Happy Place: Gratefulness And Smiles

[BooksRule]

I posted a comment way back on the first page, but want to mention it again:  I'm so grateful that I have a job that allows me to work in a nice air-conditioned office (and that I have a pretty nice air-conditioned home to live in).  I just got inside from mowing the yard (and was grateful that it was 'only' 85 degrees outside with a heat index of 'only' 93) and am totally wiped out.  I still have to find some lunch and get ready to go to work, since I have the evening shift today.  I don't see how construction, highway or landscape workers can work outside in the heat.  We had temperatures in the upper 90s with heat indexes of 100-120 some days.  I can't wait for our brief fall and winter seasons. 

[JTMacc99]

Over the weekend I was at a party that put me together with good friends, including a few I hadn't seen in a long time. One couple I have barely seen since they moved to the Midwest years ago. I see them on Facebook, so at least we haven't lost track of each other. At one point I was chatting and laughing with one of them and she stopped and said, "You have always been one of my favorite people."  Such a nice thing to hear, especially since I feel the same way about them. 

[NutMeg]

I read today about a man in his 90s who's been writing to his pen pal for 81 years, it was such a sweet article (and it brought back memories of having a pen pal way back then).

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/aug/03/experience-writing-french-pen-pal-81-years

[BooksRule]

I'm grateful for the person or persons who invented the slow cooker.  My library is closed today, but I went out to my campus to work in my office. After a few hours of sitting in front of a computer and shoving around loaded book carts (I'm shifting one of our collections and pulling some old books that are not needed anymore), it was so nice to walk into the house and smell that good oniony pot-roasty smell!  All I have to do is zap some veggies and dinner is served!  

[2727]

Yay for pot roast!

My first ever toaster oven was delivered today and lickety split I toasted some banana bread. Nice! I'm reading through some recipe books to see what else I might try my hand at. If nothing else, I can put Jewish rye slices in there without having to trim the sides for length.

Bonus gratitude: Sunday deliveries.

Edited August 20, 2018 by 2727

[BooksRule]

When I had to replace my old toaster oven a couple of years ago, I made a point of getting one big enough for a frozen pizza.  It sure beats heating up the oven for a pizza when the toaster oven will do the job nicely.  Other than pizza and cooking a single pork chop now and then, I mainly use mine for toasting bread.  Toasted banana bread sounds good.

[EighteenTwelve]

I'm glad the pool I'm taking scuba lessons in is a two-minute walk from the train.  Last night was my first lesson and I was tired by the end of it, so I was happy that all I had to do was walk the length of the building to get to the train.  Of course, then there were no trains for half an hour, but at least it was a nice night to be waiting outdoors.  The absurd humidity finally broke yesterday and I got to sit around in 70 degrees and a nice cool breeze for half an hour. 

[NutMeg]

My recently aloof cat being cuddly again with the slightly colder weather, working on her winter fur AND settling next to my leg again at night.

Renewed attempts at regular cooking after months of now really bothering turning out well - somehow, I wasn't sure this new kitchen and me gelled until then.

Cooking attempt was to recreated home feel for my son who's like a castaway because of life upheavals, so it was particularly good that it turned out well.

September. New classes, new notebooks. Scarves, sweaters. Not quite winter, but a cool, crisp newness. Wood fires any day soon.

[EighteenTwelve]

I failed to get my open water scuba certification this past weekend, partly on account of too much unfamiliar rental gear.  Neoprene floats quite well, and so do I even without the neoprene, so I couldn't get underwater.  BUT, when I got home I had a very nice email from the dive school's training manager that basically said "That must have sucked for you, I'm sorry, come to the shop and we'll make a new plan, please don't give up!"  I went today and we made a new plan that everybody's happy with (basically, I'll get all of my own neoprene gear that fits properly, and play with it in the pool all winter, and go for certification again in the spring), and I got to play with the operations manager's dog for ten minutes besides, so she was happy too.

[SunnyBeBe]

I just wanted to say that I recently had a situation resolved that was very overwhelming.  It turnedout better than my wildest dreams.  I think I'm still in shock, but, want to share my gratefulness.  I intend to pass it on to others.   I do believe in miracles!

[2727]

Is it late for Thanksgiving gratitude?

If not, reading and hearing about others' gatherings* makes me very happy that I haven't celebrated it since the 70s. Never cooked it as an adult. My parents didn't do anything once their two kids moved out. I went to friends' places a few times in my 20s. Any invitations after that received a polite refusal.

Now that I'm retired, I walk across the street to my sister's house for a calm meal. She made chicken Marsala this year, which we ate the Sunday before Thanksgiving to avoid any last minute shopping.

Completely stress free! As is Christmas, which we treat pretty much the same way. No gifts.

 

* Admittedly, under the pet peeves and family trauma forums.

[JTMacc99]

 

I watched this video for the first time a couple weeks ago. Yesterday it popped into my head, and I got a big smile on my face and literally laughed out loud thinking about it. The fact that this guy got to sing on stage with the Foo Fighters. The fact that he was great. The look of pure joy on Dave Grohl's face, which seems to be both for Brian and for himself and that he gets to do this for a living.  His reaction at the end.

I thought about it, thought about other things that made me as happy as this video, and pretty much nothing makes me happier than watching somebody win. I got ridiculously choked up during the winter Olympics when I watched a pair of American cross country skiers react to their gold medal. When somebody asks me if movies make me cry, I always say that I get a tear in my eye during Major League.  Those poor Indians fans! They finally won something. (In real life, I'm a Yankees fan, so the heck with them, but in the movies I was very happy for them.)

Everybody won in this video. Brian won. The Foo Fighters won. The audience won. It just makes me happy.

[2727]

Great video! I hadn't seen it before.

This is old but I have it bookmarked and watch it occasionally when I need a lift. It makes me happy-cry.

It also involves the Foo Fighters. It's 1000 singers and musicians playing Learn To Fly and was organized to convince the band to go to Italy for a concert. 

The band did eventually play there. During the concert, the drummer with the huge mohawk in the video was invited on stage to play for one of the songs. 

A video of Dave Grohl thanking the organizers and saying how moved he was is also floating around.

[JTMacc99]

@2727 That was fantastic. So many people having so much fun. 

[Mindthinkr]

They make their concerts look like so much fun. Thanks for the posts @JTMacc99 and @2727 . I got a tear in my eye for that guy Brian who got to go on stage and sing with the Foo Fighters. A fans dream come true and video proof. 

[JTMacc99]

35 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

They make their concerts look like so much fun.

I went to my first one this year at Madison Square Garden. At one point Dave Grohl says, "How many of you have seen the Foo Fighters before?" and half the crowd cheers. Then he says, and "How many of you are seeing the Foo Fighters for the first time?" and me and the other half of the crowd cheers. And he quickly says, "WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN THE LAST 23 YEARS?" Heh. That was great. When they come around again, I will be cheering in the first group.

35 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

I got a tear in my eye for that guy Brian who got to go on stage and sing with the Foo Fighters. A fans dream come true and video proof. 

Right?? It is not unusual for them to do something like that, which I didn't realize when I saw that video for the first time. Having said that, just everything about Brian's moment there was great. The whole thing is just full of joy. 

[Blergh]

It's a little thing but I'm thankful Gift Bags got invented. Makes the presentation of presents FAR less of a hassle than the days of trying to wrap paper around every odd nook and cranny of oddly shaped gifts (and I always wound up with gaps and overlaps)! 

[ALenore]

2 hours ago, Blergh said:

It's a little thing but I'm thankful Gift Bags got invented. Makes the presentation of presents FAR less of a hassle than the days of trying to wrap paper around every odd nook and cranny of oddly shaped gifts (and I always wound up with gaps and overlaps)! 

I agree.  And it's great that they can be reused.  I've got a whole bunch of them I've received over the years that I reuse to put other gifts in, just have to put on a new tag. 

[JTMacc99]

I am terribly amused by the Fiji Water Girl story.

Obviously it doesn't take much to amuse me.

Edited January 7, 2019 by JTMacc99

[emma675]

I love the smug smirk on her face, she was having a blast.

[2727]

So the handle on my master bath toilet started getting loose and was finally just dangling. I tried to tighten the plastic nut on the inside of the tank to no avail.

Called two plumbers but they didn't have non-emergency appointments available for more than a week. Yes, I could walk across the house to use the guest bath and yes, I could leave the tank lid off and manually pull up the flapper, but what am I, an animal?

I drove the 4 minutes to Ace and the person doing the welcoming directed me to the correct aisle. There were probably 10 different types of handle/lever assemblies at various price points and materials. I was pondering the mysteries of plumbing when the helpful hardware man came to find me and see if I needed help. As it turns out, yes.

He explained the difference between front and side mounts vs universal, etc. I told him I wasn't able to tighten the nut on the handle; it just kept spinning. He said, "You know, that turns counter clockwise."

MIND BLOWN!

Thanks, Ace. You lost a $7 sale but saved me an $90 service call from the plumber.

[KnoxForPres]

This song has got me through a lot of times. You gotta wear those shoes

[2727]

The peeves thread reminded me about a bit of technology I love: online banking. Auto deposit for paychecks, deposit from home, and automatic bill pay all make me swoon.

I haven't set foot in a bank in probably 15 years and almost never write a check. ATMs have been around since the mid 60s according to Wiki, but I appreciate that I can now avoid even those by getting cash back at grocery stores and the like.

Quicken keeps all my accounts updated and H&R Block online does my taxes. Which is another gratitude checkmark because I've already submitted mine for 2018 and received my refund!

I can't even imagine going back to the days of rushing to the bank on Fridays before it closed and waiting in a long line in order to deposit my paycheck.

Edited February 9, 2019 by 2727

[Blergh]

Speaking of vehicular gratefulness: while I consider many of the new devises to be extraneous if not useless, there's one new feature I LOVE: rearview cameras that operate whenever the car's in reverse. Makes backing into driveways or parallel parking MUCH easier than solely depending on the rear-view mirror even when the image isn't clear due to night/fog thanks to those lines spelling out where the car is re the projected path! 

[DeLurker]

I just got some belated presents and this is the best! 

It raised a lot of questions when it showed up on my list, but it makes me happier than it should.  It is a hedgehog table brush for sweeping up crumbs.

[BooksRule]

I didn't get anything done this weekend that I planned to get done (housework, yard work, etc.).  No real reason why, I just couldn't get motivated. So, I was sitting here just grumpily contemplating the coming week (which will be busy, busy) and not feeling very cheerful.  Then, from the next room I heard the sound of a movie starting.  I heard the recognizable 20th Century Fox theme begin, and then the unmistakable off-key voice of Martin from 'The Simpsons' gleefully singing along ('ta ta ta ta...!') It was 'The Simpsons Movie', of course.  Just a small thing, but it made me laugh out loud and I feel a little better. (Singing along with the Spiderpig theme won't hurt, either.) 

[EighteenTwelve]

Teva is making its original design sandals again.  Those were the ones I could walk miles and miles in without getting blisters.  So I bought two pairs, and am wearing one now.  The straps aren't stiff, so they don't rub, and they don't touch any of my current crop of blisters, of which I have six.  My feet are very happy and the sandals from two years ago, which gave me the six blisters, are going in the trash.

[RealHousewife]

I am grateful to be alive and healthy. 

[EighteenTwelve]

I am grateful for having a washing machine that's a year older than I am (I found the receipt last night; it cost $250 in 1976).  Because it's so old, it's repairable.  It needs a new pump and a new belt, but I don't need a whole new washing machine.

[BooksRule]

I'm grateful that at least one of my cats allows me to pick her up, cradle her in my arms like a baby, scratch her under her chin, kiss her on the head and blow raspberries in her soft belly fur.  (The other cat is good-natured, but doesn't care to be held.  She just tolerates it until I put her down.)

[palmaire]

I love a good lap kitty!

Even if they're only doing it for the food. :-)

[RealHousewife]

I’m grateful for my wonderful boss. 

[Blergh]

1 hour ago, RealHousewife said:

I’m grateful for my wonderful boss. 

Same here- AND these days I'm very grateful to have a job that's entirely INDOORS!  Working in unbelievable heat's no joke! 

[Blergh]

I was about to get a brunch this morning when . . .it happened: my car battery wouldn't turn over the engine. Long-short is that I had to jumpstart it with my mother's car. However. ..

 The good news is that I was able to restart the car, drive over to the battery place, then within fifteen minutes, they confirmed that the battery needed replacing (the meter said that the charge was way too low) then replaced my battery and I was able to be on my way for not too much money! What's to be grateful about all this, one may ask? Well, in the first place, the initial battery fail happened in my own home with my mother's car next to it so I was able to get it recharged AND it happened at a time when I still had plenty of time before work so I wouldn't have had to call in saying I'd be late. Even more to be thankful for is that it didn't happen when I was due to drive FROM work late at night when it would have been tricky to find someone to jumpstart it and have them meet me in the parking garage! AND the weather was fairly good instead of having frozen precip, thunderstorms, flooding or unspeakable heat,etc. so all that helped made a difference. Lastly, I'm thankful to the service person at the battery place who honestly diagnosed the problem before I'd bought the new battery AND installed it in a prompt and very courteous manner. No, I didn't say a word while this person was installing the new battery (having firsthand knowledge of being annoyed by others' interruptions when it's clear one needs to concentrate on a vital task), but this person was perfectly polite and prompt and that's not always a given in the service industry.  Anyway, even though it was an annoyance to have to remedy, I'm thankful that I WAS able to get it remedied and now I just have to seek out the frequencies of my fave radio stations that the battery change wiped the memory out (a tiny thing to deal with compared to what I MIGHT have had to deal with). 

[BookWoman56]

Right now I’m feeling especially grateful for the existence of the internet, which in the past few days has enabled me to find an AC repair company who would actually come fix my AC within a couple of hours instead of blowing me off for a couple of days. I live in San Antonio, and my 91-year-old mother lives with me. An outside temp of 99 degrees does not mix well with that living situation. Also, I was able to go online yesterday and schedule an alignment for my car for this morning, so the entire process was around an hour, as opposed to the last time that I had an alignment done on a walk-in basis, and was there for several hours. The ability to compare availability, prices, and so forth on my screen and make a choice that way is so much better, to me, than having to make phone calls and take notes. 

[tiftgirl]

I am grateful that my Daddy is healthy, active, happy and just celebrated is 80th birthday! 😸

[JTMacc99]

I told a boisterous 15 week-old puppy to “chill the fuck out” this morning.*

If that’s the extent of things I’m worried about these days, I’d say should be grateful. 

* It was in his best interest. He was annoying the heck out of Neo the grumpy old dog and Luna (Destroyer of Things) the cat. Both of whom are well armed to teach him a painful lesson if they wanted to do so. 

[Mindthinkr]

I went to our block party on Saturday. We have one every other month. A gentleman there had a TIA. So his wife, a former nurse, an EMT and myself (a retired RN) tended to him until the squad could pick him up. Nobody gawked or made him feel embarrassed. I’m grateful that we have such good people where I live and if you have an incident there are those of us whom are trained to help. 

[FairyDusted]

I'm grateful I got lost and fell into this thread;) It's a keeper! 

[Kerryhua]

Glad to read your topic. Nice idea with great thinking. Carry on!

[2727]

The Dish Anywhere ap for Windows that allows me to watch shows on my laptop has been broken for probably two years; none of the DVR functions work and I have to record and delete shows via my tablet.

I noticed this week that it's fixed! Thanks, Dish coding nerds! Saves me from having to fumble between devices.

[Scatterbrained]

I’ve been dealing with severe anemia for I’m not sure how long.  Around last Oct./Nov., I felt nonfunctional, got an appointment in January, have been on oral iron since then.  That wasn’t doing the trick.  I had two IV infusions in July.  Yesterday, I noticed my skin is starting to look healthy and pinkish.  Things might be starting to finally improve!  Yay!

[Mindthinkr]

22 hours ago, Scatterbrained said:

I’ve been dealing with severe anemia for I’m not sure how long.  Around last Oct./Nov., I felt nonfunctional, got an appointment in January, have been on oral iron since then.  That wasn’t doing the trick.  I had two IV infusions in July.  Yesterday, I noticed my skin is starting to look healthy and pinkish.  Things might be starting to finally improve!  Yay!

I’m so happy to hear that you have turned a corner with your blood count. There’s a great brand of iron supplements called Ferro-Sequels. There are very easily absorbed into the system, as not all iron supplements are created equally. 

[EighteenTwelve]

Last weekend I got my open water scuba certification.  The last dive on Sunday was for fun, and we were out in Rockport, MA, messing around in the boulders.  My instructor scared a lobster out from under a rock and he came shooting straight at me (tail first, which is how they swim) so I reached out and grabbed him.  I let him go because we didn't have a lobstering license and he was too small to keep anyway, but let the record state that I have caught a moving lobster, 20 feet underwater, by hand.  Let the record state also that my instructor is scared of lobsters and was mightily impressed with me.

[Mindthinkr]

@EighteenTwelve I’m impressed with you too. 

[ABay]

Bumping this thread up,,,

It's not Thanksgiving yet, but I need to say thanks to whatever deities or life force or great bird of the universe that be. Yesterday I had my health-insurance-mandated annual check-up and I got my cholesterol down to normal without meds, cheated diabetes another year, and somehow lost weight. The doctor told me to drink more water because the only thing off was something about my kidneys.

Woo!

[Scatterbrained]

I’m grateful to have had some alone time today, which allowed me to order and wrap some gifts in peace and quiet.

[jenh526]

My sweet coworker who gently took my elbow today as we were crossing the street. I think he was concerned I was going to get run over.

[Blergh]

I'm thankful my mother's birthday present reached her on her actual birthday while she was visiting an out-of-state relative! 

Oh, and while I'm on the subject of my mother during that trip, I was trying to phone her to see if she was okay (which I did once a day)  but the relative's voice mail came on after zero rings despite multiple attempts. Then, when I was ready to try yet again, that very second she called me up because she knew I'd have wanted to see if she was okay! 

[EighteenTwelve]

Last Sunday I sprained my ankle badly enough that the urgent care center thought it was broken (it isn’t). They put me in a massive walking boot just in case, and I dragged it around religiously despite it being heavy and awkward and no good at all on ice. Today I swapped the boot for a drugstore air cast, and went outdoors with both of my sneakers on, and I feel like celebrating. Dancing still wouldn’t be a good idea, though.