It’s Friday . . . c’mon in and share your pieces-of-happy and other good stuff you noticed this week! Times are weird. It’s helpful to remind each other that life is good. Even when there are dumpsters burning all around us.
As for me . . .
I have a few pieces-of-happy to share this week.
First, despite the fact that I told you yesterday that Tom and I don’t make a big deal out of Valentine’s Day . . . we usually do something to mark the day. This year we made chicken enchiladas together. We both love enchiladas, and they’re not all that hard to make. . . but it does take time, advance planning, and a lot of steps all coming together at the same time. So we’ve come up with a foolproof way to make them as a team. It’s fun. Super tasty. AND . . . we get a lot of leftovers out of it!
Next, Those Leftovers themselves! We got 3 full dinners out of our enchiladas and Spanish rice. Not only was it super tasty . . . but ANY day I don’t have to figure out what’s-for-dinner is a GOOD day in my book!
Then, the weather is giving . . . Spring. It’s giving . . . Hope. I can slog through my boggy garden right now and see the beginning of buds on my trees. I can see grass (even though it’s really dead-ish and mashed from the weight of months of snow). I see . . . gasp! . . . hellebore buds. I know this warm spell won’t last – there is snow in the forecast for the weekend after all, but it sure does bring a burst of joy while it’s here.
And . . . I watched The Singers on Netflix. Twice. (So far.) The Singers is “a genre-bending film adaptation of a 19th-century short story written by Ivan Turgenev, in which a lowly pub full of downtrodden men connect unexpectedly through an impromptu sing-off.” It has been nominated for an Oscar in the Short Films Live Action category . . . and it is delightful. 18 minutes of TV-worth-watching filled with joy and surprise.
And, finally . . . watching Alysa Liu skate with absolute joy and abandon. Just. . . WOW. If you want to watch her gold medal winning skate (over and over like I have), here’s the YouTube link.
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How about YOU?
What have you noticed this week that made you feel good? What pieces-of-happy showed up in your life? Where did you find joy?
Despite all the ugly stuff happening around us, we DO have good things happening in our lives.
So . . . join me for Happy Hour!
Let’s share the good stuff here in the comments!
Happy Hour will remain open all weekend, so come back and see what others have shared.
My happy hour contributions are:
1. Bird song! The warm days has all the birds twittering about. Joining us this week were a flock of robins, white throated sparrows, finches (whose summer colors have not yet emerged), red winged black birds, cardinals, blue jays, and of course the great horned owls continue their dawn & dusk chorus.
2. Tuesday marked the halfway point of my radiation tx. Counting down the days to March 3rd when I ring the bell.
Congratulations, Valerie! You are almost there, and I wish you the very best.
Sending all good wishes to you, for the remaining half of tx and beyond.
Now that’s what I call a Valentine’s Day! BTW, I would love your recipes for both of these dishes if you are willing to share them. I actually worked with a lawyer who’s husband refused to eat leftovers. I told her it was grounds for divorce, in my book – LOL. I did not see the free skate program, and I thank you very much for sharing her abandon and joy. Yesterday we tied the temp record, it was 76, sunny, and balmy. Boomer and I had a great day sitting on the porch, taking a walk, just enjoying nature and each other’s company. My camellia is beginning to bloom, the birds are singing, and it was truly a gift of a day. This weekend will be frigid, but yesterday really was a lovely reminder of spring to come.
My household is an enchilada loving household as well! Yum! My good things this week… an unexpected letter from a friend! Another vote for The Singers, which I have watched just once, but I have not stopped thinking about it! And finally… sprouting THINGS!! Snowdrops and daffodils have cropped up in my back yard… no snowdrop blooms yet, but there are green sprouts!
As I type this morning, I can actually see some of our grass! Yes, the snow has retreated and shrunk some. And yes, more is expected (possibly up to 10″???) this weekend (the forecast continually changes). I have not seen him again, but Fletch is seeing “our” raccoon each evening. He says this coon is the furriest he has ever seen! My other happy things: a great check up with my dermatologist (no spots to remove) and a quite blissful massage.
Most of you may have a hard time appreciating this, but my joy was to wake up this morning to snow! Just a dusting (in fact, the roads and sidewalks are clear – only the grass and rooftops, trees, etc are frosted). Here in the desert (technically shrub/steppe) we can have winters with no snow. But here we are at 7 am, it’s 28 degrees out there, and we’ll have snow — till about 10 o’clock, when it warms up enough to melt it all.
And watching Alysa Liu skate (we watched last night just before bed, so at least Chuck knew she’d already won) was a heart-lifter.
Also, I love coming on Friday mornings to see everyone else’s happy – so it turns out, this practice, here, is bringing me some happy. Glad to read about raccoons, good health reports, snow melting, and bird songs. Hang in there Valerie, half-way is a good milestone.
This week’s joy … Snow (finally), the Olympics, and today’s SCOTUS decision!
I’m happy that I got Justin & Jess to the airport this morning after a hair-raising trip (traffic, weather, and accidents) and that they made their flight. I’m also glad that I get to check on their cats this weekend. I plan on lots of fluffy kitty snuggles! In other good news this week, we fixed everything that was broken at Ryan’s house (shower, microwave, and garbage disposal). I’m knocking on wood as I type this that they all stay fixed.
I’ve got a blooming amaryllis! This bad girl has taken WEEKS to finally come to life. Looks like a second bloom is just around the corner. I also greeted sixxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx sevennnnnnnnnnnn (IYKYK) in good health and received lots of love. That is some happy hour right there. Happy Belated to Brian. 🙂
1- I took my daughter skiing for the first time, and we were about to leave before we got going because the bunny hill didn’t have any snow. One of the three other people on the slope (singular, one slope total!) had grown up on a ski resort in California, and offered to help my daughter down the hill so she could get a taste of the fun of skiing. Susie saved the day!
2- Deeply discounted delights- Valentines potted tulips at WalMart, and bulk cheese, “Dorito chips”, m&m’s and peanut butter at the local Amish variety store.
3- Aconites blooming in my mom’s garden!
It has been a good week, and love seeing all the other happy happenings!
My husband loves to eat enchiladas but that’s about the end of it. Congratulations for convincing Tom! Since I, too, have been immersed in the Olympics there was little time for anything other than Alysa Liu’s triumphant, bubbly gold medal skate. She was fantastic. But I did have an unexpected joy when I walked into a yarn store to investigate yarn for a certain project, came up with nothing, then turned around randomly and clapped my eyes on the exact color and recommended yarn for another project. The color was not easy to find either – a lively blue. There was only one ball left. and that’s all I needed. Still waiting for our amaryllis to burst forth. Maybe it’ll be next week’s happy.
1. Steve did 50 lbs. on the leg extension machine yesterday (7 reps). When he started PT he could not use his right leg at all to life ANY weight. Progress! His MRI showed that all of the nerves in his thigh were dead. His electrical stimulation test showed he is forming new ones! That is VERY good news.
2. My happy is much smaller. I bought a new book to read. LOL
Dee
Yum, that looks and sounds like a delicious meal (or should I say meals?)! Cooking with someone else is always a joy in my book. I got such joy, too, from watching Alysa Liu. I was thrilled that she won, but more than that I loved seeing how much fun she was having and was so touched by how supportive she was of the other skaters, especially the 17-year-old who won the bronze. And I was so excited that the women’s hockey team won! More locally, we’ve had two days that have been warm enough that I’ve been able to walk the dog without a coat, and nearly all the snow and ice from the big storm has finally melted. (Yes, we’re supposed to get more snow tomorrow, but I’m hoping the ground is now too warm for it to stick much or stick around.)
We got snow! Not much in the valley (1-5″) but in the mountains they got 48+! Yesterday was so cold and windy we never left our house (you’ve had much worse conditions) and the birds didn’t even come to the feeder (where do they go?) but today is so sunny and so beautiful and slightly warmer. I’m watching the birds once again. Your enchiladas look SO tasty!
Any time a husband helps cook dinner is a good time and worthy of a happy hour. Leftovers are even better. Thursday brought seven inches of snow – finally. To celebrate I made a favorite cookie recipe, Chocolate Sugar cookies. Half of the cookies are in the freezer which is almost but not quite as nice as leftover enchiladas.
I’m late to Happy Hour and technically this happened AFTER it should have, but the most joy I got last week was seeing my godson get married. He has struggled with addiction and is in such a good and happy place now and I love this for him and I’m so proud to have been there. I WAS feeling hopeful about spring and now . . . not so much. LOL