Write things that make me happy, daily

The amazing alien-looking sunset (the picture does not do it justice at all)

The kid coming out of the grocery store behind me saying “is the sun supposed to look like that?” :o)

The sudden simultaneous glimpsing the sunset even lower and redder, catching a delicious scent on the air, and seeing a flock of birds whirring low in front of me, which together made me cry out and quiver so happily I almost crashed the bike :-p

Planting more seeds

Writing an email full of love

Good advice that came in the right way at the right time

A three-word email that made more difference than its writer realises

Waking up to sunshine streaming in the window

Purple aquilegia

Kitty cuddles

Hiking, mountains, sunshine, picnicking, exploring, getting lost in the woods, getting found again, alien berries, popping seed pods, a ladybug on my finger, and a caterpillar that looked like a cross between a ferret and an anteater (I found out afterwards it was an elephant hawk-moth caterpillar).

WFITF :D

Gorgeous die-cut handmade paper shapes for cardmaking

Cleaning house. I like the transformation from disaster zone to comfort.

Aloe vera gel for lightly toasted skin

The Just So Stories

Apples straight from the trees in the garden

Organic cherry yoghurt

Picnic lunch on the beach with Big Bro. It was lovely to see him. And we’re so lucky to live so close to the sea.

Sunshine! It makes everything seem better.

Also, not getting toasted even though I forgot to put on sunscreen :-/

D. and my dad helping with the cats so I don’t have to worry about them while I’m away.

The prospect of spending the rest of the week with my beloved.

Seeing my not-so-little-any-more cousin who’s visiting from Australia

The unexpectedly huge attendance and energy at the civil marriage rights march yesterday

Being free to spend a very lazy day today to recover from an intense weekend

Finding the USB extension cable I needed

Prosciutto tortellini with pesto and a glass of wine

A long weekend of really connecting with friends and family, important conversations, successfully negotiating a couple of potential complications, expressing myself with complete honesty, and feeling cared about and valued.

Acknowledging, today, that I’ve had as much thinking and figuring-out as I can handle for the moment, and being able to give my head a break and some processing space.

Meeting my uncle’s toddler and new baby for the first time.

Sunshine and sea air and crashing waves, wide open vistas, hills and mountains, trees and wild flowers. I’ve been some beautiful places in the last few days.

Making progress with plans for my upcoming trip.

My soft grey fleece PJs, perfect for a lazy day.

A lovely evening with Big Bro, spent walking by the sea and climbing the headland and having a good catch-up talk

Icecream that was supposed to be purple but came out ludicrously pink

The way honeysuckle smells even more divine than usual at twilight

Three proper healthy meals today (plus a few of Big Bro’s fries and an icecream at the seaside, but you have to have icecream at the seaside :o) )

Having a shoulder to cry on and being reassured it’s alright

An invitation – and free ticket – to join friends at a fancy gourmet food festival type thingy tomorrow

I had a guilt-free day of doing very little, since I can still hardly move: reading, net-surfing, chatting to friends, cuddling with my kitties, and journalling. I enjoyed the down-time and am now really looking forward to a more active day tomorrow.

My aching body makes me happy in a roundabout kind of way. It hurts, but it means I got a really good workout yesterday, and what I’m actually feeling is my body getting stronger as the muscles heal.

The calypte-style Eton Mess I’m currently eating makes me happy. Fresh strawberries, strawberry yoghurt, and chocolate-chip meringue for extra decadence :o) _{Thanks, calypte!}

Herbal tea makes me happy. I’ve been remembering to drink more of it lately. Healthy and yummy.

I’ve referred to myself as a woman twice in the last 24 hours, without thinking about it. Usually I say “girl”. I’m not quite sure why this makes me happy, but it does. Maybe I’m finally beginning to feel like a grown-up. (That reminds me that the other day, my dad kindly informed me that I was “no longer in the first flush of youth”. That made me feel grown-up in quite the wrong way. But this is a happiness list, so I shan’t be cross about it. :-p )

The prospect of going to bed now in a minute, and waking up tomorrow with less achiness, makes me very happy!

Today started really well. I was up early enough to do a couple little household chores before work, and had time to kick about in the drifts of leaves in the park for a few minutes as I walked in.

Oh, and I got free coffee this morning too, courtesy of a promotion at one of the cafés en route to work. Mocha with cream is a deliciously decadent way to start the day. :o)

It was a good day at work – not too busy, not too quiet, and I got to work on something new and therefore interesting.

My friend’s spiffy new purple shoes made me happy. Envious as all hell, but happy :o)

I love, and I am loved. When other issues threaten to get in the way, just remembering that makes me happy. I’m a very lucky girl.

I’ve just started a new book which is shaping up to be very good indeed, and I’m about to get ready for bed nice and early so I can curl up with it for a while before sleep.

I eventually managed to do something pro-active to try to lift my low mood, and it worked. I mixed up a salt scrub with as many soothing, balancing, uplifting essential oils I could lay hands on (lavender, rose, clary sage, juniper, lemongrass and peppermint, if memory serves – I thought such a hodge-podge would smell strange, and didn’t mind cos it was medicinal rather than for pleasure, but it actually smelled wonderful) and took a long, luxurious shower, complete with face mask and colour conditioner. I felt fantastic afterwards.

The hair colour I used on the spur of the moment isn’t a total disaster, which it easily could have been considering it was one I’d never tried before and I didn’t do the inconspicuous-test thing first :-p I’ll probably re-do it tonight, though, cos it’s not quite the shade I was going for.

There was the most magnificent moon, just a shade off full, and I got to watch it go from soft, pale luminescence against a misty twilight sky to clear, hard silver against black. It was breathtakingly beautiful.