Happiness Challenge - Day 31

 

Today I am happy that I have friends. I have a few very good real-life friends, some casual acquaintances, a wonderful best friend of the female variety, and a wonderful best friend in my husband. I also have a delightfully quirky and caring brother, Facebook friends, pen pal friends, and blogging friends.

And of course, family members in various incarnations of the word "family," some of whom seem to love me and others who merely tolerate me, but they're my family, all the same.

I also have a few imaginary friends, and the friends who live in books, which means of course that my friends are as unlimited as my brain can be.

I am not outgoing by any definition of the word, but I love my people. I love you, my readers, who comment and sometimes offer suggestions and support. I love my friends who call me to check on me. I love my acquaintances who still hug me even if I haven't seen them in four years.

It seems fitting to end the August happiness challenge (thank you, Gal), on a note of love.

***

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

This meme comes from The Gal Herself.

Happiness Challenge - Day 30

 

I am happy today that my husband found a water leak in the garage before it got worse.

It was bad enough as it was.

We had turned a half bath into a closet (we weren't using the bathroom), and the valve in there had started leaking, unbeknownst to us.

My husband needed something out of the closet and discovered the leak. It had already done a significant amount of damage - ruined the bottom shelf of the shelving we were using, ruined the tile floor (no great loss, it was 36 years old), messed up the baseboards and trim.

There was mold in behind the baseboards, so we had to cut out the dry wall. Plus, we had to empty those shelves, which were full of paper towels, Dr. Pepper, tissue paper, extra rolls of aluminum foil, glass jars, trash bags, and other assorted items that didn't belong in the house.

It took us several hours to empty out the shelving and for him to tear out the bad wood. I held the flashlight so he could see what he was doing as the bathroom/closet was not well lit. 

The water had been dripping a good while, that was obvious.

After he had everything removed, we bleached everything to kill the mold, and now it has to dry.

The good news is it could have been worse if we hadn't found it. The bad news is it didn't help my back issues any, but that's life.

Happiness Challenge - Day 29

 

Today I am happy that I have a great chiropractor.

I did something to my back over the weekend and I was hoping it would ease, but by this morning it hadn't. I sent my chiropractor a text at 7:30 a.m. and she sent me back a message almost immediately telling me to be in her office at 10 a.m.

I went in and she did her thing, and while I have some residual soreness, it feels better than it did.

Yay.

Happiness Challenge - Day 28

 

Today I am happy that my husband went to the grocery store. He had a few errands of his own to run and said he's stop so I wouldn't have to go out.

But mostly I am happy that we've had a little over 1/2 inch of rain. It has been so dry. I don't know if this is enough to help the hay crop, but it certainly can't hurt.

And everything has greened up and the lawn doesn't look so dead.

Happiness Challenge - Day 27

 

Today I ate a chocolate cupcake. It was big and it had a lot of chocolate on it, and it tasted very good.

It was much sweeter than I anticipated, too.

I may regret this later.

Anyway, I spent time with my father, brother, stepmother, brother's girlfriend, and husband for my stepmother's birthday this afternoon. I was polite and did not ask her age. :-)

I also was able to help someone out with some Word 2007 issues over the phone. That's a bit tough to do, but I managed.

Yay me.

***

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

This meme comes from The Gal Herself.

Happiness Challenge - Day 25

 

A surprise package came in the mailbox.

My brother sent me two plastic jars along with a note telling me not to deny his brother-in-law his beloved pickles simply because he is clumsy. 

I had to laugh, as I had been researching plastic jars for pickles but hadn't yet made a purchase. My brother said he uses these for pickles. 

So I am happy that my brother thought enough of my husband to send him plastic jars for his pickles, and I had a good chuckle.

Happiness Challenge - Day 23

 

I ate baked spaghetti and it didn't kill me! Or give me horrid reflux.

This may not seem like a big deal, but I have not had spaghetti of any kind for over 3 years. I had such a horrid time with an ulcer and accompanying acid reflux that I'm only now slowly trying new foods. Or rather, old foods that I used to take for granted.

It was so good! That first bite was like nirvana.

So maybe spaghetti is something I can add back into my diet occasionally. I know to eat foods that bother me before 2 p.m. and we had this for lunch. 

This is progress!

Oh, and my husband's year follow-up on his hip replacement (which was the reason we were out in the first place), came back great and he doesn't need to return for five years! So yay for that, too.

Happiness Challenge - Day 22

 

Today I am happy that my husband didn't cut his leg off.

He dropped a pickle jar as he was putting it back in the refrigerator, and it shattered. A big piece hit his leg and shaved off a good inch of skin. It wasn't deep, but it bled a lot.

I rushed around trying to take care of him and clean up pickle juice all at the same time. I was trying to keep the pickle juice from running under the refrigerator, plus there was glass everywhere, and he was bleeding somewhat profusely.

After I got him in a chair and his bloody shoes off of him so I could see what he'd done to his shin, I saw that he probably didn't need stitches. I hunted up the bandages and patched him up, then cleaned up the mess. After he rested and the blood finally stopped oozing, he helped me clean up. I was having difficulty with the mopping, so I was glad he was well enough to help me with that.

I told him I was not buying him anymore pickles. This is the second jar of pickles he's dropped and busted in the last year.

Pickle juice is very hard to get up off the floor.

Happiness Challenge - Day 21

 

Today I finished up an editing project. It was a lot of work, and I was pleased with the job I did. The manuscript was interesting and that always helps.

It has been a while since I edited a full manuscript for someone. This would be the 12th book I have edited. I have learned a lot since I started editing manuscripts and I think I do a much better job now than I did when I first started. For one thing, I learned that the manuscript needs to be as perfect as I can make it in all ways. Publishing houses do not check for discrepancies or fix things anymore. The first book I edited had mistakes in it because the author told me not to fix them - he said the publishing house would correct things and he didn't want to pay me to do it (mostly the problem was different spellings of the name of the same person). However, after the book published and I received a copy, I saw that the publishing house didn't correct hardly anything, if anything at all. So now even if I'm not being paid to fix something, I do it anyway.

To ensure I catch everything, I read most of the book aloud as I go through. Generally, I read through a chapter, make changes (using the track changes feature in MS Word), then go back through the chapter again using the "final" view and read that chapter aloud to ensure I didn't miss anything. Then after I have finished, I review the whole book for consistencies in headings, chapter headings, numbers, etc., and pick out chapters or paragraphs to review to make sure things are flowing properly.

I use Chicago Style but most authors also have their own preferences, so I keep a notepad of those to refer to as I go along. I also list names here, characteristics if relevant (you wouldn't want Barbara to show up with green eyes in chapter 10 when they were blue in chapter 2), and things like that.

This project made me happy because it is something I do well and it was enjoyable work, if a bit stressful because of a deadline. I actually like to work when I enjoy what I'm doing.

Happiness Challenge - Day 19

Today I was helpful on the farm!

Honestly, I don't do much around here except take care of my man and do the bookkeeping. I keep an eye on the cows, but I seldom visit with them. Sometimes I chase a cow when it gets out, and I may drive him - my husband, not a cow - back and forth, but otherwise, the farming is the domain of the manly man.

Yesterday while he was riding around the fields, a part fell off the tractor. It was a $150 part. He went out this morning to look for it, but could not find it.

So, I asked him to take me along on the John Deere Gator and let me help him look for it.

And I found it!

I felt like I'd won the lottery.

And that made me happy because I was helpful, and because now I don't have to spend $150 on a part.

Happiness Challenge - Day 18

Today I sing a song of myself. I am a woman, and I have the right to vote (for the moment).

Just over 100 years ago today, Congress ratified the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote in 1920.

The Amendment passed Congress on June 4, 1919, and it was ratified on August 18, 1920.

From the government archives:

The 19th amendment legally guarantees American women the right to vote. Achieving this milestone required a lengthy and difficult struggle—victory took decades of agitation and protest. Beginning in the mid-19th century, several generations of woman suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change of the Constitution. Few early supporters lived to see final victory in 1920.

Beginning in the 1800s, women organized, petitioned, and picketed to win the right to vote, but it took them decades to accomplish their purpose. Between 1878, when the amendment was first introduced in Congress, and August 18, 1920, when it was ratified, champions of voting rights for women worked tirelessly, but strategies for achieving their goal varied. Some pursued a strategy of passing suffrage acts in each state—nine western states adopted woman suffrage legislation by 1912. Others challenged male-only voting laws in the courts. Some suffragists used more confrontational tactics such as picketing, silent vigils, and hunger strikes. Often supporters met fierce resistance. Opponents heckled, jailed, and sometimes physically abused them.

By 1916, almost all of the major suffrage organizations were united behind the goal of a constitutional amendment. When New York adopted woman suffrage in 1917 and President Wilson changed his position to support an amendment in 1918, the political balance began to shift.

On May 21, 1919, the House of Representatives passed the amendment, and 2 weeks later, the Senate followed. When Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment on August 18, 1920, the amendment passed its final hurdle of obtaining the agreement of three-fourths of the states. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the ratification on August 26, 1920, changing the face of the American electorate forever.

The campaign for woman suffrage was long, difficult, and sometimes dramatic; yet ratification did not ensure full enfranchisement. Decades of struggle to include African Americans and other minority women in the promise of voting rights remained. Many women remained unable to vote long into the 20th century because of discriminatory state voting laws.

If we are not careful, if we don't watch who we elect and understand what is going on around us, we will lose this right that our foremothers fought and died for.

Today, I am happy to sound the alarm: rights can be taken away. Be careful, watchful, and diligent.

Happiness Challenge - Day 16

Today I saw the chiropractor. I had a bit of a reaction to the adjustment (or maybe to my blood pressure medicine) - when I sat up, I had spots dancing before my eyes.

My chiropractor gave me cold water and made me sit there for a very long time. After I dressed, she kept me in the waiting room talking until she felt like I was good to go.

It's nice to be cared for by someone who, well, cares. She didn't have to go out of her way to make sure I was fine before I drove home, but she did.

In a world where money rules, today I am happy that I have managed to find some healthcare providers who actually care about me as a person.

Happiness Challenge - Day 15

Today is house cleaning day, meaning that the young woman who has been helping me clean the house once a month for several years came in to help.

I keep the place generally picked up, but she does the heavy stuff for me now - the mopping and such that I can no longer manage thanks to that bum abdominal surgery I had in 2013 that left me in chronic pain. I am unable to use my abdominal muscles for the things one must use them for - like slopping water on the floor or running the vacuum for several hours.

During the month, I keep the clutter picked up, dust, and run the vacuum from time to time - I can manage it infrequently and in small time frames.

But I can't mop.

So yay for a clean house.

Happiness Challenge - Day 14

Today I ran into someone I hadn't seen a long time when I was in the grocery store. We talked a bit about the issues with the library - we have a few homophobic bigots who want books dealing with LBGTQ+ issues removed from the public library.

We also talked about retirement, moving on from what we used to do, and stuff like that.

As I was turning to go, the friend turned to me and said, "I hope you know you've always been an inspiration."

I was stunned. "No, I didn't know that. But thank you!"

It was so nice to be on the end of such a nice compliment. I don't think of myself as being an inspiration to anyone - and yet apparently I am.

Happiness Challenge - Day 11

 

Today I am happy that the grocery stores are stocked. I remember during the pandemic when the sight of shelves instead of products scared me, along with everyone else. So, I am happy today for a full grocery store, even if some things I used to purchase seem no longer to be available (at least not around here).

I am also happy that I had a long chat with my friend today. We hadn't talked for a day or so and I missed her. It is amazing how much a conversation with a similar soul can lift the spirits. So, thank goodness for friends!

I am also happy that I ate a little pizza, and it didn't upset my stomach. I don't think it's something I can eat often, but it's nice to see that perhaps a piece every now and then won't do me in.

***

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

This meme comes from The Gal Herself.

Happiness Challenge - Day 10

 

I saw a buck in velvet this morning. He was like a shadow, moving quickly across the glen, but I caught a visual of him and his beautiful horns. My deer always make me happy.

Today I worked on an editing project, and it is nice to have work to do. Especially this kind of work, which I can pick up and put down at my leisure. And it's work I enjoy. That always helps.

Most of the day I was alone, and I enjoyed that as well. I like my alone time.

I finished a Neil Gaiman audiobook, Norse Mythology, this morning, too. I learned a lot about that mythology that I hadn't known. I knew a bit of it, and I could hear echoes of other mythologies in it, but it was good to learn something new.

Happiness Challenge - Day 9

 

We didn't get the rain we needed, but today was a pretty day. It got a little humid after lunch as some storm clouds rolled through (they dropped no rain), but I thought it was lovely outside.

The garden is producing in abundance, especially tomatoes. It is too bad I cannot eat tomatoes much anymore, and my husband doesn't like cooked tomatoes at all, so it is not worth the effort to can or freeze tomatoes. It is unfortunate that the produce all comes in at the same time, but I guess summer abundance meant not starving in the wintertime in the old days, when that was all one had to eat.

Also, I went over to my father's for a guitar-playing session with him and a friend of his. I like playing my guitar.

Happiness Challenge - Day 7

 

Today I am happy because we have rain in the forecast. We still need rain.

When the systems change over from el nino to la nina and vice versa, we get into these weather patterns where we sit and watch the rain go down the mountains, missing us entirely.

This year has been particularly bad and for a while we were so short of hay for the cattle for the winter we were afraid we might have to sell half the herd.

It looks like now we will be ok, and this rain will help with a third cutting.

Farming is not easy. But I'm happy too that I live in a rural area where I can see trees, the sky, the deer, the squirrels. I never know what kind of critter might walk right by my office window. That's happiness, right there, just watching Ma Nature do her thing.

Happiness Challenge - Day 6

 

Today I am looking back to see that this is my blog anniversary weekend. I started my blog on August 5, 2006.

I've been writing this thing for 17 years. That's like birthing a kid. Sort of.

My blog is printed out by blog2print every six months or so. It takes up almost an entire shelf on my bookcase now. I do this so I will have it, because this has been free all of this time, and one day, it will not be, or it will cease to exist because blogging isn't a thing anymore.

Those blog books hopefully will end up with family. Or they may end up in the recycling when I am gone, who knows. But I print them up and have them bound for myself. So I can look at them occasionally and say, "See, I did that." 

I may not be writing bestselling books, but I have written an awful lot of words.

My blog makes me happy, and even after all of these years, it can still challenge me because I try not to go for many days without writing something or posting a photo. I have to tend to it, nurture it, guard it.

After all, I've been writing here for almost 1/3 of my life!

Happiness Challenge - Day 5

 

Today I am happy because this morning when I stepped on the scales, I had lost three pounds. This was a pleasant surprise because I thought I had gained weight instead.

Yay.

I am also happy because it is Saturday and that means clean bed linens tonight.

***

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

This meme comes from The Gal Herself.