I am boring even myself with my own whining and angst, and the assorted things making me anxious/annoyed/angry are best dealt with off-line anyhow, so grabbing the happiness meme baton from Debbie Kolodji seems as good a way as any to let more sunshine back into this here blog. And there are many happy things indeed, including:

Debbie's blog itself is a happy thing: it is inspirational to witness her devotion to crafting short poetry, and I have benefited from the market leads she so generously shares.

We recently splurged a new sofa and armchair set (local store closing), and the BYM picked them up yesterday afternoon. They match our tastes (and the existing decor) much better than the two hand-me-downs we've had in the living room, and will be more comfortable for guests, too.

The dog has been mostly good. Yes, she snuck in a snooze on the new sofa, and she also stole my first attempt at a sandwich this morning, but she has also good about following me back into the house after each outside chore.

A big bowl of Pho Tai ("Beef Noodle Soup with Rare Beef Steak") at Miss Saigon yesterday afternoon.

The English-only referendum pisses me off, but the many voices raised against it give me hope.

I'm interviewing two prospective U of C students next week. This often cheers me up immensely, because the kids I get to meet are often incredibly cool.

Reading Moresukine and peeking at Christian Lacroix's 1993 scrapbooks. (My actual tastes are way more conservative (a la Ralph Lauren), but I liked browsing through Lacroix's froth-and-snip-and-scrawl of ideas, and his style happens to click with a project I'm currently trying to whip through my mental gate.

Speaking of which: forward progress on various writing projects.

Very flattering feedback on recent fics [n.b. linked story is slash and not work-safe].

It occurs to me that I am enjoying the kinds of correspondence I craved as a kid: today I received e-mails from classmates from high school and college, and a handwritten note from one of my best friends from graduate school; yesterday's mail included a cheerfully decorated poem about "Hello Kitty" toast from one of Vera's helpers, and I've heard from church friends, the spouse of a former colleague, and others this week as well.

I have running water again, which supports my plan to spend the rest of this evening at my easel.

Making major strides in the decluttering, including smashing my (already-broken) childhood piggy bank (which was actually in the shape of a fortress gate).

[The meme: ...on eight consecutive days about something that makes you happy. Debbie frequently ends her posts with a short poem, so for these eight days, I'm going to follow her lead in that as well.]


splintered fleurs-de-lis
old pennies
new peonies