breakfast in bed . . .

look what nancy brought over . . . just as kidlet was trying to figure out what she wanted for breakfast:

chocolate breakfast cookies and a breakfast bake with eggs and sausage.  slurp.  did i pick the right neighbors twenty years ago or what!!!

and look what i discovered looking for some photos to play with:

this was in Rhodes, Greece while we were on the track of a cold brew.  and this one was in Sorrento, nuff said about what we were looking for:

oh yes, we ate and drank.  happiness in throwback form.  gee, i miss this guy.

and from my class, there is this:

i'm sorry this class is over.

59 days of happiness . . .

this part i am actually stealing from yesterday since we ate late and my class ran from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m.,  so there was little time to post my culinary mischief.  did i mention cooking makes me happy.

at kidlet's request, i made penne alla vecchia bettola.  that translates to tomatoes and pasta sloshed in vodka.  the reason we ate so late?  i apparently cannot read.  the recipe called for two 28 ounce cans of peeled tomatoes and i only bought one.  kidlet happily ran out to get the second can and some fresh oregano:

the recipe was excellent.  the first time i've ever baked gravy but i think the 9TS tainted us pseudo-italians into favoring marinara and gravy thick with meats.  the cream sauce was a really good change of pace but it won't make it into rotation.

chocolate ice cream with pancake syrup and chopped walnuts . . . a nightly occurrence.  burp.

fast forward to this morning:

these fellows have no fear.  i wonder if i should point out that november is on its way?

58 and chugging along . . .

still playing and waiting for tonights final lesson:

happiness is a warm kitten.

57 days of happiness . . .

and it isn't showing signs of stopping.

it may have been a little warm . . . ok, a lot hot but it was still fun.  kidlet and i met her best friend and her fiancé there along with her parents.  we wandered and snooped, wobbled our way through the rows of tents and people.

 

 it's the county seat.  i want a roof like that.  did i just say that out loud?

and even though the skies looked like this, it was still close to the fires of you know where:

mother nature was apparently just teasing earlier in the week.

i love the fall in florida.  there is something going on every weekend.  sometimes we wear as little as possible and sometimes we are bundled up.  it's like a box a chocolates . . .

day 56 . . .

a cobb salad

lunch with the hens from lee's aerie

an acrobatic cat:

a pepperoni pizza

oh, and speaking of pippin, she actually licked the top layer of skin off my neck.  pip you really need to love not so hard.  rasp.

day 55 . . . just a silly

i really like my jamberry nails.  they're cute and fun and they give my natural nails a chance to grow out without breaking.  so except for lee making me show them to EVERYONE in the surgery center, including the guy who pushed her down to the car, they're a winner . . .

tonight it was time to take them off.  they were getting a little raggedy looking around the edges, probably because i have been scrubbing pots and pans and bathrooms to see how strong they really were.

so, there i am sitting at the kitchen table with a little bowl of olive oil, some q-tips, a cuticle pusher, a hair dryer, and a wad of paper towels and napkins.  i decided against acetone since my nails are already brittle.  the idea was to heat them a little with the hair dryer, pop the seal with my thumbnail or the cuticle pusher, soak in the olive oil and then peel them off.

i was on a roll until the hairdryer got away from me, splattered the olive oil out of the bowl, across the table, onto the mail, the salt and pepper grinder and anything else within a three foot radius.  the q-tips meanwhile, flew across the kitchen and the already removed nails took off for zanzibar.

kidlet ran into the kitchen when she heard me howl.  and then laughed.  the audacity of that child.  she just shook her head and removed herself from the danger zone.  gah.  i get no respect.

happiness is beef stew over noodles. how's that for a non sequitur?

day 54 . . .

"you may have been given a cactus but that doesn't mean you have to sit on it."

new techniques learned.  happy. happy.

and i have learned to stop taking such tight photos.

critique from Anna Aspnes: Nice job - I would love to see some red paint by that Corfu title to focus the eye and complete another visual triangle.  You might also consider some water color stain brushes stamps on new layers behind your blended image or some transfers to create an organic matte - if you are looking for suggestions.

so back to the drawing board with this:

eh.

happy first day of fall . . .

mother nature is taking her own sweet time but the high today is predicted to be only 81.  the difference between a spring 81 and a fall 81 is about 20• of humidity but soon MN will drop the dew levels and all will be right with my world.  i will order a load of seasoned wood and stash it until january.  there are thoughts of fires dancing in my head.  wood smoke.  colored leaves.  flannel lined jeans, sweatshirts, roasted marshmallows.  a snap in the air.  open windows, long walks, bike rides. ok, so most of that was my childhood but it brings a certain yearning just the same.  so happy first day of fall.

and then there is this little snippet of the day from a conversation with Lee about taking her to her first checkup tomorrow morning.  the fight is about whether or not we can cram her and her booted foot into little red:

Lee: Yes to the wheelchair.  Are your shoulders and back OK to push me?

Me: Of course I can push.  And if you misbehave, I think there is a pond the chair would fit into perfectly.

Lee: I know you wouldn't push me in the pond because you'd cave under pressure.  The cop would say, "Did you push her in the pond?" and you'd say, "Yes, yes I did. But she wouldn't shut her damn mouth and she's stubborn!"

happiness is a certain amount of lunacy among friends.

52 and on our way . . .

happiness is a photoshop class.  this is from an old shoot but i still love the photo and the new techniques make me mucho happy, happy.

last night's class was most excellent as well but i haven't had a chance to play yet.

on another note, miss lee had her toe operated on yet again today.  all went well which makes for more good cheer.  see, this stuff is contagious.

51 days . . .

happiness is a magic mushroom with brown sugar crystals on top.  very nice mother nature, very nice.

and kidlet who wears her heart on her sleeve, had another something something hanging off her sleeve:

such a tiny baby.  and yes, she put him down so he could scamper home to his mama and tell her about his exciting morning in the land of the giants.  that is all.

halfway there . . . .

and of course there is always just this:

enjoy folks!!!!!!!

49 days of happiness and counting . . .

first off, kidlet and i headed for a local arts festival.  the hokey type i grew up with and adore.  lots of tents with homemade arts and crafts, popcorn wagons, live music featuring elementary and middle school kids that light you up with their off keys tunes, face painting and food trucks.  we made the circuit and then headed out.  it's still really hot.  yay for the home team!!!!

but before i forget, last night i applied my first jamberry nails.  it seems that along with the wisdom of old age, come weak finger nails and crepe necks.  can't do anything about my chicken neck except to wink at the occasionally decrepit old rooster wandering by but look at these little babies:

ok, so there is a little trial and error to consider, i had to redo a couple, and kidlet helped me cut off the excess on my right hand because my scissors had a terrible case of 'we only cut in one direction', but all in all, i love my jamberries and hope they really do last ten days to three weeks.

day 48 . . .

lunch with the hens . . . it is, after all, friday.  this time we went asian so we could harass our favorite waiter, sweet william.  i wasn't starving so i opted for two egg rolls and a cup of wonton soup.  happiness is a good lunch for $4.

kidlet and i ran to the vet's to get bear and ninja's prescription diet food.  heaven forbid i should run out.  my toes would surely be nibbled upon.  on the way home, there was a rather large sized turtle trying to make it across the street to the pond on the other side.  although the speed limit on that road is 25 mph, kidlet didn't want to take a chance, so we stopped little red and kidlet ran out, scooped up yertle and ran with him the water bank.  cars were starting to pile up so we took off as fast as we could which made no sense since we sat forever at the light at the end of the street. happily, the woman behind us pulled along side us and yelled out:  i would have done the same thing if you hadn't.  happiness in nice people, considerate kidlets, and feisty turtles.

day 47 . . . .

no one in front of us in the pharmacy line.  our HMO has its own pharmacies and there is usually a line.  pick a number, have a seat, play on your phone, type line.  with waiting rooms of 20 or so chairs, you know you're in for a snooze fest.  so when i ran in to pick up kidlet's cocktail mix, i thought i had stepped into the twilight zone.  i was the only one in there.  yay.

back in the car, we were being bad, balancing coffee and donuts on our laps and dodging traffic by taking back roads home.  with three failed attempts to find a street that went straight through, we were happy to be back in familiar territory.

happiness is adventures before noon.

it really is the little things, day 46 . . .

went to lunch with an old friend today and ran some errands, one of which was to pick up a large coffee for kidlet at dunkin donuts. walking in the house, i was greeted by she who needed coffee, and as soon as i saw her face, i remembered the libation. gah. so i tossed her in the car and headed back out.

earlier, i had hit just the edge of a rain storm.  not enough to really wet the car.  i actually love wooshers.  they clean little red and make her all shiny.  heading home with the coffee clutched in her paw, i bemoaned not hitting the bulk of the storm.  kidlet swivels her head and says, "let's pull a u-turn".  so we did.  and less than half a mile down the road, the rain was coming down so hard that the windshield wipers weren't doing much good and visibility was non-existent.  since we were but a mile from the house, i was happy as that pig in chocolate again.

it's the little things, people, it's the little things.

day 45 . . .

squeeeeeeee.  i started a three session class with Anna Aspnes last night.  all i want to do is play in photoshop now.  we learned so much and i can't imagine what is coming the next two mondays!!!  so as soon as i balance my checkbook, i'll have my nose knee deep in digital art.  color me very happy indeed!!!!

and because my daughter and i still have the brains of twelve year old boys, we couldn't stop giggling at the newest mushrooms to appear after all our continuous rain:

 

 its name is phallus ravenelii.  true story.

day 44 in the life of a maroon . . .

i signed up for a three part internet class on blending with pscc.  i am really, really happy to be taking this class.  unfortunately as i try to keep from bubbling over before class starts at 4:00, i decided one last time to make sure i had the timing right.  the class starts at 6:00 pm mountain daylight time.  oops, that means the class starts at 8:00 EDST right???  i am so confused.  even siri is confused.  she wouldn't answer me.  either that or she knows i am such a maroon i'm not worth answering.  gah!

this mornings walk . . . the first delayed until 7:15, was amazing.  67• degrees of amazing.  not dripping wet in less than 20 seconds amazing.  and to have an extra amount of happiness assurance this morning, we walked into these fellows:

i guess no one has told them thanksgiving is around the corner.  aren't they adorable.

i am happier than a . . .

pig in chocolate sauce.  and just as an aside here, if mother nature walked up to you and said, "pick: a pig or a cow," which would you choose?  for me it would be easy.  you'd have to peel the bacon from my cold cramped paws, not to mention pork chops, pork loin, ham, pork butt.  slurp.  yes, i might look wistfully at the occasional filet or prime rib but only while drooling over a platter of smoked ribs and corn bread.  sigh.

ok, so i got side tracked yet again.  i am halfway through the ina garten cookbook, Barefoot Contessa Foolproof and my jeans have shrunk two sizes.  happiness with full color photos.  so far i've salivated copious amounts over the likes of: tuscan mashed chickpeas on grill country bread, gazpacho with goat cheese croutons, fresh dill sauce, lobster corn fritters, accidental turkey, mustard-marinated flank steak, 1770 house meatloaf, sicilian grilled swordfish, spinach with feta and pine nuts, crispy english potatoes, green beans gremolata, balsamic roasted brussels sprouts, and i haven't even gotten to the dessert section.

the reason i love ina garten is because her food is doable and yummy and people think i know how to cook.

so there i was ensconced in a lovely soft deep chair at B and N surrounded by five possibilities of ina-ness.  narrowing it down to just one was really, really hard.  impossible really.  but i did it.

happiness is a rainy day with a page after page of culinary goodness nestled in your lap.  slurp.

day 42 of 100 days of happiness . . .

this makes me happy:

kidlet's newest adventure in crocheting.  for those not of a certain vintage, that's alice in a cheshire cat suit.  i love that the inside of the ears is a different color.  

stopped by the meat store and picked up a couple of filets for tonight's dinner along with baked taters, sautéed shrooms, corn on the cob and a little something something sweet for dessert.  yes, i am still milking this birthday thing.

also making a stop and B&N to get another of Ina Garten's books.  slurp.  thank you kidlet.

and since i have this overload of happiness going on, i'd like to send some roo's way.  it will get better, roo, i promise.

41 days . . .

yup, it's my birthday.  i'm 41!  oh wait, that's the day count . . .  i'm a little older than that.  happy dance.  happy dance, i made it another year.  i'm flippin' 67. which is also the year i graduated from high school.  ooh, that makes me older than dirt.  a dinosaur.  yay!!!!  i'm a dirt playing dino.

40 days of happiness . . .

i have a slamming case of vertigo, but i have a roof over my head, food in my belly, my bills are paid,  my child brings me light, my cats are healthy and tomorrow will be better.  so much to be happy about.  namaste.

day 39 . . .

just a sweet old lazy day doing a whole lot of nothing.  sometimes it's the best there is.

38 and counting . . .

up early this morning for a 2.5 mile amble.  i officially canned the 6:45 wake up and moved it to 7:00.  i ain't walking in the dark no mo.

if you are wondering what the heck joanie is doing, this is friendship at its best.  i am a spider web magnet and every morning, i get entangled in their darn strings.  i hate pulling the sticky little threads off my arms and legs.  ewwww.  so this is joanie walking first and clearing the path.  i'm literally rolling on the floor, laughing hysterically.  who else would do this but a friend.  happiness.  happiness.  happiness.

happiness #37 . . .

cookies.  need i say more.

they were excellent last night right out of the oven.

they were even good raw.  yes, i do indulge.

and, they are still most excellent today.

slurp!

happiness is . . .

my closets all have wire coated racks in them which is great when you live in a humidor and want air circulation around things like sheets, towels, and toilet paper but comes up short when you're trying to stand up small bottles of hairspray, perfume or rubbing alcohol.  so years ago the 9TS cut me a very thin board for one shelf in my bathroom closet so things wouldn't tip over and jump off the shelf and shatter on the floor below.  my hair dryer and curling irons don't need a board, they are well trained and don't believe in suicide.  my linens likewise.

but over the years, my hair products have multiplied like rabbits and deserved their own space.  i happily moved the toilet paper to a wire basket next to the porcelain throne making space for said products. turns out they were still suicidal malcontents.  every time i tried to return one to the shelf, it tipped, spun and half gainer-ed itself down to the floor below resulting in cracked lids, crumbled fenders, dented sides, you get the drift.

i was bemoaning their strange ritual to joanie on one of our morning walks and she asked for the dimensions.  a couple of days later and three prompts, and i finally measured and passed on the information.  after one recent amble, she presented me with a second slim board pre-measured and cut to perfection.

oh those bottles of shine, anti frizz, texturizer, mud, salt water, heat protectant, lift and other various sprays are so happy they are dancing and prancing and plain delirious to see me each morning.  such a far cry from five leaping to their death simultaneously and with such clatter that kidlet came running up the stairs wondering if i had fallen and broken a hip.

happiness is a flat board.

(i am so easily pleased.)

happiness is a cocktail on the porch . . .

kidlet is out tromping around o-town with a friend so i am watching sappy movies and running errands.  someone's gotta do it.

happiness is . . .

yoga with a great sub this morning.  love when i learn new things.

lunch with the hens.

did i mention early birthday dinner last night with robin and her band of merry cohorts?  it was a three-fer.  we covered the 5th, 11th, and 16th. happiness to us all.

happiness is . . .

a new goat in the herd:

this one appeared this morning compliments of Joanie.  happiness is the clink of little metal hooves.

happy 32nd . . . .

it isn't often i get all three together.  these are my loves . . . well with the exception of kidlet, that is.

from left to right if you go by ears:  pippin, bear and ninja.  bear weighs three times what pippin does.  pippin and bear are both brown.  ninja is all black.  ninja weighs seven pounds less than bear. how many cantaloupes will johnny get for his $2?

happiness is, day 31 . . .

i really, really like this.

i hope you do too.  it makes me happy to hear.  not happy as in tippity tappity, but happy in the sense of well being.  being.