You’ve Made Me So Very Happy

I chose you for the one...

My blogger friend, Frugal Mummy, recently posted Ten Things that Made Her Smile. She invited others to join in. Well, it took me forever to write it up, but I thought of ten things, I put in alphabetical order, that make me happy. I thought it would be very difficult. It wasn't as hard as I thought after I got started.  

Lighting candles make me feel cozy.

I have them for every occasion

Fall is my favorite season. I like it all; the colors, the smells, the chill in the air that warrants a sweater but not a jacket.  

From our Vermont trip a few years ago

Flowers remind me of my grandmother. I could never have a flower garden like she did. I don’t like to get my hands dirty! I plant things in my pots on the deck and celebrate my single blooms!

My cute little zinnia I grew from seed. Then the cat used the container for his bathroom. :(

I like food. I like to cook it. I like to eat it. I like to try new things but fall back on my comfort foods for…well, comfort!  

We are one of those weird families who take pictures of their food and put it on Facebook!

Music keeps me company. I know a lot of the lyrics to both country and rock songs and I sing with the radio in my car. I hum along in my office. I’m really quite good!

Anything goes. Well, except Rap. And maybe classical. I like things with words...that I can understand.

I recently moved to a corner office. Doesn’t that sound impressive? It’s not, believe me! It’s at the intersection of two halls. But the best thing about it is that it has a door! And that makes me happy.  

Is it pessimistic to look at the door as half closed most of the time?

Old tv shows and movies are entertaining and I enjoy watching them. They aren’t violent and scary, like the programs today, even when there’s a murder.

Give me Jessica Fletcher, Perry Mason and Andy Griffith anytime!

A quilt on the top of a bed makes me feel welcome and reminds me of summers spent with my grandparents.

Old quilts, hand quilted.

The Littles have the best hugs and kisses! They love me unconditionally. They truly think I’m great! They make me smile. I know as they grow up and get busy I won’t be in the spotlight. So I’ll enjoy it now, while it lasts!

One of my favorite old pictures. This was when Belle was born. But they are still glad to see me!

I have more yarn than I can ever use. That’s hard to say! In knitting talk it’s called a stash and when you have as much as I have it’s called SABLE. SABLE means Stash Totally Above and Beyond Life Expectancy. My kids will have a heck of a garage sale one of these days.

Just the tip of the iceburg...or is that yarnburg?

Now it’s your turn. Tell me ten things that make you happy. It will make you feel good. And it’s not hard at all. Leave your list in the comments or leave a link to your blog post. That would make me happy!

You’ve Made Me So Very Happy...

Holiday

Before I run far away 

I need to take a holiday.  

Maybe it's a fall from grace, 

I gotta find a new place... 

It was spring break, and because both my husband and I are employed in the field of education, we got a vacation. For the first time, my office actually closed. In the past, I took vacation to be off when my kids were. And for once my husband also had the full week off. Usually, his staff, even though the entire school is closed, is on duty for a few days. This year too, which isn’t always the norm, 80% or so of the state had the same week off for their spring break. The kids are grown and gone but that meant Evan didn’t have to go to school either!

So we loaded the truck, and with a startling resemblance to the Beverly Hillbillies, except for the rocking chair on top, headed out. I know you’re probably thinking I’ve exaggerated when I said we looked like the Beverly Hillbillies. But I assure you, I wasn’t kidding! We were already packed, with me and everything else in the back seat, because it was looking a bit rainy and the truck is, well, a truck, so anything outside might get wet, and an extra passenger. All was snug and we hadn’t yet added two car-seats, at least two more suitcases, assorted necessities, like toys, cookies, pillows, blankets, and of course, three littles. We stopped to gather them and finally, with ‘stuff’ piled in every possible place, everyone strapped in, three in front and three in back, we were really off. It was cozy. Let the break (?) begin!

And they loaded up the truck...

The trip to the mountain house in New Mexico, from our house in Texas, is about 300 miles. It takes about six hours and that’s with very few detours. We only stopped to drop our extra passenger off where everybody refreshed and we were on the road again. The littles are fairly good travelers. You learn to be when you live out here in the middle of nowhere.

I’m not sure what time we got to the house but it was snowing. Not just a little, either. It was really snowing. We unloaded and Alan went down the hill for supplies. One thing about the location of the mountain house; if the weather is bad there’s a really big possibility after going down you won’t be able to get back up the mountain. That is, if you can get down! Slipping and sliding, he made it down and back. I put some soup on and we settled in for the night.

Me in the snow

About 7 inches of snow.

What a view!

Pork 'n Bean soup...recipe on Family Flavorites Tab

The snow was beautiful. There was about 7 inches at the house. We made snow ice-cream the next day. The kids were going to make a snowman but it was really too cold! They went out and looked around then came back in for hot chocolate. I found a blanket, a book, and some knitting, and settled in on the couch! I was reading Mary Higgins Clark, “I’ll Walk Alone”. It deals with identity theft and kept me interested from the start until the end. By late afternoon the roads were clear enough to wander around and the temperature was starting to rise.

Reading and knitting...Mary Higgins Clark...one of my favorite authors.

I had a birthday while we were there. Alan made me a cake. He baked it in a 9x9 square pan. I asked if he knew there was a 9x13 pan. I asked if he followed the high altitude directions. I got a blank stare so I guessed he didn’t! He and the kids took me to eat then we came back to the house for cake. I had a little help with the candles!

The birthday cake!

We had a good time, relaxing and just taking it easy. It’s nice to be away from the everyday stress of life!

Where's the snow?

Where the deer and the antelope play...

A new start 

I've broken too many hearts 

And I don't have any clue where to go 

I don't know 

But maybe I'll be back someday after my holiday 

I saw a cool thing on Pinterest. It was weaving on an old CD. I had a bunch so I gathered some yarn and took some CDs and the littles gave it a try. Evan really liked it. Belle could do it too and chanted, “Over, under, over, under” the whole time. Caleb did about two rounds and he was finished. He’d much rather play dinosaurs! But they turned out cute, don’t you think? Oh, and to show how behind I am...they didn't know what a CD was. It's a DVD Mamye!

Evan weaving...over, under, over, under

The little's projects! Here's more creative ideas!

A holiday.
I'll set off on a new chase.
I gotta see a new face.
I need to take a holiday...