Happy rainy Thursday! Here we go:
Barbara Ann Kipfer's FIVE THINGS TO BE HAPPY ABOUT (from her book 14,000 Things to be Happy About):
- Playing Crazy Eights.
- A flawless sea.
- Heat-resistant, clear-glass mugs.
- Abandoning all your senses to a field of wildflowers.
- Heavy Romanian crystal.
Henry W. Reich's FIVE THINGS THAT REALLY PISS ME OFF (from his book 2,501 Things That Really Piss Me Off):
- Pete Rose has not been elected to the Hall of Fame.
- There's no longer a distinction between fame and notoriety; it's now all just celebrity.
- Naming airplane luggage after Amelia Earhart and expecting it to arrive at its destination.
- Not being allowed to play on the Net all day at work.
- Pork barrel legislation, especially when introduced by congressmen who loudly proclaim their aversion to high taxes and government waste.
My FIVE THINGS TO BE HAPPY ABOUT:
- A friendly letter in the mail. (<3)
- Hot coffee, cool shadows, soft rain.
- That satisfying feeling that comes with tucking a bedspread underneath the pillows.
- Binge-watching an old favorite series.
- The smell of a newly-sharpened pencil.
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
TUMBLEDOWN STUFF:
Yesterday was all about cleaning and exercise. And after all the vacuuming was done, I took a long walk along the bike trail, past little ponds and the backyards of generic beige houses. I saw Canadien geese with their goslings, and mallards with their ducklings. I heard redwing blackbirds in the trees and saw milkweed fingers pushing up through the grass. It'd been months since I'd last passed it, but there was the shaggy and overgrown yard of my favorite house on the trail, with its paint-flaked birdhouses and weathered picket fence. I reminded myself to let the homeowners know just how much I appreciate their aesthetic.... I hadn't meant to walk so far, but I couldn't help continuing on to Pheasant Ridge. I discovered where the fire was, the one that James and I saw from a distance not long ago. All the cattails and brush in the wetland area was nothing but char. Sad.... And then it was home again, to a letter in the billbox and a glass of mead to read it with. Tacos for supper and a murder mystery on the telly. And now today it's all about drawing while streaming old episodes of Dark Shadows. Everytime I hear that theme song I can remember being small-ish (Ten? Eleven?) and sitting on the edge of her bed in my best friend Julie's room while she swooned over Barnabas Collins and I swooned over the dark, Gothic interior of Collinwood. (Or the 3-room set of Collinwood; I had no idea it was a stage and not the wonder-filled, shadowy, maze of a mansion that I imagined it to be.) And then years later when it was rerun again on television, I can remember occasionally calling in sick to work so I wouldn't miss the highlights. I can remember Barnabas's old cobwebby house with its crusty woodwork and dust-covered windows, and artist Sam Evans's cottage studio with its bachelor interior and enormous window, and the sensation that all was being videotaped live. A perfect show for bringing back the memories....
WHO WOULDN'T LIVE HERE??
Me here: Bad photo, but here's a little interior shot that I found online of Sam Evans's painting studio from the series. As a kid, I couldn't imagine a better place to live/work, with easels everywhere and diffused light from that window. I imagined the outside of the cottage to be shabby and overgrown, not realizing again that it was just a set, and that the windows were frosted and foliage-covered for a reason.
THE DAILY FLAME (Message from Your Inner Pilot Light, courtesy of Dr. Lissa Rankin):
Dear You:You're asking me what I really love to do? You care how I want you to dress? You're paying attention to who I like to hang out with?I've SO been waiting for you to ask!Because if you let me guide you in your career, your relationships, your health, and your life, all the pieces will naturally fall into place.Grateful you asked,Your Inner Pilot Light
(Me here: Want your own daily message? Visit http://www.innerpilotlight.com/ for "daily email reminders from the core of who you are about how to live, love, heal & thrive.")
NEW: The MUTTS Comic of the Day:
Artwork copyright Patrick McDonnell
NEW! Suggestions from The Check Book -- 200 Ways to Balance Your Life by Bret Nicholaus and Paul Lowrie:
Get yourself a coloring book and a box of crayons and color a picture for someone you love.
A LITTLE SOMETHING:
www.checkiday.com says that today is:
Ascension
National Buttermilk Biscuit Day
National Dance Like a Chicken Day
The Stars and Stripes Forever Day
Underground America Day
CLOSING THOTZ:
Enjoy your day today. And may there be a shadowy, book-filled corner there where you can take a break and read and dream.
More tomorrow,
...me.
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