Because I'm happy

Because I'm happy, and because it's Friday and that always makes me feel good, I'm sharing some recent happy things today. I loved the habit of sharing weekly happies last year. I've said this before, but I have enjoyed continuing to pay deliberate, mindful attention to the happy things around me. I really do feel happier when I'm taking notice of all the happy in my life! It has made a big difference for me.

I've been working on end-of-year teacher gifts. Both small Bears' teachers will be given chevron scarves next week. They're the fourth and fifth chevron scarves I've made. I adore this pattern. You could say I'm hooked (groan).

Bet you didn't see this one coming. The GB went fishing for the first time and caught this very big trout in the foreground! The Bear chaperoned her preschool class's trip to a stocked fishing pond. He caught the smaller fish. Then he cooked them for lunch, with butter, lemon and dill inside. They were delicious and she was so proud of herself!

Did you know Scotch brand is making washi tape now? I didn't know. I came across it at Target, while schmoozing around in the stationery department. These pretties came home with me.

This week, I stripped all the beds down to the mattresses and washed every last bit of bedding. I love having all the beds freshly changed. For that brief moment, I feel very accomplished. I put my new-to-me vintage pillowcases on our pillows. They're bright and cheerful and so soft.

This book finally came in on hold for me at the library. It's excellent. I've loved Anna Quindlen's writing since I was a teenager with a school-rate subscription to Newsweek. I took this book with me to lunch last Friday, my last Friday alone for this school year, and ate a BLT on rye toast. I read even more voraciously than I ate.

I brought in my first bouquet of roses from the backyard. They're fairly wild and only minimally tended, and they don't have much scent at all, but I bring them in all summer because I grew them myself, and because they're so simple and undemanding, perfectly at home in an old jam jar.

Nigella Lawson's Pasta Risotto with Peas and Pancetta has become a go-to recipe in my kitchen. I blogged about it almost a year ago, after making it for the first time. I've made it many times since. I think we have it every six weeks or so! Everyone loves it. It's quick and easy and it feels a little fancy for a weeknight dinner.

We made a candle from Babybel cheese wax. Really. One of the small Bears wanted to know if we could use it to make a candle and we thought it sounded like an interesting experiment. We saved a few waxes and molded it around some kitchen twine as a wick, then put the whole thing inside an empty tin can. It burned for about five minutes. Yes, you can make a candle with Babybel cheese wax.

Our courtyard-gate renovation is complete. We still have to finish work on the two other metal grill pieces which surround our courtyard, but the gate is all done. It has a new coat of black paint and a new doorknob and deadbolt. The Bear even installed a wireless doorbell. This is mostly for peace of mind when I'm home alone, but also to spruce things up. Working on the house can be exhausting but improvements are always a good thing.

That's just some of the happy in my life lately. There have been others too: the bittersweet experience of attending my last-ever preschool musical performance, helping the Bear choose a gift to celebrate fifteen years with his employer (the ice cream maker is looking pretty good to me), watching my son's star turn as a farmer in his class production of Jack and the Beanstalk, hearing that my father, a heart attack survivor, received a clean bill of health at his latest checkup. How about you? What's happy in your life right now? Please join in if you'd like to share some happy moments you've been having. Leave a link for me, I'd love to see!