Happiness is Finally Making a Big Decision

~ Jenny

Well, so far February has sucked, but one good thing: It’s forced me to make a big decision I’ve been putting off, and now that that’s decided, everything is so much simpler. Simple is good. From now on, I’m with Nike: I’ll just do it.

What made you happy this week?

117 thoughts on “Happiness is Finally Making a Big Decision”

  2. Two things have made me happy this week. I’m on a spa break with my best friend from university – she lives in the north-east of England and I’m in the south-west, so we don’t get to see each other more than a couple of times each year. We spent yesterday afternoon getting massages and wandering from steam room to foot spa to swimming pool. Just what the doctor ordered.

    The second thing making me happy is that the episode of a quiz show I filmed last year was shown on TV on the Monday just gone. If anyone’s in the UK or has access to watching recent episodes of Mastermind, I’m the contestant who looks absolutely petrified, bombs her specialist subject but then partially redeems herself in general knowledge. It was so much fun to film, Clive Myrie (the host) was lovely and I’m still in touch with the other contestants from my heat.

        2. Perhaps I will get to see it later in the week. For today, it took almost five minutes just for this page to download. Rural internet. Never good, sometimes really bad.

          1. The internet was good to me today. That was exciting; I could feel the pressure. Good going!

    6. Wow. Thanks for sharing, Hannah. Very impressive and so fun to see! There were some tough Friends questions in there, too. Well done, you:)

        1. I’m glad Hannah decided to delurk and post here. I enjoy the things she chooses to post about. 🙂

          1. Haha I’m trying to be interesting!!! I can’t guarantee how long it will last, I have no more quiz show appearances in the pipeline and my default state is sitting on the sofa watching Parks & Rec for the bazillionth time.

            Thank you everyone for the praise. Ironically, if I’d chosen the Mitford Sisters as my subject I’d have scored more on James’s round than I did my own. I read the book on which his questions were based the week before the show was filmed…

          2. Well, Hannah — I don’t really think that interesting experiences per se are needed for an interesting post. Often it can just be an interesting way to describe what did happen. Or (for me at least) a description of someone’s mixed reactions to a challenging or frustrating experience, whether or not it’s particularly gripping. I had a complicated & often difficult mother experience, so her death brought up a lot of feelings in me and in those around me. So your challenges around your mother’s death were familiar but you had your own mix of problems to handle, and I liked your posts about them. Write about Parks & Rec — I bet you’ll have interesting stuff to say!

  3. I totally know what you mean Jenny — I’m prone to anxiety, but I often find that my anxiety and worry about something or about a decision is much worse than whatever fallout comes from the actual decision or actual thing. I’ve noticed this with doctors visits (which I hate, but the anticipation is usually worse than the actual experience), anxiety about financial decisions, debating between two options of just about anything, etc. I should really develop a policy of “decide now; fix/worry later” haha

    I’m in my final stop in SE Asia, Hanoi, and I just went to a tailor to get a bunch of custom clothes made! I’m so excited because it’ll be really nice to have clothes that fit me right in the design and color I like. Plus, the tailor I found keeps your measurements, so if you want something after you leave, you can always contact her and have it made. And everything has been so affordable! That aside, I’ve just really loved Hanoi. It’s a total assault on the senses, but it’s a really fascinating and beautiful place, and I feel like you could walk down a road here 100 times and still notice something new every time. The architecture is really interesting, and a lot of it is in a state of disrepair that makes it feel very atmospheric. I have an instagram where I’ve been posting photos of the trip, but I’m way behind so I’m not in Hanoi yet and might not post photos from here for another week or two. But I’ll drop the link in case anyone’s interested in the other places I’ve been and seen (Singapore, Luang Prabang, Siem Reap, Hoi An, Hue, and now Hanoi. I’ve just started posting about Hoi An, but I’ve been slacking haha). https://www.instagram.com/zoesoccasionaladventures/

    2. Great photos, what an adventure!
      My son will be a few days in Singapore en route to Japan with some buddies for a Uni grad trip.
      I took some screen shots of your Singapore pics to show him, any strong recommendations for Singapore must-sees for young lads?
      The food looks fanfastic!

      1. Aw thank you!

        Hmm I guess it depends on what the young lads like…

        I hear drinking is quite expensive there and that any clubbing is more for foreigners than Singaporeans since they’re not big on dancing XD

        Definitely tell him to eat lots of food, especially if he can get food of all different cultures. Little India was a trip and a half, and I really enjoyed wandering around there. He might like Haji Lane. I think you can go up to a free observation deck in the Marina Bay Sands hotel (the famous one that looks like a boat sitting atop 3 towers), so that might be worth a look, but if he can’t get out there, the observation deck at Citaspring was great (and there’s a cool green outdoors space that wraps around floors 17-20, but not sure that’s a young lad thing haha) — just tell him to check the hours because I think it’s only open until 5 or 6. I really liked biking around Pulau Ubin, but it was definitely a journey to get out there. It’s a full-day excursion. Tell him to skip Glutton’s Bay (hawker center) since it’s overpriced and not especially great. Tell him to get a Mr. Coconut original coconut shake, 25% sugar. Super refreshing! Taking a walk along the beach at East Coast Park is nice, and you get to see Singaporeans just enjoying the coast. He can get an affordable reflexology foot massage at People’s Park Complex in Chinatown. Tell him to be prepared to writhe in pain, but it helped me a lot when my feet were killing me haha. Birds of Paradise gelato was phenomenal. Jewel at the airport is really cool either after he arrives or before he leaves. Joo Chiat has really cool vibrant Peranakan shophouses, and Emerald Hill has some cool ones (though not as brilliantly colored). Tell him to keep an eye out for all the cool murals that are all over. He should go to a bunch of hawker centers and just try things from a bunch of stalls. Apparently the one that is or was michelin starred is overrated and the line is like an hour long, so skip that one. He should definitely check out some Hindu temples in Little India if he’s at all interested because they’re insanely vibrant and colorful. The Mustafa center is an experience. Let me know if there’s anything you want to know more about! Sorry for the late reply — hope you see this!

  4. Not my best week – I had a nasty migraine that forced me to lie down for most of day and then I slipped on an icy road while walking the dog and smashed my tailbone. I’m still limping.

    However, I did bake my second sourdough loaf this week and it was tastier than the first. Plus, a lovely dinner with a friend at one of my favourite restaurants.

    My big happy this week is DS went on his first solo trip. It was only 2 hours away and he’s staying with his cousin. But for a 21 yo who is very introverted and has an almost exclusively on-line social network, this is a big win. He went to two WWE wrestling matches on his own which I don’t think I could have done at his age.

    1. If your tailbone pain doesn’t go away soon, make sure you get x-rays. I have a friend who broke her tailbone and it healed wrong and fixing it caused all kinds of problems (and pain and at least 2 surgeries).

  5. Happiness is being back with my husband and dogs after shorty vacay away. And this text exchange while I was gone also made me happy:

    Him: “You had a package arrive from the sweater company. I paid $58 in duties on it so I’m going to open it and wear it.”
    Me: “If you think a pink cardigan with multi-coloured buttons will look good on you, knock yourself out.”
    Him: ”It will be perfect for the Tammy Drag Show I’m doing this weekend.”
    Me: “Without me??!!”
    Him: “It’s not very flattering so it’s for the best.”
    Me: “The Drag Show or the sweater?”
    Him: “Yes.”

  6. I loved my photography day in the sun, and intend to have another soon. There’s enough sun on the garden that I’ve put the chairs out again – although it was just a bit too chilly to have lunch out there. I’m really enjoying remaking my gardens – today I’m improving the cat fence, since one got in last week. (It was most astonished when I chased it away.)

    I’m focusing on enjoying life; making plans.

  7. My big happy happened last night, when I slept all the way through and did not get up once! That has not happened in recent memory. A full night’s sleep makes such a difference in my mood and health. Finally, my sleep and anti-pain regime has paid off! Not eating after 6:30PM, reading only tame stories in the evening, eating 2 “Sleep gummies”, half a “Calm” gummy, applying a lot of CBD lotion to my achy parts, and using “Stress Less” flower essence have really made a difference. Plus, I was able to get in a long walk, yesterday. The gummies have CBD, CBG, and CBN, plus Lemon Balm and Passion Flower, but no THC.

    I saw three Opossums last night, and they have decided they will eat the safflower seed that is mixed into the bird food that I put out. They are also coming automatically to the porch step where I put out some dog food when I see them. Otherwise, if I put the dog food out at dark, the neighborhood cats and raccoons find it, first. I added safflower to the birdseed to discourage the squirrels and raccoons. Cardinals, Juncos, and most of the other birds like it.

    I am so happy for you, Jenny! Big decisions are nerve-wracking, and loom heavily in our minds. I made two of those recently, too. I hope the rest of February is wonderful for you!

  8. Big decisions are tough. I hope you end up happy with whatever you decided.

    I’m starting to decorate the new porch, which is mostly a happy. I bought some large standing plants that I could never get away with in the part of the house where the cats are.

    Happiness was a great massage, even if the pain relief only lasts for a day.

    Not so happy is the news that my cat sitter just came down with Covid. She’s supposed to be feeding the cats twice a day while I’m away Thur-Tues, and if I can’t find a replacement, I can’t take my trip (to Coastal Magic Convention, being held in Orlando this year, if anyone is in that area). So I’m keeping my fingers crossed that either she has a miraculous recovery (which seems unlikely, since she’s really not feeling well) or I can find a sub who can deal with my cats’ somewhat tricky feeding routine. [5 cats, 3 different foods, fed in 4 different rooms, twice a day.]

    2. Sub found! She’ll have to be taught the cats’ routines (which you vary from at your peril) but is happy to do it. I had to argue with her about accepting money!

      This definitely counts as a happy for the week.

  9. My happy this week is a new “Dog Library” in my neighborhood. You may have seen Little Free Libraries, a little box on a pole that the owner keeps stocked with books for people passing by to take? The Dog Library looks like a kid made it. It is on the ground instead of on a pole and is stocked with a tin of dog biscuits and a whole bunch of sticks, presumably for you to throw for your dog.

  10. This week we had our taxes done and not without a little drama. One stinkin’ little box on one of the documents was not filled out correctly. Put it on hold until I could go to the bank and get it straightened out and get a form that was supposed to be a substitute. The actual form comes out in May and our taxes are due in April. It’s all in the coding.

    Earlier in the week I did see something funny. Just gazing out the window I saw a man on a bicycle being towed by a husky. Both of them had smiles on their faces, yes, even the dog. And it is almost Iditarod time. Too bad I’m of the generation that does not hold phone in my hand at all times, another missed opportunity.

    1. My friend lives in a little village, in the north of England, people love animals there, she saw a lady walking her giant rabbit recently and less recently some man taking his hawk for a walk

  11. What was with last week, anyway????? Mine started ok and went downhill farther than any days this year. And nothing I can really do anything about, except put things out of my mind and move on. And hope none of them explode any further.

    So happies:
    12 days left to go in the annual “fit in my clothes” diet. I don’t think I am going to hit the number I hoped for, but I am fitting in clothes better, and my doctor didn’t even comment on this topic, which pleased me.

    Gave the cats catnip, and so I have two shallow boxes each with a stoned cat. This is a weekend treat for all.

    This morning I walked for 1.5 miles, took down the Christmas wreath and outside lights (just from along my walkway and window, but still) AND put them away properly, looked up our cell phone contract for DH, and have the second of three loads of laundry in. This level of productivity now going to be rewarded with time on the couch with book.

  12. Finally making a big decision is a huge step to take. I hope this means things will look up for you from now on, Jenny. And that you are feeling better.

    I’m happy I got around to throw that Punitive-Parent-rock into the sea Wednesday, even if I am not yet sure if it has done it’s job or not, but let’s assume it has.
    I’m also happy that our backyard has now been cat-proofed, so no strangers in cat-disguise can get in, and our little ladies can’t get out and be flattened by cars. We haven’t let them explore the outdoors yet, though. I wanna clean up a little out there first, and perhaps it’s a good idea to have someone sighted present the first time too, to see how they react. Better safe than sorry and all that.
    Matcha’s lump-sample results came back negative, as in they can’t find any cancer-like cells or behaviour in them and they don’t seem to be dangerous. Vet says to keep an eye on them, but there’s nothing to worry about for now. Nancy H mentioned plastic feeding bowls could be a thing, so I asked the vet and he said that I could always change bowls and see if it makes any difference. So I am now hunting for stainless steel-bowls or something in that direction. I chose these plastic bowls because they go into/slip over bowl-shaped places on a tray so they can’t be dragged around, and if they drop food beside them, it’s on the tray and not on the floor. I believe they call it a…feeding bar? Dinner bar? Anyway, it’s very practical, but will have to find something else now. Unfortunately it’s not as simple as just buy other bowls, since finding the exact right measurement to go into the bowl-shaped places on the tray is probably gonna be a pain in the rear. Anyway, I’m happy Matcha is doing fine, and Triple, too.

    2. yay for good cat news! I use pottery bowls. You might be able to find ones that aren’t specifically designed for cats, but fit in the bowl-shaped spaces. You can put them in the dishwasher too.

    3. Hoi Shass, ik gebruik al jaren stevige glazen toekommetjes uit de kringloopwinkel als voerbakjes voor mijn katten, op een gewoon klein plastic dienblaadje.
      En een zwaarder aardewerk bakje voor het water, op hetzelfde dienblaadje: het gewicht helpt om alles op zijn plaats te houden.

      Ik was ook begonnen met plastic en overgestapt op metaal, maar de metalen bakjes kregen al vrij gauw een beetje roest onder langs de rand.
      Glas blijft hygiënisch.

      Als je een tegelvloer hebt is glas misschien wel een risico als het stukvalt, als je niet goed kan zien waar de splinters heen zijn gespat. Maar als je zoiets als de Arcopal schaaltjes neemt, die ook in de oven kunnen, dan heb je dat probleem niet zo.
      Op mijn houten vloer breken die niet als ze vallen. En in de kringloopwinkel hebben ze dat soort schaaltjes meestal wel voorhanden, helemaal niet duur, omdat ze zo onverwoestbaar zijn.

      1. Hoi Hanneke, bedankt voor de tip! Mijn probleem is soms (vaak…) dat ik eigenlijk alleen mijn schoonmoeder heb om mee naar de winkel te gaan. Dat maakt dus dat ik soms lang moet wachten totdat zij – of ik – tijd/mogelijkheid/zin heeft om mee te gaan, of kiezen voor toch iets nieuws te kopen ipv naar de kringloop als ik het snel nodig heb. Zij is even weg geweest maar sinds gisteren weer terug, dus hopelijk kan ik deze week met haar weer op pad. Ik zal kijken wat voor hele stevige schalen ik kan vinden. Wij hebben inderdaad tegels op de keukenvloer, maar ik ga er vanuit dat we niet meer de kattenbakjes laten vallen dan drink-glazen of andere glasspullen, dus dat komt vast wel goed. Alleen dan eventueel even een goede dienblad met antislip vinden. Word weer een avontuurtje, dit. Super-bedankt voor je reactie en je tips!

  13. Good for you, Jenny–may the peace and wellness continue!
    My happy was visiting Columbus to see a Maurice Sendak exhibit with a friend–an amazing artist, and I knew so little about him.
    Because my friend lives in Columbus (about an hour away), we don’t see each other often, so that was nice, too. The museum has a cafe, and they put tomato jam in the grilled cheese sandwich, another happy. They also flavor the water with rosemary, a new experience for me (I don’t get out much!).
    And I’ve got an idea for the structure of the next book, which makes me happy, too.

  14. My big happy for the week was that the linen sheets that Paul and I splurged on (even though I bought them on clearance because the colour was being discontinued) arrived and are amazing. Paul insisted we buy them because we needed new sheets as our “good” set had worn a hole in the fitted sheet and it was just going to keep getting bigger as the fabric at the edges was becoming very thing and unstable.

    In the last few years he’s become increasingly adamant about buying the best quality thing we can afford because he knows that if we leave it to me, I will cheap out and then we will have to replace the thing a year or two down the road. See the Sam Vimes theory of Boots.

    2. My husband does the grocery shopping, and he knows the quality of items he buys. When he goes to Fresh Market, I’m almost guaranteed a slice of something for dessert. Yesterday I made a box cake. Imagine my surprise when it did not compare to the lemon and blueberry layer cake with a divine frosting with jimmies. I’m just saying! A decade ago, he would not have done so.

    3. Good sheets are life changing. We now have super high thread count cotton. Also, bought on sale, with the least favorite colors, but I don’t care. And they don’t pill at all. So lovely.

      Also bamboo towels and underpants. Looks meaningfully at Tammy.

      1. And I roll my eyes. You would hate my towels. Although my husband is in charge of and obsessed with high thread count sheets so you’d probably like those.

          1. Hey they do their task. They’re old and I guess shabby but they dry me. What else do towels need to do??

      2. If you don’t mind, Lupe — who sells bamboo textiles? I never run across them any time I’m looking at sheets or clothing….

        1. I think that my towels came from Bed Bath and Beyond when they went out of business here, but that was five or more years ago. The undergarments were found online. I went with a small company out of Oregon that prints fun things on them by hand, also hand dyed with natural pigments. But there are cheaper, less fancy options online as well. I am going order some for my hubby for his birthday, just plain.

          1. I am awestruck that you remember where your towels are from. I think (?) mine are from a local department store but I couldn’t swear to that under torture. Whereas I know the provenance of every pair of shoes I own.

          2. Well, Bed Bath and beyond was going out of business around the same time that we bought the house, so the time is marked pretty clearly in my mind. The first thing we agreed to buy as a couple was a shower curtain. It has wolves on it.

    4. What do you especially like about your linen sheets? I don’t know much about different sheet materials

  15. I guess my happy this weekend is I finally painted the watercolour of my friend’s deceased one-eyed white little dog that she has wanted for a year now. If you think painting a scruffy white eyeless dog in watercolour is easy…. but it turned out ok. Yay!

    I hate making big decisions. It feels too momentous, like the rest of human history could pivot on what you decide, or at least the rest of your personal history. Heck, I can’t even decide to take the plunge into the Goblin Emperor (I will, I totally will). I usually let circumstances force the moment of decision upon me, or else in a mad moment throw all my cards up into the air and see where they land. I can’t recommend either method.

  17. Happiness is pushing through to get your latest release published and being able to give yourself two weeks off to recover before jumping into your newest work in progress and doing it all again. The bright side is that my corgi partner in crime is here to make me laugh instead of cry come time for editing…

  18. Here in South L.A., happy is a) productivity; b) half my Sunday still ahead of me; c) Monday holiday; d) confirming that yes, two hours is now enough time to groom and water the whole front yard.

    Also, a lot of my blooming things believe it’s spring!

    1. I took a walk around my property today, and lots of bulbs are pushing up leaves! Plus most of my bushes and trees have buds on them. It surprised me, in a good way. It’s wonderful, isn’t it?

  19. Not a great week, a lot of nameless malaise, so much classier than just feeling blue.
    I went to yoga class for the first time in *3 years* and my body first said, “Uh, what…?” then a half hour in it said, “Oh, right!” Then 3 hours later, it said, “Hmmmm, did something different, did we?”

    Made some borscht, lost my glasses one day, found them the next.

    1. Nameless Malaise is exactly the right term for how I have been feeling. I have been blah and meh about everything. And such a classy turn of phrase. It would make a great punk rock band name. Maybe a steampunk revival band? Or a smoky perfume.

  20. This week’s happy is more a matter of being relieved things aren’t worse! The hospital that processes my insanely expensive rare-disorder monthly injections burned to the ground the week before this week. (Okay, not literally burned to the ground; it’s intact, but its electrical system is 100% fried and likely to take 3+ months to completely redo, since the place was built in 1898, so the place is dead in the water in the meantime, all departments and services completely shut down.) I only found out when I showed up (at my doctor’s office) to get my injections on Wed., and no one knew where the meds were (they come from a specialty pharmacy and cost something like $20K a month), or if they’d been delivered to the hospital pharmacy before or after the fire, and if it was after, where they were delivered, since the hospital wasn’t accepting deliveries. And there was no one to call at the hospital, because, well, see above about burning to the ground, for all intents and purposes. No electricity, no land lines and no office for staff to work in. So I was envisioning potentially months of hassles and whole-body pain until there was a location to deliver the meds. (There’s a long, boring story for why they can’t be shipped direct to me, but bottom line is that expensive, orphan drugs are complicated to deal with.) Oh, and on top of the hospital burning down, the pharma company that has handled this treatment from clinical trial to FDA approval in 2018 and through to now, is transferring ownership to a different company over the next month, so it’s really not a great time to have a complicated situation.

    BUT the happy is that the meds had not been shipped before the fire, and so were not lost, and were able to ship out a little later than they should have been, so I got my treatment just two days late, which meant I had a couple achey days, but not three months of real pain/fatigue!

    I can’t even imagine how crazy and stressful this is for the pharmacy employees at the hospital. I would have been in considerable discomfort if I hadn’t gotten the meds in a reasonable time, but they mostly deal with cancer drugs, and the consequences of delays with those treatments are much more serious! So very grateful that the staff managed to get my treatment in what has to be an impossible situation for them. I’d send them a fruit basket or flowers if I had any idea where to send it!

    2. Gin, my son works for a company that does jobs for the hospital. That day he was scheduled and had just shown up when he saw people exiting and could hear fire engines in the distance and getting closer. He was blocked in by all the equipment when he got a phone call that his daughter, my granddaughter, was in an accident in another town. She was alright but the car was totaled. She saw the car coming and moved hers but not quick enough. The car hit the passenger’s side and not the driver’s side in which she would have had injuries. What a day. Friday, he said he worked in one of the satellite buildings on the campus and they are trying if not have already opened the ER but will continue to move patients according to their status to other hospitals.

      1. Yeah, it’s pretty wild. And there was already a shortage of hospital/ER services in this part of Massachusetts. The good news is that apparently the company that owns the hospital is going to open two emergency care sites, one in an existing location that used to have an emergency care site, and one new one, both of which I believe will remain open even after the hospital reopens.

        Glad your granddaughter is okay!

  21. Oh, my. I’m so glad you got your meds. That is an astounding tragedy. Someone/thing was watching over you.

    1. I heard about the fire, especially the fact that no one was hurt. All patients were safely evacuated. I’m very happy for you, Gin, and I think the workers at that hospital must be excellent.

      1. Oh, yes, that was the good thing — no one hurt, just lots and lots of stress! It was a ten-alarm fire, although mostly, I believe, just because of how many ambulances were needed to transport patients to other hospitals. The fire itself was contained (to where it could do maximum damage to the electrical system) and extinguished pretty quickly.

  22. My happy is I did my taxes. Done for another year.

    And the coming week-no doctors appointments and no meetings. I shall read more. Just finished When Stars Collide and started The Twelve Jays of Christmas.

    And, before Covid, I used to go out for lunch with my cousins most Sundays. Finally went out again. I hope we can start doing that at least a couple of times a month.

    And my progressive group is starting a monthly knitting/crochet/whatever monthly get together. First meeting today. Really looking forward to that continuing.

    Nothing but good times ahead.

  23. Sleep and I are still not seeing aye to orb. Eye to Argh? Not in sink, where I’d wash it and put it in the rack. Weirdly, I was lying abed with my eye popping open to look at the clock which advanced quite slowly while trying to remember the name of the characters. Mom was Eleanor? No that wasn’t it. Glance at clock. It took over an hour to settle on “Emily.” Richard and Emily, the senior Gilmores. I hope. At this point I could click on a shortcut to Netflix and another to the show. But I was in bed, in a not terribly uncomfortable position and didn’t want to move anything but eyelids. I could remember Rory and Jess and Dean and Michele but not the cook [Sookie St.-James] nor Rory’s mother’s name. That clock advanced all the way to 9:00 Am from midnight thirty while I thought “Eleanor…Eleanory-Rory? No. she and Rory were both named after Trix. Ritchie Cunningham’s mother. What was her name? Victoria-Roria-Rory?”

    I should have gotten up and walked twenty feet and made the computer tell me, but nooOOOOooo. Then I did a trick I’ve used for years where I go through the alphabet trying to figure out what letter is the right starting letter, and it worked! You may also picture me trying to work Rory into every name, like Betty-Bory… no. Caroline-Cory… no. Dory? Just no. Ludmilla-Lory… wait. Lory-lie! Her name was Lorelei! Lorel eyes slam shut. Pop open three point five hours later, up for the day.

    The position? On my left side against a firm pillow behind me, right arm thrown back. Wedge thrown from the bed.

    The wedge returns tonight.

    1. I realize your main problem is your injuries, Gary, but was wondering whether the lack of daylight in your new basement home might be contributing to your sleep problems?

      1. Given that I have blackout curtains on the basement windows, that may likely be a contributor. I just drew said curtains. Could it be so simple?

        1. Well, the very short days we have in winter in the UK, plus all the artificial light we use nowadays definitely has an effect on sleep patterns. Now you’re not working shifts, maybe get some non-blackout curtains?

          1. The body makes its own melatonin when we sleep in complete darkness, so the blackout curtains probably help. But sunlight, first thing, is also crucial to keeping the biorhythms in sync. This, too, shall pass.

          2. Seems to me, better to have non-blackouts and be aware of the sun’s rhythm. Surely must be more natural – there are few completely dark nights, and we tend to sleep into the daylight for most of the year – well, where I live, at least.

          3. Me and the wedge got cozy for another four-hour nap until 5 PM. I left a few lights on and the curtains open. Then it occurred to me that back in the garage man-cave, I shared the space with my gardens, which all had a roughly 16-hour “daylight” schedule. The Owner’s Suite corner of the basement is completely separate from the Garden Wall in the Shop section. The sections share a wall, but no doors or windows.

            The Garden Wall is always lighted by two-thirds of the gardens in rotation, but none of that light reaches the Owner’s Suite. It may be that I should put a table and chair by the garden wall and do some of my reading there.

            In the meantime, beloved dotter is constructing a raised garden outside by the carport. She also plans to lay a gravel driveway on the kitchen side of the house. She also wants a fenced dog-run. I totally encourage her to exercise ownership of the house.

        1. I think that until your ribs heal, the wedge might be more important than the curtains. There will be plenty of time to run comparisons once your body is not struggling to breathe. Also, you were on nights for a very long time. I imagine the switch back to days will be gradual.

          1. I gave up on a switch back to days. For a month or six I was living a thirty hour cycle, but since I was sleeping seven to twelve hours and napping when I felt like it, no matter.

            I’ve drawn the blackout curtains aside for the time being. There’s one of those daylight LED lights in the overhead of the next space, and as I just woke from five hours of snap… slep… shuteye (dreams!), I will be up until my body says to lay down again. If that’s supposed to be ly down instead of lay, just read “recline” instead. I may be a tad punchy.

            The wedge will be a fixture on the bed for another three or four weeks.

        2. With rib injuries, it’s important to breathe. Keeps fluid from collecting in the lungs, as I understand. My friend–seven rib fractures falling from a bicycle in Guatemala on the last mile–has a breathing device given him by his doctor. He practices strengthening his breath several times a day, and now about a month later is *almost* up to normal. Well, whatever his measurement was before the accident.

  25. Happiness is three company year ends done, all off to accountants. Checking nephew’s sailboat, it survived wind storms. Checking it while he recoups from knee surgery. Painted the dining room and kitchen except for around the fridge. Met the new pony -Archie. So chill. Girls love him. Hugs all around. Fed carrots to the horses. Many chores done and dusted. Nothing like crawling in a cozy bed at the end of the day.

  26. My happy this week is that I finally got my act together to contact my favorite furniture salesperson. They closed the branch where she worked and it took me months to go online and find out that she had transferred to a store in a more remote suburb. I looked up the transit schedule and determined that there is a way to get out there, but it takes 2 hours on weekends. So I figured that I would wait until nicer weather to give it a try. Today it was 50F and sunny so I gave her a call to find out what days she works. She was delighted to hear from me and I treated myself to as long a visit with her as I could without pulling her away from her job too long. I will order new bus schedules so that I will not get marooned out there once I do make the pilgrimage (the store is not near much of anything else) and once the weather becomes more reliable , I will go pay her a visit and see if she can help me figure out what to with my bedroom. It was such a treat reestablishing contact with her. Since buying new furniture makes me very nervous, I went out to the other store quite a few times before I decided what to buy last time and they had a sale that brought it down to a price I could afford.That gave me a chance to get to know her a little bit. She also has a very dry sense of humor that I look forward to listening to again.

  27. My happy this week is the plum cake recipe on Smitten Kitchen, and our plum tree.

    Six. That’s how many of these cakes I have baked/shared/eaten.

      1. Yes! I’ve been hoping to see/hear something from other kiwis! Allanah, does this mean you are a South islander, or did you avoid the damn storm?

          1. I’m over on the US east coast, near Washington DC. Far far away from the kinds of weather disasters that are going on these days. All we have are crazy politicians. And humidity.

      2. The floods are terrible! But I’m just outside Christchurch in the South Island, the storms and flooding didn’t reach us.

    2. Which one? Smitten Kitchen has at least two plum cake recipes… and I’m always looking for plum recipes

        1. I love that recipe. You can use it with all kinds of fruit not just plums and you can play with the flavorings. I just made it with plums from my freezer and added orange zest to the batter. So yummy. I also like it with berries in the summer, rhubarb in the spring, pears and almonds in the fall.

  28. Happiness for me is that two hours ago I finished my last shift before sixteen glorious days of annual leave. I don’t need to get up at three a.m. for over two whole weeks. I don’t need to get up at all if I don’t feel like it, and in the morning I just might decide that I don’t. It’s gonna be awesome.

  29. My happy is a new toy. I downloaded a book scanning app on my phone so that I can log my apocalypse library. I have gotten to the point where I don’t remember if I own a physical copy of the newer books that I love, so I am going to spend time going through my bookshelves and scanning barcodes, and weeding. I can’t wait. Touching my books makes me happy.

  30. I’m thinking about the amount of strain and sadness many Arghers are experiencing right now. I remember folks posting last fall about the diminishing light, and tying that to melancholy. However, a significant amount of light has returned now, and a bunch of Arghers sound like they’re stressed by events, other people, illnesses, and Nameless Malaise (thanks for coining this term!).

    Take care, all of you, please. I’m concerned for y’all.

  31. The dotter brang me dinner from Outback (ribeye, loaded potato, veggies) and a birthday cake with two candles shaped like a seven and a two. My family wished me happy birthday. I am happy. They ate the whole cake, so I wouldn’t have to. Happy!

    4. How kind of them to save you from the temptation of leftovers! I hope the rest of your challenges can be as easily solved.

      Have a very happy birthday to mark the start of what turns into a very good year for you and the whole family.

    6. Belated happy cake-eating day! A 7 and a 2, must be… 27! Great number. Hope you were showered with love and hugs and treated like divinity.

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