J is one of my favourite letters of the alphabet. It makes me think of joy, jubilation, jesters and jazz. One of my favourite words is ‘just’; I’m always just doing something, will be there in just a minute, or am just having a bit of a think, which is code for daydreaming. When I was younger – much, much younger – I had a pair of white sneakers with bright jelly beans on them. Not sure why, it was just a thing. Here are some things beginning with J that I’ve spotted recently.

Along with an eye for fine china, shared with my Mum, I like little jugs. They are handy for holding milk for tea, a small posy of flowers or water for an oil burner.

I’ve kept a journal on and off for years. I tended to write when travelling or when there were big issues in my life that I needed to digest and understand, or if I wanted to remember something that seemed significant. For nearly 3 years I’ve been keeping a daily journal as part of the morning pages routine, and this is some of the stack of journals I’ve filled with my daily scrawl. The pages are full of the mundane and extraordinary, and when I flick back through them there is usually something to smile at, ideas that I wanted to flesh out or times when I’m having a rant and getting it out of my system. They are the repository of little stories and observations and help me to connect with my writing life each and every day.

I spotted this at Vinnie’s and brought it home although I haven’t had a go at it yet. I like the description of ‘over 425 pieces’ – it makes me wonder how many pieces there are in the box! Puzzles, like other board games, knitting or sewing, offer me the chance to do something whilst, well, puzzling over other things. If I’m trying to solve a bigger problem, doing one of these other activities seems to free up part of my mind to get to work. There is a great book on puzzles, life and creativity in general – The Pattern in the Carpet by Margaret Drabble. You can read a review of it here.

K might present more of a challenge. Some of my favourite spies so far have been the fish plate and the emus. Fellow alphabet spy Autumn’s posts can be found here.