No, I’m not planning to leap from any of these high places.

First of all, they’re in France, and I’m not. Second, I’m not a big leap-from-scary-heights kind of person, with or without a bungee or parachute. But it’s a leap year, hence this month’s theme. Mostly I’ve been leaping into the endlessly [choose your own adjective] world of home repairs. It did feel like a leap into the unknown at first, but I’ve had some excellent help and/or advice from various friends. Thank you!

As a result, the mysterious goo dripping from my ceiling — since THANKSGIVING! — has finally been correctly diagnosed and repaired–WOO-HOO! That was maddening, but it’s done (-ish) now. Eventually I’ll find someone to repair the hole in my ceiling after I’m sure all is well and dry.

I won’t bore you with the rest of the task list, but plenty has been happening here, so I’m finding my fun where I can. Since my house needed to be repainted, I’m changing the color. Yay! I also decided to replace the front lights to something reminiscent of France, basically a simplified version of these.

Here’s before and after:

Before

After

The exterior is only about half done, but I love the new look so much, I keep going outside to admire it. No literal leaping for joy so far, but inside? I’m definitely leaping.

I heard a wonderful Frederick Buechner quote this morning :  Joy is a mystery because it can happen anywhere, anytime, even under the most unpromising circumstances, even in the midst of suffering, with tears in its eyes. 

Many of you know the truth of this from personal experience. So today I am holding you in my heart. I am grateful to all of you who read these ramblings and/or enrich my life in uncountable ways. Whatever your days bring, I pray they also include moments of surprising, shining joy (leaping optional).