this little book when I was little. It is a book speaking to wee children of the many wonders of God.




Mmm....A brand new page in a brand new journal waiting for my first thoughts. There is always something anticipatory about writing the first word, sentence, paragraph, on a fresh page. A fresh, unwritten page holds oodles of promise.


I wonder what thoughts I will pen. I wonder what this year will bring............

I always loved the beginning of a new school year.....new books.....blank pages on which new title pages were created. Loved, loved, loved spending hours creating title pages with my Derwent colour pencils.....such bliss.


Page after lovely page of lovely words and lovely illustrations reminding me of the wonderful wonderment of God.









The written words on the above page, remind me of the theatre of the night sky that we are fortunate to witness, where I live. Quite often, on a clear and moonless night, my husband and I will go outside and look up at the marquee of luminous stars. Here in the country there are no distractions of the city lights. One is dwarfed by the majesty of the shimmering, flickering stars; luminescent in the ink black, ocean-like sky. There are a gazillion of these twinkling lights. The Milky Way shimmers above. The Southern Cross gleams ever so dazzingly. It truly is one of the most spectacular of experiences. Indeed, this awe-inspiring sight never fails to take our breath away. We quite often stand there for ages, mesmerised by the most amazing of God's cathedrals. We feel we are in an auditorium of an opera house witnessing the most theatrical of all shows. If one listens carefully, one can almost hearken symphonious orchestrations and a mellifluous, heavenly chorus! 



This sweet Little Golden Book induces one to reflect upon God. Page after page, inviting one to dwell upon the simple things of life. As I sit in the early hours of the morning with my journal and pen in hand, and of course drinking a cup of tea from a pretty tea cup, it will be a joy to fill the pages within this sweet book with my thoughts, hopes, dreams and dare I whisper it.....wishes.

Before I disappear I would like to show you another book I bought a few weeks ago. It is titled "Everything I need to Know I Learned From a Little Golden Book". It is written by Diane Muldrow and it is on the New York Times Bestseller list.




This brilliant book is a cheery and happy trip down memory lane. It takes us all on a heart warming trip revisiting those characters we all loved as children......Tootle the Train, The Saggy Baggy Elephant, Scuffy the Tugboat, The Poky Little Puppy......and so many, many more heartwarming stories. Within the shiny, gold foil spine, is many a fun trip aboard the Nostalgia Express. If indeed, you lovingly owned these wonderful books when you were a wee child, you must, must try to add this delightful book to your collection. I promise you, you will love it!!










Wishing you all the most wonderful week filled with many new possibilities.

As for me, it is a gloriously clear and moonless sky this evening......so I am off to have a front row seat, and partake in a little star gazing! Until the next time........



Linking up with Stephanie's lovely Roses of Inspiration.


36 comments:

  1. Oh...dearest Kim! What a sweet, sweet post this was to read! How I enjoyed your lovely thoughts on this beautiful new year!
    And oh my...I absolutely adore your little golden book and oh! Just think of all the thoughts you can share in this little book...I too love fresh new books, and I saw a gorgeous journal the other day at our local gift shoppe and oh! I do think it would make the perfect new journal for my thoughts this year!
    Thank you for delightful inspiration within this post...I am so delighted to have ''met'' you, dear Kim, and I look forward to stopping by more regularly!
    With all my love!
    Kelly-Anne

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  2. I was so happy to find your new post this morning. I have missed your wonderful words to make me smile, or laugh or cry or be inspired or what ever. Glad you are back. I too loved Golden Books as a child. My all time favorite, not really a "girls" book was The Little Engine that Could. It always inspired me to keep going or trying..............

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  3. Good morning Kim,

    What a delightfully wonderful journal. My children had this book.

    Oh how I love Eloise Wilkin's illustrations; they are absolutely precious! A favorite of mine is one I bought for my daughter when she was like the child in the book with her doll and caring for her new little baby brother: The New Baby (published 1962).

    Yes, the starry night sky is certainly God's treasure. How lovely that you enjoy it regularly with your husband.

    I am so happy that you posted this book. It brought back wonderful memories for me.

    Have a glorious Sunday!
    ♥Hope

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  4. I so loved those books. Amazing to think they use to cost what, a quarter?? I LOVE your journal and off to check out your recommendation as I am a lover of children's books so to see this inspirational guide for adults...how could I resist??? Happy new year during your time of "wonder"...continue to enjoy the journey my friend. :)

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  5. Happy New Year! Thank you for showing us those sweet books. I've never come across them before and the illustrations are gorgeous. I shall keep an eye out. I hope your 2016 will be full of happiness journalling, star gazing, flowers, vintage pretties, and hexies xxx

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  6. I was delighted to see this because I bought my 3 daughters that exact same book when they were young. It is such a sweet introduction to the benevolence of God. We also owned, and frequently read, the Poky Little Puppy! Great memories! I will have to track down these books and make sure my daughters are reading them to the grandchildren!

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    1. It seems to me there are many who enjoyed a Little Golden Book when they were children. There are so many great memories that surround these books, aren't there. 'Tis a delight to have you visit, J. Xx

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  7. What a thoughtful surprise from your husband. I too wonder what you will write on those pages. Enjoy your night sky.

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  8. Happy day to you, sweet Kim. Ahhh, the joy that fills my heart when I visit you :)

    Your new little book is simply precious and I know you shall fill its pages with wondrous delight in 2016.

    May you have a glorious week, dear Kim. Much love and tender hugs to you!

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  9. What an absolutely charming and inspirational post.

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    1. Thank you, Ann. There is much inspiration to be gleaned from within the covers of Little Golden Books. Wishing you a lovely day. Xx

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  10. Little Golden books were a childhood favourite in our home when I was growing up top. I had a copy of the Little Golden Book About God - love the illustrations! So very thoughtful of your husband to gift you this journalling copy.

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  11. Kim, I absolutely adore Little Golden books. I have saved some of my very own for the grandchildren. The pictures and the stories are so innocent. I love the idea of adding blank pages to the books to make a journal. Thank you for sharing with us!

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  12. That is so fun that your mom worked there and brought you home copies . Do you have a lot of your collection? I remember the pokey puppy. I read that too my children. Enjoy those fresh white pages. I'm sure you will pen some beautiful things. Thus year does hold such promise : )

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  13. Oh Kim, I so know what you mean about books! Pure escapism! Only last week I found 3 of my most treasured books in the back of a drawer, sadly too badly worn from.my frequent childhood use to pass on to my own children/granddaughter now, but oh how I loved them. We don't have the golden books here in GB, but if we did I would surely get them for our book loving little treasure. Enjoy your night skies, I will be thinking of you as I 'stargaze'from my window some sleepless night. Lx

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  14. What a gorgeous journal, Kim. I like it that there still people who write their thoughts in a journal instead of tweeting them to the world.
    Amalia
    xo

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  15. I loved those little golden books when I was little and made sure that our boys got to read them too. Both of your Christmas books look so enchanting (your husband really 'gets' you!!).

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  16. That is just such a beautiful book Kim. I have been collecting (trying to) a few Golden Books for my grandson & have not come across that one before. I love the way it can become a little journal with the empty pages to write on. Enjoy your stargazing dear Kim x x x

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  17. We used to have that Little Golden book when I was little too. I remember the illustrations. I have seven younger siblings, and we wore out a lot of Little Golden books!

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  18. Little Golden Books bring back such sweet memories. As the eldest sister of 5, I read them to my little sisters before bed. Then, as a Mother of 4, I once again had the joy of reading these sweetly illustrated treasures. Your journal is especially lovely. Star gazing is a wonderful thing to do, especially with someone special. Right now I am able to see the Big and Little Dippers late in the evening and the beautiful planet Venus in the pre-dawn sky. I hope you get to make a wish on a shooting star! xo Karen

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    1. Little Golden Books seem to hold lovely memories for many people. I will keep a lookout for a shooting star, Karen. Xx

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  19. Oh Kim, what a sweet and thoughtful gift you received from your hubby! I still have some Little Golden books myself. I will look into the new one that you mentioned. Wouldn't both of them make sweet Valentine gifts? Happy New Year blessings to you, sweet friend!

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  20. I found your blog from Stephanie's Roses of Inspiration. Your post certainly brings back memories! I remember this book as well as The Pokey Little Puppy and the Saggy Baggy Elephant! This is such a nice idea to have this book made into a journal. This all reminds me of Bible journaling which I'm just getting into. Enjoyed my visit here.

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    1. How lovely to have you visit, Melanie. It is a delight to 'meet' you. It is a lovely journal, inspiring my thoughts to think upon the wonderment of God. Kim Xx

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  21. i did adore these books as a child...i have never seen one with blank pages. i purchased 2 books from amazon, i am going to try to read again, memory issues have prevented that for many years. i am a tad excited!!

    i read to my 2 boys every night, these books were our go to books when they were really little. seeing these evokes such sweet memories for me!!

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  22. Kim, I remember reading so many of those little golden books when I was a child. Most of them I read at my grandmother's house, she had so many of them. Your notebook is beautiful and I love the calligraphy pen. This is my first time stopping by your blog. I found you via Stephanie's link-up party. I hope to keep up with your lovely blog in the future!

    Dani

    a vapor in the wind

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    1. It is lovely to meet you, Dani....welcome. So happy you stopped by because that means I can now visit 'your place'. Kim Xx

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  23. Oh, how I'd have loved my mother to work for a printing company, taking home some precious books like yours !
    I wonder how many lovely memories you've linked to them ...
    Thank you for another amusing and so beautiful post, my darling Kim,
    may your week be blessed with joy,
    sending love to you
    Dany

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  24. How wonderful to be able to see the night sky like that, we have way too many lights around here and St. Louis is so close the sky is pretty bright from that too.
    Such a sweet surprise from your hubby to give you that book/journal. You know I don't remember having that many books growing up, my mother was not much of a reader, I went through a spell where I read quite a bit but I will have to say the bible is about all I read these days. How wonderful that these books bring back such great memories for you. My husband loves to read and he gave that love of reading to our daughter and she always has something on hand to read.
    Have a great week and year of writing in your journal!

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  25. I am back Kim:
    Just wanted to invite you to share any post for my blog party! Always know you are invited!

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  26. What a delightful post! I had to read it a few times to just let it soak right in. You are a lovely writer. I admire those who write...my daughter is a writer and teaches her craft at a community college. I love to just talk to her about writing. Your little journal is adorable and it must have great meaning to you.
    Happy writing ahead!

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  27. How perfect is that? A little golden book journal!! I didn't know they made such a thing -- but what a perfect gift!

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    1. There are quite few around. All are made from vintage golden books. I seem to love them all! Thank you for visiting...have a lovely day. Kim Xx

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  28. Oh, and I used to have that book! Love it!

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  29. what a wonderful idea! I keep a journal myself and it's very inspiring to start a new year with all those blank pages awaiting the unfolding of the next chapter.

    Blessings to you,
    Tamara

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    1. Penning one's thoughts down in a journal is a delight, isn't it. Thank you for visiting Tamara. Wishing you a lovely day. Kim Xx

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