things that make me happy – Page 2

May 1, 2020 Michelle Uncategorized

Things That Make Me Happy #10

Yesterday morning I went grocery shopping again, a task I have come to dread. It wasn’t too bad. I went immediately after the special hour set aside for people over 60 (and those with compromised immune systems), so the store wasn’t crowded. I didn’t have to wait in line to check out. Every single person I saw wore a face mask. People kept a safe distance.

However.

Keeping a safe distance in cramped grocery aisles requires taking many about-faces and doubling-back-laters when the aisle will hopefully be empty. When I was in the Air Force working with fighter pilots, I remember the term “SA” or “situational awareness.” In the air, pilots must have constant awareness of everything going on around them – similar to what a good driver has on the road, but taken to a much higher level (as the pilots are moving about 1,500 miles per hour faster than your typical car driver). The intense focus required is exhausting. I can now relate.

By the time I had placed all my items on the conveyer belt to be checked out, I finally felt able to relax slightly. I casually looked at all the impulse-buy items strategically placed around the check-out line, and saw something I just had to have.

I love having cut flowers in the house. I can’t believe I’ve gotten to my tenth “Things That Make Me Happy” post and I’m just now mentioning cut flowers. For a while we constantly had fresh flowers in our kitchen, but we have slacked off a bit in recent months. I’ve missed them especially in these last few weeks. They do make me happy.

It’s been a long, tiring week. I will write more about that tomorrow, but in the meantime I hope you enjoy these flowers.

Love,

Michelle xoxo

April 24, 2020 Michelle Uncategorized

Things That Make Me Happy #9

One of my first “Things That Make Me Happy” posts was about how much I enjoy seeing wildlife around the neighborhood, especially less common animals like foxes and opossums. Now, robins are pretty much ubiquitous – you can’t walk very far in this neighborhood without seeing one bob-bob-bobbing along beside you. But yesterday afternoon when Sam and I were walking out the front door to go for a walk, he opened the door and abruptly closed it again. He said that a bird had been sitting on our wreath and flew away.

Sure enough, when we carefully opened the door again and looked at the door, we saw this:

And when we carefully took a photo of the inside of the nest, we saw this:

And when I looked at the door this morning I saw this:

So, we’re no longer using the front door – we’ll come and go through the garage door – until the mother robin no longer needs her nest. Pretty soon I’m sure we’ll hear the high pitched peeps of four little hungry mouths.

And that makes me happy.

Have a wonderful weekend, friends. I’ll see you back here on Monday. xoxo

April 17, 2020 Michelle Uncategorized

Things That Make Me Happy #8

I grew up without significant pets – we had a couple of parakeets over the years, as well as gerbils. And, oh yes, we also had a fish tank at one point. My mom, having given birth to seven hard-to-manage, messy, wiggly creatures, did not want anything else underfoot. I was allergic to cats anyway, and although I thought having a dog would be great, I can’t say that I pined away for one.

That changed when I moved, by myself (at the age of 22!), 2,600 miles away from my family to serve in the Air Force. I found Tobie, a little black cocker spaniel, and she helped me navigate life so far from home. Then Ernie, a black and white cocker, joined the family. It occurred to me a while back that I’ve spent nearly my entire adult life sharing that life with dogs. After Tobie and Ernie came Skyler, a black lab mix. Skyler died a little over two years ago, and since then I’ve been without an animal companion. I have mixed feelings about this. Certainly there is a lot of responsibility and a certain amount of mess associated with pets, but I sorely miss the companionship and unconditional love that flows in both directions between human and animal companions. Someday I hope to have a dog in my life again.

In the meantime, I get a lot of pleasure observing other people’s dogs. It’s a wistful pastime, for sure, but watching dogs and their humans walking together and interacting does bring my joy. And I’ve found something else that brings me joy, something I never considered before. Cats! My sister has a cat, Oscar, who is a character and a half. In my nightly talks with my mother, Oscar is frequently mentioned. Although my mom adores Oscar, he’s still, you know, an animal. She will pet him, she will praise him, feed him, let him in and let him out, but that’s where it ends. There will be no lap sitting, no jumping up on beds. Her relationship with Oscar makes me smile, and it makes me happy that she now knows the joy that having a pet can bring.

Have a wonderful weekend, friends. xoxo

A blurry Oscar – he’s always on the move

A neighborhood friend who often accompanies me for short distances on my walks

April 10, 2020 Michelle Uncategorized

Things That Make Me Happy #7

I’ve mentioned here before that I’ve been working on jigsaw puzzles during this time of staying at home and avoiding getting infected with COVID-19. There’s something very meditative about the process – sorting out the edge pieces and laying them in place; sorting out the different colors; the satisfying feeling of setting the right piece in the right place; starting with a big messy pile of pieces and little by little bringing order to them. Apparently I’m not alone in feeling this way, because puzzle manufacturers around the world are reporting a huge surge in sales during this pandemic. This article in the New York Times talks about the sudden rise in demand for jigsaw puzzles and shows how they are made (another thing that makes this nerd happy: seeing how things are made).

My parents used to make jigsaw puzzles together. When I would visit them, I loved chipping in, helping with whatever puzzle they were working on. It was a bonding experience. Now my mom makes puzzles with my sister, with whom she lives. Her puzzles have fewer pieces these days, but the enjoyment, the satisfaction of completion, is the same. When we talk each night we often inquire about each other’s puzzle progress. Even 600 miles apart, puzzles are still bonding us.

And that makes me happy. xoxo

This was a fun one to make with Sam over Christmas Break.

This one was missing a piece (Freddy Mercury’s head, darn it!) – can you see where the piece is missing?

As you can probably tell by now, Sam and I aren’t much into mountain vista, Bavarian castle, or hot air balloon shots.

This was the first New Yorker cover puzzle Sam and I made – and now I’m hooked on them.

Just started this one yesterday – it still looks like a mess, so here’s what it will look like when finished.

April 3, 2020 Michelle Uncategorized

Things That Make Me Happy #6

If you’ve read any of my other posts it will come as no surprise to you that the beauty of nature makes me happy and I seek it out as often as I can. Usually I do this by going out for walks in the neighborhood or in the many public parks and trails around here, but I also have gotten many hours of enjoyment just looking at the bird feeder outside of one of our kitchen windows. I’ve been known to spend a good twenty minutes just sitting and staring at the feeder during lunch breaks (back when I worked in an office and came home for lunch – about a million years ago, it seems). I consider watching the birds to be one of my favorite kinds of meditation – I can just feel the stress melting away.

Now, let’s talk squirrels. I don’t mind when the squirrels eat whatever falls to the ground, but when they climb up on the feeder, setting it wildly swinging, knocking huge amounts of seed to the ground and generally making a mess, it pisses me off. I know there are squirrel-proof feeders out there, and one day we will most likely get one. But for now I guess I will continue to bang loudly on the window to scare them off (until they come back two minutes later). Maybe all that banging is good for me, too – a way to vent my coronavirus-induced frustrations instead of being grumpy with my loved ones. Maybe. I do love squirrels – just not at the bird feeder.

The weather is glorious today. I’ve already been out on three walks and will be out for a couple more before the day is over. We are making pizza for dinner tonight, something we haven’t done in easily more than a year. I hope you have a great weekend. I’m sure I’ll be back here at least once before Monday.

Michelle xoxo

I’ve counted as many as five birds at the feeder at one time.

“We are NOT pigeons (although scientifically there is no difference between us and pigeons)! We are mourning doves!”

Ahem. I’ll just put this here with no comment. Although, REALLY. I think he can easily lay off the seeds for a few days with no ill effects. That’s all I’m gonna say.

March 6, 2020March 6, 2020 Michelle Uncategorized

Things That Make Me Happy #2

I love when nature reminds me that I’m sharing the neighborhood with more than the expected assortment of humans, dogs, cats, squirrels, chipmunks, and birds. These moments fill me with joy.

Take the photo above. I was on my usual before-work walk through the neighborhood one day last spring when I heard a strange noise. It sounded sort of like a baby crying. I looked up to see a fawn being chased by a fox across a neighbor’s front yard. When the fawn and fox saw me, they both froze and eyed me warily. I loudly shooed the fox away (although he didn’t immediately go, bold fellow that he was). That left the fawn standing in the middle of the street, seemingly not knowing what to do next. The fawn eventually scampered into another neighbor’s yard, leaving me behind with an enormous smile on my face. Our neighborhood is small enough that I knew mama and baby would be reunited soon.

We don’t live in a rural area, but there are woods and forests close enough that we see a certain amount of wildlife. Deer are fairly common. Foxes are less common, but have become a more frequent sight in the last year or two. We’ve seen wild turkeys in our backyard, and one time Sam and I were walking in the little park down the street and happened upon a single wild turkey walking alone (which is unusual since they seem to always travel in groups). This week my husband Chris looked out at our back yard and said, “What’s that?” It was a coyote.

One evening last year Sam and I were going to our favorite sunset-watching spot (the same spot shown in yesterday’s photos). We had misjudged the timing and arrived after the sun had slid below the horizon and all the other sunset watchers had left. It was on the edge of dusk and dark, and as we arrived at the overlook we saw an enormous owl perched right on the edge of the stone ledges. I’m sure it sensed our presence and took flight over the valley as we watched in awe.

One summer night a year or so ago, I was sitting on the bench in our back yard and some movement caught my eye. It was an old opossum with a crooked tail slowly ambling across the yard. I think his name was Bert. I invited him over for a drink, but it was past his bedtime (yes, I know opossums are nocturnal, but work with me here, I’m being whimsical).

Have a wonderful weekend! I will see you back here on Monday.

February 28, 2020 Michelle Uncategorized

Things That Make Me Happy #1

On Fridays I will post about something that makes me happy. Maybe if you are reading this post you will share something that makes you happy, too!

The photo above is of my bedside table. Full disclosure – if the photo was of the entire table top you would see a tub of decidedly un-photogenic moisturizer, two or three books stacked precariously, and a crumpled up tissue from last night. When I started this blog, I wanted to steer clear of giving the (false) impression that I have a perfect life. However, there are little corners of my life that are beautiful and that do give me great pleasure, and I want to share that sense of gratitude with you. I know that within each of our messy lives, there are these corners of joy, and I think it is a good practice to spend some time each day dwelling on these things, and ignoring the metaphorical crumpled tissues of our lives. I decided to leave the Apple Watch charging in the photo for some semblance of reality!

So. The photo above. First of all, my bedside table was made my father, who passed away in 2014. He was a master carpenter and a true artisan. One of his specialties was creating tables using intricate marquetry for the table tops. I treasure this table as a remembrance of my dad’s talent, his hard work, and his love for his family.

On the table is one of three “yoga ladies” that I bought from World Market last year (they came in a set of three, each with a slightly different arm position). I have one in my cubicle at work, and the last one currently resides in the kitchen, but she doesn’t seem very happy there and may be moving to a new location sometime soon. Whenever I look at one of my yoga ladies, a sense of serenity comes upon me. They remind me to take a couple deep breaths and slow down.

The pewter tray on the table was actually the only thing I was going to write about today. It was only after I took a good look at the photo that I realized how much in the photo actually makes me happy as well. I bought the tray in a store called Pierre Deux in Carmel, California probably 25 years ago. Pierre Deux specialized in French Country fabrics and furnishings, including little pewter trinket boxes, trays, and picture frames. About a year ago I started using this tray on my bedside table to hold my earrings and necklace each night. Oh gosh, that necklace in itself makes be happy, but perhaps that will be a post for another Friday. What makes me so happy about this tray is that it gives me a sense of ritual every night as I remove my necklace and earrings in getting ready for bed. Rituals and routines may be boring to some, but I find them very reassuring and comforting. There was a time in my life when the earrings and necklace would have ended up in any number of random places each night (or not removed at all), but I have found that creating this evening ritual makes me happy.

I will be back on Monday. I hope you have a peaceful, relaxing weekend!