2024 Happy Blog Challenge Continues

Here are some happy things from this Friday with flurries: As I write this, I have decided that I need sleep more than I need the money and I am not going to volunteer for a shift tonight. Instead of sleeping this afternoon, I watched this season's last episode of The Rings of Power . Had I slept, I could have gone in for a few hours. I'm happy to stay home instead. All year I have been getting email reminders to get a new pair of work shoes. The company pretty much pays for one pair of shoes if we buy them through Zappos and don't spend too much. I don't remember the allotment amount. Today I finally ordered a pair to replace my current ones. They should be delivered right after Christmas. While I was sitting watching things this afternoon, I heard what sounded like a plow go by. I was surprised to see that it was, in fact, a plow going by and it was snowing. I knew it was supposed to snow, I just hadn't noticed it. Later, when I went outside there was ma...

Here are some happy things from today: It is Tuesday so I am back to work. There was a fresh layer of snow on my car to be cleaned off before I could go to work. What little light there was turned the landscape into a glowing wonderland. Work went mostly well. The night went by fairly quickly and I was doing things I like. When I got home, the trees were still snow covered and picturesque. Bel installed a new dishwasher! ☮ Continued listening to: Daindreth's Traiter , by Elisabeth Wheatley. Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Here are some things that brought me some happiness today: There was a small amount of snow last night. It wasn't too much, but enough to shovel. The temperatures were above freezing so the snow spent most of the day melting. I'm liking my new shovel, Snow Joe Shovelution. The small extra handle makes it easier to toss the snow and I bend down less. There were some tracks in the snow left by a deer. The deer had a hard time getting up the driveway in the same area that I did the last time it snowed. I made a list of things to do and did some of everything on the list. In hindsight, there are a few things I should have added, but progress is progress. An email came from my bank today about my credit score. For some reason I checked out the information. There was a place where it said that I was 100% on time with my payments. Well, I am so glad that I looked at that because I forgot to pay my mortgage this month! Seeing that reminded me and I paid it right away. Phew! ...

Here are some happy things from the day of the season's first shovel worthy snowfall: This was the first time I believe I have driven my car in the snow.  It isn't super, but I made it to work with no major incidents and cautious driving.  Yay, safety! Speaking of safety, we had a Safety Committee meeting at work.  The Senior Station Manager talked with us about some of our concerns.  He always seems to be willing to listen.  Many times he acts swiftly to our concerns.  Sometimes there is nothing to be done, of course.  One of our goals for this year was to cut the amount of injuries.  So far, we have reached that.  That is really good news. The snow had ended by the time I left work so the drive home was normal.  My car didn’t make it all the way into the unplowed driveway.  I got to try out my new Snow Joe shovel.  I think it is going to take some getting used to.  I was able to get some of the driveway shoveled and get ...

Today we had the first snow (flurries) of the season.  Here are some happy things from today: Work sometimes offers up gifts for good performance.   This morning I had an email with gift options to choose from.  Considering the snow flurries this morning and how that and the cold sent me back under the covers, I chose a snow shovel.  Not just any snow shovel, but a Snow Joe Shovelution.  I watched some YouTube videos about it and decided that it is worth a shot.  Hopefully I won't need it often this winter.   There really were flurries, just not enough to see in the picture.  Thankfully, the weather cleared.  With temperatures close to 50 degrees and a bright sunny sky, Amy and I went for a walk.  We chose the same rail trail as last week.  We went about half of a mile more.  There was a tunnel, more ponds, and we found a parking lot that we can use if we want to explore farther down the rail trail.  For Inktober...

Here are some happy things from this lazy Saturday: TF called today and we set goals.  I even got some of them accomplished. It is good to have an accountability friend. A few months ago we had water in the cellar so I purchased a sump pump.  It didn't fit the hole.  By the time I got to exchanging it, the water was gone.  I still needed an extension cord.  Today that step was made toward getting the sump pump hooked up.  Now, the hose to go from the pump to the outside doesn't fit.  Tomorrow I'll try to remedy that problem.   Yesterday the crocuses were snow covered.  Today the snow melted enough that some are visible.  They don't look too bad considering they have been plowed over and salted on. The musical Gideon was in at school had its final performance tonight. Keziah was able to go.  It was great to see her reactions to some of the numbers.  There were some minor prop changes from last night.  Gideon, who playe...

Some happy things from today: This morning I was woken up by a knock on my bedroom door asking if I wanted to join the rest of the family for breakfast.  There was a delayed opening at school today because of the storm we had so there was time.  We shared conversations over a nice meal at a local restaurant.  Last night Zed and Gideon went to a concert and they excitedly told us about the show.  Zed planted a thought about how many ice cream stands along route 3 in New Hampshire there are and suddenly Keziah and I are planning a road trip to try all of them.  It was a fun time. Just before 10:25 this morning, things moved.  There was an earthquake in New Jersey that many people felt in New Hampshire, including me.  From what I can tell, everyone I know in New Jersey is fine. The play Gideon has been staying after school to rehearse for had its debut tonight.  The last show is tomorrow night.  They all did really well.  It was a funny pla...

Somehow I forgot to practice DuoLingo yesterday.  I guess storm anticipation had me distracted.  For the first time in a long time I used the game option of freezing my streak. Here are some happy things from today: The storm did not keep me from work.  At around one in the morning, the roads were in pretty good shape.  I think I must have timed both going to and coming home from work close to when the road crews were out.   Some of the trucks that deliver packages to my job were late.  There was some down time with nothing much to do.  Eventually, busy work was created.  The building was weirdly quiet when we didn't have freight to process.  I'm glad I went, now my work week can be done. After work, the managers and HR went outside and started cleaning off people's cars.  It was a nice way for them to thank us for making the trip in.  At home I tried to sleep, but couldn't.  I did let myself be snowbound for the rest of t...

As I write this I still haven't decided if I will go to work or not tonight.  There is a storm that started as rain, currently sounds like sleet or freezing rain, and is supposed to turn to snow.  I keep hoping work will cancel so I don't have to. Here are some happy things from today: The rain didn't start until after I got home from work.  Zed and Keziah got home from the store safely.  Keziah has already posted that the store will closed tomorrow due to weather. Frozen Droplets on Deck I took a nap this afternoon4 an⁵d slept deeply. Here is a funny story... The four of us were sitting in the living room watching Star Trek Voyager .  Keziah said something that I didn't quite hear.  The show is paused and all three of them get up, spread out, and start looking for the sound of paper being crinkled.  I stay on the couch, listening to the sleet gently tap the windows and wondering what I missed.  Zed comes downstairs and declares that Nanni, our ca...

Happy Sunday!  Here are some of my happy things: The fresh snow was sparkling from the bright sun shining down on it this morning.  Clean, white snow always looks pretty to me.  The trees were heavy, sparkling with ice.  This meant that people lost power.  I hope repairs happen quickly.   I took some time and went through some of the mail I have that has been piling up.  Some things need to be filed, but I was able to recycle some, and put some papers in the shred pile.  It was a small step toward downsizing some things.  The best part was finding unopened bills that I had already paid.  Phew! Say, "Bye, bye paper!" A friend has a birthday tomorrow and invited people over for games.  We played Carcassonne, Mysterium, and a Harry Potter game.  It was a fun time!  Driving home the full moon was high and bright, reflecting the snow and ice.   ☮ Currently listening to: Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity ,...

Happy things for Saturday: When I woke up in the early pre-dawn morning, the snow was reflecting all the light it could find.  It was pretty, from the inside of the house.  I went back to sleep. Later in the day the snow turned to rain.  Through the window, it was still pretty outside.  Keziah didn't open the store because of the storm. Today was a day that mostly included resting.  I stayed inside.  Some of the few things I accomplished include making dinner, dishes, laundry, and cleaning out one of my drawers.  I even found a few things that aren't going back into the drawer, yay! Zed went out late in the day and picked up some garlic bread to go with lasagna.  He also went to Crumbl and picked up some cookies.  They were delicious cookies. Dulce de Leche ☮ Currently listening to: Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity , by Peter Attia MD, Bill Gifford (Editor) Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Happy Thursday! Last night, I overslept.  I didn't realize I overslept until this afternoon.  For much of the day, I felt like I just lost an hour somewhere.  When I finally thought to look at my Fitbit app and see what time it thinks I woke up, it pretty much explained everything.  I thought I was on time because I was really only looking at the minutes and not the hours on the clocks.  It was like the clocks went forward, again.  This is one of those weird times that I am happy that work doesn't seem to care.  If being late was normal for me, I'm sure they would start to care.  An occasional 'oops' seems to be alright.  Phew. There was a thin layer of snow covering the ground when I left for work.  With the moon reflecting off the snow, it was quite pretty. Some snow shown with headlights. When I left to get Gideon (my grandson) at school this afternoon I noticed a flower blooming in the front yard.  I forgot to get a picture of i...

Happy Sunday things: For some reason, today is the day that someone decided to introduce the cats to Cat TV.  I'm not sure where Nanni was, but Winston seemed to like it. Winston This morning Gideon and I left for a long drive to go to an event in Vermont.  It was a good thing that the event didn't start until the afternoon, even with their late start time, we were later!  We stopped and picked up some nice crepes for lunch in Montpelier on the way.  The snow, mountains, ice, and all the views were lovely. Waiting for crepes. The event, Mimir's Well, was fairly small, which I like.  It was far enough away that only a couple other people came up from Stonemarche.  There were only a few other people that I knew.  The day was all about taking classes.  Together, Gideon and I got to the last bit of Acid-etching on Brass.  Then I took a class on Cordage Making and then Making Oil Lamps for Your Camp.  Gideon went to the History of Games class...