Happy 101

I received this award from my blogging friend, KatieZ, whom I have never met - we feel like good friends nonetheless. All I know about her and her husband, who are busily renovating a marvelous-sounding old stone house and barn in France into a livable home (I'm secretly hoping they will open it as a B&B once they have finished), I have learned through the nearly-daily reading of her blog. She reads mine, too, and often leaves funny comments that make me smile. Plus, she tagged me for award just when I was out of ideas for a new post. Perfect!

Here's the drill with this award - I have to think of 10 things that make me happy and tell you about them. Then, I have to tag 10 other bloggers who make me smile, and lay the award on them. This tagging thing is precarious - sometimes, the tagees are not all that pleased. Me? I'm thrilled, so I'm gonna do it.

10 Happy Things (most won't surprise my regulars) in no particular order:

1. Always at the top of my list is My Beloved. I'm not kidding when I tell you he's a peach, the best man I know and the kindest, sweetest, funniest, goofiest, most adventurous, most loving human being ever to wear pants. I'm nuts about the guy.

2. The new deck. It's a daily pleasure when the sun is shining. We eat out there, we sit and enjoy the sunny days. We read in dappled morning sun and evening shade. Recently, we got the idea to have "movie nights" on the deck through the summer, projecting movies on the side of the house and inviting the neighbors to bring deck chairs, sleeping bags and popcorn.

3. Cora. Every single day since she came to us more than a year ago, she has gotten me out to enjoy a walk and made me smile with her antics.

4. Our Granddaughter. I don't see her nearly often enough, as she lives far away, but her mother sends me pictures frequently and her visits are true highlights of the year. My refrigerator is plastered with her images. I'm in love.

5. Letters, emails and calls from my sister. In recent years, we seem to have put aside our sibling rivalry and gotten closer. It's all good.

6. Potboilers. I just love trashy novels. I do read a variety of books but I have to admit to a special relish for a book with a little mystery, a little danger, a little sex, a lot of romance and the guarantee of a happy ending. Love 'em!

7. California. Being a transplant from another state that wasn't as sunny, as diverse, or as tolerant of individual differences, I have loved my years in California and the marvelous people who have befriended me here, both in person and through the blog. People from other states make slighting comments about California because they are jealous.

8. My local cousins. Jan and Sherry add to my life immeasurably.

9. Fixing stuff myself. I love a trip to the hardware store and a chance to use my power drill. I am fiercely protective of my tool box and become unreasonably angry when it is violated by persons unnamed whom I may love dearly but who sometimes borrow my tools and don't return them exactly where they found them - ahem! Most recently, I installed simple motion-sensitive lights on our porch and carport to discourage car thieves and got a ridiculously smug sense of satisfaction from, basically, putting in four screws.

10. Poking through thrift shops.

Now, on to the tagging. If you follow these links to these blogs, you'll see why they make me happy. What an amazing bunch of characters!

Margaret and Helen
Dancing Morgan Mouse
Mad Meat Genius
Meathenge
Philosophy of Fun
San Francisco Daily Photo
Orangette
Tea and Cookies
I'm Mad and I Eat
and, of course,
Thyme for Cooking