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Happiness is Sandra Boynton

I love Sandra Boynton’s cartoons (and mugs and puzzles) and Pat Gaffney just sent me this, which is fabulous (much like Pat) and made me very happy.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/15jtDDyyVg/

What made you sing with happiness this week?

72 Responses

  2. Best things this week were a walk in unexpected sun – I love it when trees are lit from below (https://www.instagram.com/p/DDFAUUEsGwC/) – and working on my Christmas present project, which involved looking through thousands of photos and a cupboard full of ideas for other projects. Which made me decide to go through them in the new year and make something small at least out of all those that still spark me. Iā€™m looking forward to it.

  3. Itā€™s a winter wonderland up here at the cottage near Lake Simcoe, Ontario which makes me super happy. Iā€™m enjoying it while I can because rain is on its way.

  4. Iā€™ve been listening to that song, and the rest of her holiday album (I just dated myself), ā€œCows and Hollyā€ on Spotify. Also the ā€œCharlie Brown Christmasā€ album, which is my favorite.

  5. We had a holiday family reunion yesterday, and I was able to spend some time with my great-nieces and nephews. I had sent some quilts down for them to choose from a couple of weeks ago, and they told me what made the particular quilt they chose their favorite. My niece – I think she’s 7 – said she liked it because it was big, and had rainbow hearts on it, and peacocks on the other side. If you don’t remember the quilt it was this one

    https://www.instagram.com/p/C28Oc0WRMOl/?img_index=3

    The back has the rainbow hearts, and I had quilted feathers in the stars, which I think are the peacocks. I loved the description!

    We’re singing our Christmas program this afternoon. That will make me happy too

  6. Walking, walking, and walking through quant towns and Christmas Markets. DH says, ā€œJust when you thought it couldnā€™t get any better, guess what, it gets better.ā€ He and a few other intrepid fellow travellers rode e-bikes through the Netherlands countryside. They all loved it as it was a red day warning for wind. He is a very happy man. He bought a pair of Beats earphones. Loves them. It is a great holiday. The first two weeks were wonderful and the days did not fly by. Since we got onboard the river cruise, the days are flying by. Weather is not bad at all.

    Iā€™m happy bc cousins and we are having a lovely, lovely time. Last night was an eight course meal with wine pairings for eight. One American and seven Canadians. That was delicious and fun. We were all slightly tipsy at the finish.

    Three more days to Basel. Fly home Thursday. The bed and bedding is the best. Iā€™m a bed/bedding wonk. The bed makes or breaks the holiday.

    1. Which river cruise are you on? We are thinking of going on one. I would love to do a Christmas market cruise, they look amazing.

      1. Scenic Rhine river Christmas Market Amsterdam to Basel (Zurich). It has been great. Food, wine, spirits, and beer, good tours, evening games, music, dancing and concert on a palace in Rastatt Palace tomorrow night. We have been travelling along the Rhine gorge approx 40 castles but it is dark and even though they are lit up with lights we donā€™t see all of them. The ones we do see are amazing. The markets are great. Cologne or Koln was extremely busy. Other than that, the crowds are minimal or manageable.

        First river cruise, DH cousin was on one seven years ago. They picked the cruise line. The beds are amazing. At least ours is, (jr suite), itā€™s our 50 anniversary this month so a splash out holiday. And they said it wouldnā€™t last?!

    2. Oh man, my dream trip. My brother and sis in law, neice and nephew live in Basel and I have relatives in Holland. Basel should gave a wonderful Christmas market too.

      1. I thought the shops in the renovated old town in Basel were almost unbearably charming when I was there 40 some years ago. If they copy that example, they should have a delightful market. I also have fond memories of a shop where they had the most beautiful maripan fruits and vegetables I’ve ever seen. The only ones I’d seen before that were huge, clumsy, dry and in unnatural colors. It was the first time I could understand why it was considered a delicacy.

  7. I’m happy because I finally got enough accomplished so I could start making my Christmas lists. The rum balls are made. The advent calendar was ready on the 1st. I’m partway through the (53) Christmas cards, having had prints made of special photos of 2024, then pasting them on cards, before filling them out and mailing.

    This morning I hung up the bird feeder and a suet feeder. The bird feeder was damaged last winter by a bear, and I’m not sure whether it’s going to last long. But the birds are so beautiful!

  8. I love that video. We keep getting just enough snow to keep things pretty (and messy and treacherous, but nevermind). I moved my bird feeders, which are only up in the winter, closer to the house. The cats are very happy.

  9. I am feeling more like myself this week for reasons, and therefore everything seems more pleasant and more do-able than recent past.

    We swear we are going to put the tree up today, which will provide more happy. Figured out my cookie making schedule, so that is good. With thanksgiving so late this year, Christmas is startlingly soon.

    Went to a great Italian restaurant for our company celebration. Also bought fun things at the attached market, so much immediate and future happiness.

  10. We still have snow despite all the rain, so that’s cool.
    My office party was Friday and I won a Blackstone Grill as a door prize, so that’s cool. I also received kind words of appreciation from my boss.
    Hubby’s party was last night. Food was meh, but we didn’t have to cook!
    I’ll be doing some cookies today, and baking gingerbread house parts.

  11. Well, that video sent me down a literal rabbit hole of videos. It was fun!

    I watched Mixed Nuts last night, which begins with The Drifters singing White Christmas, while the names of the actors and producer and director roll, and Steve Martin rides his bike along the beachside path. (That’s the same song Jenny always plays after Thanksgiving.) It’s one of my favorite movies, and never fails to make me smile. I like the found family trope.

    I’m glad to be finishing my Solstice shopping, and will get the star in the window and the wreath on the door, soon.

    It was nice enough to walk this morning, and I have a party to attend tonight. Yay!

  12. Singing made me sing with joy this week. Then a cold overcame me, but I can tell I’ve just a few more days. It snowed here, a light dusting, which is so beautiful, and mean no yard work, if you should happen to have some late leftover tidying to do…

  13. Doing a lot of shopping. Hitting craft fairs this weekend. Going to a friend’s 70th birthday party.

  14. Bad storm has left me without power or mobile (cell) coverage, so no internet. Power not due back till 12/12, I think there is a lot of damage šŸ˜•. I’m fine and organised and was prepared. Just didn’t expect to lose all internet. I have a good storm prep list, but I’ll need to add a few more things now!

    On a more fun note, roads cleared of trees by today and I took the train to Dublin for my sister’s 60th birthday lunch, so I’m heading home warm, well fed and everything is charged.

  16. I’ve had a Christmas quilt partially quilted (by hand) for like twenty years, and I’d decided about two years ago that there was no way I’d ever do more hand quilting, so I gave myself permission to do the rest by machine (because finished is better than perfect), but it was a big project, so I never actually got around to doing it. So what made me happy this week is that I FINALLY sat down and quilted about half of the job, and I expect to do the rest today.

    That still leaves the binding (bed-sized quilt, and I made it in the days before I’d learned to cut the binding strips when I finished piecing it, so now I have to hunt for appropriate binding fabric, ideally in my stash, in addition to doing the actual binding work), but it’s a huge step forward, and not only does it make me happy today, but having it off my to-do list and no longer staring at me reproachfully from a pile I pass daily will make me happy in the future! And once it’s done, I’ll feel less guilty about starting a new and shiny project! I’ll share a pic on Working Wednesday, after it’s all quilted, but probably not bound.

    1. I have two quilts waiting for me to remember where I put their binding fabric. Somewhere safe I’m sure.

  17. I also love Sandra Boynton. I sang with happiness quite literally–our local community chorus performed excerpts from “Messiah” last night. It was my first time back since 2019. We had not only organ but also string quartet accompaniment–just lovely!

  18. Happiness is watching episodes of Barney Miller and not having any deadlines at the moment. I’m sure I’ll have some by the end of the week. I submitted the synopsis for the next book and that editor said she’d get back to me this coming week. Fingers crossed she lets me keep the wild possum and the heroine’s ‘just in case’ drawer full of lacy underwear. My other editor told my agent she’s reading the ms I turned in last month and declared it “absolutely wonderful” so that’s a sigh of relief since I was convinced it was a pile of pooh by the time I turned it in. She’ll have comments for me this week. So, this is the calm before the storm.

  19. That was lovely – last week happiness came from the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain – they were very funny and charming, but spine chilling when it came to doing a cover of Dreams by the Cranberries I canā€™t find their version of it but here is the original, one of the best songs ever.
    https://youtu.be/Yam5uK6e-bQ?si=eggel4MWL5QheAbE
    And here is the playlist for Ukelele orchestra. They were amazing https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLy-nEelStADPlE9Bl76hHieQzedJv9yOE&si=Q9W0vz8pANFTTAxo

    1. The beginning of the Cranberries clip is on You’ve Got Mail, when the MCs are walking to work in the morning. I finally know the words to it. And I love the Ukulele music! My bother writes music for the Uke, and plays. He’s a lurker on Argh, so I hope he sees this.

    2. Thanks for reminding me of the Ukulele Orchestra!
      Hubby and I went to a Ukulele Orchestra concert more than 20 years ago, though I’m not 100% sure if it was the UOofGB, iirc there were two big ones touring around that time.
      Fantastic!
      Now I’ve got a playlist for a better work flow today.

  20. I got an early Christmas-gift from Sven and our buddy/Canadian brother Joey: the actual alternate costume of my favourite Street Fighter character, Juri. It’s a pink(!) fleece jumpsuit with a spiderweb pendant for zipper and a pink spider-plush to attach to it. It’s super-cosy and also kinda sexy (at least if you’d wear it like Juri, with zipper all the way down to the belly-button and only bra underneath), and it is a big happy not just because the thought and gesture is lovely, but also because it’s something I wish I’d buy for myself but never would, but someone else did it for me. The love! I don’t generally wear pink, but I’ll make an exception. Oh, and I’ll be wearing it zipped all the way UP. šŸ™‚ Especially if I wear it on stream.
    Big sad is that my grandma dad’s side (dadma? This should be a real word!) is in the hospital after what looks like a big-damage stroke and bad fall this morning. She’s 95 and since my grandpa (dadpa) passed 2 years ago, she’s also uhm…wanted to leave? So perhaps this sounds strange, but I really really hope for her that she can pack her figurative bags now and reunite with dadpa. I don’t want a dadma vegetable for Christmas, that would be awful for her. It’d be a better gift if they get to be together again, wherever that might be. Have been sending recordings of me singing to my aunt throughout the afternoon, allegedly that helps dadma relax. Doing what I can from here.
    Now receiving kitty-snuggles from Trip. Kitty-snuggles are magic.

    1. Sorry to hear about your Dadma Shass – it is hard to be so far away when all that is going on. Sending hugs

    2. So sorry, Shass. I hope, with you, that dadma crosses over, soon, for her sake and yours.

      1. Thank you, Jan. Maybe with our collective hoping, she’ll have the strength to let go and cross over. <3

      1. Thank you, Carrie! <3
        "Dadma" made itself up while I was typing. And if you do use the word, you definitely have my blessing. <3 In Swedish, all the old folks have "their own word": Farmor and farfar for dad's mother and father, and mormor and morfar for mother's mother and father. Then everyone knows whose who it is. English should definitely adopt dadma and dadpa and moma and mopa respectively. šŸ™‚ Or why not Famo and Fafa for the partenal, and mother's side Momo and Mofa, which would be very close to the Swedish words. šŸ™‚ Anything goes! (Feel free to go ahead and use all of these in anything you write [all of you Arghers! Sharing words is caring.])
        I love words.

        2. Russian does that for various paternal and maternal relatives, mostly inlaws, the words for which I keep forgetting, not for grandparents

  21. I saw that Sandra Boynton video and thought immediately of Jenny. I love her stuff. I was sad when none of my grandchildren fell in love with itI.
    I am teaching myself to machine quilt. It isn’t bad but I won’t be giving it away to anyone I know.

    We had a mostly quiet week except for the Pentatonix concert. They did a great show and I highly reccomend them. They walked down the aisle at one point and the boy next to us just so wanted to go say hi but was too nervous. His mom kept encouraging him to go over bur he would take a few steps and then step back. Right as the last band member walked by, he got up his courage and ran over. He got a hi, a hug, and a photo op. They didn’t expect the photo and Mom didn’t have her camera ready, but they got it done. The boy came just running back and was almost floating for the rest of show. It was a lovely moment in what was a very happy upbeat concert.

  22. An old friend made his sig in part, “Money talks, but chocolate sings!” He was as big a chocoholic as I was.

    For nearly thirty years, since I first heard it, a filk song by Urban Tapestry has ranked as my #1 favorite song about chocolate. I have the album faithfully copied from drive to drive. Urban Tapestry is a musical filk trio of women based in Toronto, Ontario. Members are: Allison Durno, Jodi Krangle and Debbie Ridpath Ohi. I always copied a URL to the song to share, but the best I can do right now is lyrics from a filk awards. (Urban Tapestry has been winning awards since last century.)

    If I find it on the web, I’ll add it.

  23. Today I finished a project I began years ago – got rid of all my recipe books by tearing out the ones I use or aspire to use (being honest about whether I really would or not). They are all now written out and in polypockets by type (the plastic sleeves mean I can just lay them on the counter and they don’t get stuff on them). Happy I now have an arch-lever folder of recipes that don’t have anything I am allergic to in them and I know I have read them all (that is why I wrote them out) and know I could do them.

    When I was immobile I got stuck in a real rut of eating the same things every week and now I want to change that up a bit. Now I am retired I can spend time cooking and baking again and that has always been a calming and enjoyable thing for me.

    This has made me very happy.

  25. I have 2 Boynton coffee mugs that date back many years but are still apropos as ever, especially the one with a cat on it that says “Please hassle me. I thrive on stress.”

  26. I do sometimes sing to myself, but not always happily. (I make up nasty new lyrics to old melodies, among other things. But anger beats gloom.)

    I did, however, laugh out loud some more at Bradley (“The dogs need a father”) which I’ve finished, and at Don’t Look Down, which I’m currently relistening to. (I think I also laughed at places while rereading VNF, but I don’t recall where. That reread is also still in progress. )

    I was happy at the seeming improvement in my stamina during a recent grocery shopping trip. I kept shopping past my self-imposed time limit, but I got everything urgently needed and also some items on sale including a ham that will keep until Christmas time (it was modestly discounted and of the size and kind I wanted, with a relatively distant Use By date, so I decided to buy it rather than hoping for a steeper discount closer to Christmas). The downside, as I found when I had gotten everything out of the car and up the stairs, was that my leg and arm muscles were giving out, even though my general stamina wasn’t. Some could be a side effect of medical treatment, but I think most of the problem was not enough exercise because of previously low stamina from therapy. Limbs do seem to be recovering, though. Hopefully they’ve already grown back some more muscle. (Of course, another downside was that the shopping list is rapidly filling up again with other stuff that I’ve now run out of, or nearly run out of.)

    And as I already noted, I got through a dental checkup with no new problems discovered. I’ve still got a huge chore backlog, of course. And multiple completed books to get written up for GBTh.

  28. I was going to mention that on two visits the store has offered at a steep discount “Islandic style” yogurt, for only slightly more than store brand Greek style. The calorie count per serving for both (as nonfat unsweetened) is identical. The Icelandic is smoother and slightly less tangy than the Greek, which could be an advantage, depending on what you’re using it for. I recommend it at the introductory price, if it’s offered in other areas, although I don’t think it would be worth its alleged normal price, if memory serves, about twice as high.

  31. I love Sandra Boynton. Wikipedia says her “Hippo Birdie Two Ewes” card has sold more than 10 million copies, and I contributed significantly to that total.

    Happiness was a Zoom call today with two of my college roommates–all of us in different time zones but still similar states of mind.

  32. Yesterday I got a series of emails that really made me smile. It was an offer of a catsitting gig in February. The subject line was, “Warm house, stripey cats?” Since the temperature is predicted to take a nosedive on Tuesday, Jessie tried to tempt me with whatever she thought might tempt me across town in February. However, since the bedroom I sleep in has an outside door in it. it is far less toasty than the room where she and Michael sleep. But I just received a new batch of fuzzy slipper socks which will be easy to sleep in and transport so I will not worry about the fact that my own bedroom is decidedly warmer. And I think I will plan on cooking something more exotic while I am there this time.

    I bought a 40th birthday present for my niece Emmy this week and threw in a tea accessory to disguise the shape of the mailing envelope. Tomorrow I will mail it and cross my fingers until Emmy tells me it has arrived. I can’t decide whether I should insure it or not, but she assures me that they have had no problems getting any packages before now.

  33. I make up silly lyrics to old music-hall and show tunes and sing them to my cat. She likes them.

    Happy this week was inching closer to my two weeks of Mostly Not Working, getting a ton of digital housekeeping done, and going out for Sunday breakfast with DH. It was gorgeous here today, made for a very nice walk to and from the diner. šŸ™‚

    1. Iā€™m having trouble believing you would actually not work. You are one of the most productive people I ā€œknowā€.

  34. I spent the weekend at a friendā€™s house visiting a local botanic garden lit up for the holidays, baking/eating cookies, watching Elf, drinking wine, and doing some Christmas shopping. Pretty much a perfect weekend, and now I donā€™t want to go back to work tomorrow!

  35. Happy is holiday parties with the League of Women Voters and the local Democratic Club. We all seem bloodied but unbowed. And looking forward to advising our new representatives of our views.

    And I went our with my cousin for a late lunch at a diner I’d been meaning to get to for awhile. Enjoyed the food and company. And they had a gorgeously decorated tree.

    Another dinner out is coming up with my oldest friend early next week. Otherwise meetings, errands, cleaning and whatnot. And I’ll see my sisters before Xmas, weather permitting.

  36. We got the house cleaned and indoor Christmas put up. Still need to purchase and wrap some gifts, do end-of-year giving, and compose & send the Christmas letter. Luckily, Iā€™m not the one who writes the letter, but I do create the list of addresses and address the envelopes.

    I also had a delightful dinner with a colleague whoā€™s become a good friend. We were on the same project for 3 years that just finished last month and she enabled me to keep my sanity throughout it. We only met one other time in person at a conference despite living in the same state. Sheā€™s retiring in 8 days, so there was much to celebrate!

  37. Spending some unexpected quality time with hubby including going to a design fair at the local tram museum and watching two kitschy xmas films on Netflix the night before makes me happy. Family and work made those opportunites scarce but now that the kids are older, only work keeps us from re-starting life as a couple.
    Also, my new kindle means he can dip into the books I monologue so much about. He asked, so I made up a collection just for him with a small selection of about 15 titles.

    What else made me happy that ds came home from his catch-up dancing lessons and told me he loves the course and dancing. He’s a total beginner, struggling like most of us do as complete beginners but I had not expected him to burst out this feedback without any prompt by us. Also, he’s an introvert and thanks to covid and being locked inside at the age when all of us usually attended dancing classes, so I honestly didn’t expect him to attend a class all on his own without knowing anyone beforehand. Yet, the idea to finally catch up was his own (I chose the dance school – the one I learnt dancing all those years ago) and it’s fascinating to see his progress.
    The one very big change to our experiences: no scarcity of men in class, to the contrary they’ve got more men than women. Which is not that big a deal as nowadays the get taught to know the leading and following role instead of male-female. And all have to switch. And the funny thing is that many of his male co-students prefer the following role. Refreshing to have such open-minded people around!

  38. I’m trying to be happy about 5 days of Christmas on a farm in Australia. Hot, no air-conditioning(because no one else thinks it’s hot) lots of family. Anxious because they have some small drama going just now that I don’t want to be asked for an opinion about. Pretty sure it’s really just the back of my head being anxious because “family Xmas” with my own extended family would be quite reasonably worrying.
    His family all like each other and usually get along. It’ll be good. So trying to be happy about it.

    Afterwards we go to a beach for most of a week. Very happy about that. And it’s all the same people so the worry is certainly shadows of old.

    Sun, long days, long warm twilights, far from city noise, little kids, rolling waves, blue ocean… Good times ahead for sure.

  39. Iā€™ m happy because 1. I got all the Christmas cards mailed, 2. I also got two of my Christmas packages mailed; the final one is waiting for the special gift card I ordered 2 weeks ago to arrive, and 3. The weather cooperated enough that I could get my cat to her vet appt. without any driving issues. They were calling for mixed precipitation with the possibility of sleet and freezing rain just around the time of her appt. and the temps have stayed above freezing so I got her there and back home safely!

  40. I’m happy that I got my niece’s birthday present in the mail. The building that my most often used post office is located in is undergoing a gut rehab and there are no signs advising customers where the next closest post offices are. For the longest time I blanked out on where the other post offices in the Loop are, but when I was riding back from the doctor’s office, I remembered a rather large, well staffed branch in the middle of the Loop and actually remembered to mail Emmy’s present well before her birthday. I decided not to insure the package because even if I got reimbursed for the earrings if they don’t arrive, there aren’t any more of those particular earrings to replace the lost pair. Hopefully, they will arrive on time and unscathed and she can enjoy wearing them for some of the holiday celebrations.

  41. My sister and I had a final-Eras-tour-concert livestream watch party last night. It was so fun. She lives about 10 minutes from BC Place and could actually hear Taylor Swift singing from her balcony. On Saturday night she was able to hang around outside the stadium and listen for quite a while.

    I have Christmas lights up. Tomorrow Iā€™m going to put up some more decorations, mostly garland and wreaths, and get Paul to figure out which inflatables he wants up. Most importantly, Iā€™m going to find the timers and correct extension cords!

About the Author

Jennifer Crusie is theĀ New York Times,Ā USA Today, and Publisherā€™s Weekly bestselling author and co-author of twenty-three novels, one book of literary criticism, miscellaneous articles, essays, novellas, and short stories, and the editor of three essay anthologies. She lives in a cottage in Pennsylvania, where she often stares at the ceiling and counts her blessings.

Find out more about Jenny’s published works by visitingĀ JennyCrusie.com

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