Today I turn 70. Am I freaked out? No. After the year we've been through still being here has its pluses. Today I am missing Randy Johnson, Ed Gorman, Ron Scheer, Joe Barone and a few others who have disappeared from view. Funny how online friends become just as important as ones down the street.
What is making me happy this week? I am happy to be going to Florida in 12 days. This cold is unbearable. I am happy to have found my way back into writing short stories in the last six weeks. I forgot how to do it. I am happy for THE CROWN, which I though had a second season more brilliant than its first. What a sad woman Queen Elizabeth is if the show is to be believed. But it ended on a good note. Happy to be reading the excellent PRAIRIE FIRES about Laura Ingalls Wilder. Happy for PEAKY BLINDERS although the violence is appalling. I will say this though six episode seasons are too little. Twenty is too much. I vote for 12, just enough to plant it in my head. By the time MRS. MAISEL comes back I will have forgotten her as I forgot MOZART IN THE JUNGLE and RECTIFY.
What about you? What is making you happy?
19 comments:
Happy Birthday, Patti! I hope you have a lovely trip to Florida.
Happy Birthday, Patti! And a very Happy New Year to you and Phil!
I'm happy that I have so many things outside of work to keep me busy, my reading and writing, the latter a work in progress, among other things.
Happy Birthday, Patti. I am glad the number isn't upsetting you. (I wasn't going to mention it.)
Making me happy? That we've moved up our departure to Florida four days to this Wednesday. I can no longer stand the cold winters up here.
That last year is over at last and we can hope the new year is a better one.
That we have good friends, not to mention books and Netflix.
Happy birthday! I hope 2018 is a vast improvement. I'm happy to be done with 2018. Well, relieved might be a better word. At this very moment, I'm happy to be sitting on the sofa with a good book (TERROR, INC., a collection of pulp stories by Lester Dent) and a good dog (my buddy Ranger).
Well, I meant I'm happy to be done with 2017, of course. That's how much this past year has flustered me.
Sometimes I think not having had the experience of a dog was one of my biggest mistakes. Just the name Ranger makes me yearn for one.
We've always had dogs, cats, or both, so I can't really imagine life without them. On the other hand, it's hard when you lose them, which you inevitably do.
Ranger is 90 pounds of lovable goofiness. He was a shelter rescue, and I'm very glad we brought him home with us that day.
Happy birthday, Patti! It is very cold in my part of Florida right now although your soon-to-be presence will warm up the entire state.
It's been a good week. Earlier this week we decorated/painted river rocks, three per person -- each person donating a rock to each of our three houses. Erin (15) had mad skills and her rocks were truly a piece of art. Amy (19) was very detailed as she drew fish on her rocks. Mark (17) painted a very good fox. Jack (5) displayed all his five-year-old skills and enthusiasm. Kitty painted a whale's tail freehand that was amazing. Christina, Jessie, and I made valiant efforts -- I drew a weird Harry Potter, a pizza Pi, and a Christmas tree in a tornado. Good times.
On Christmas Eve the entire family (sans Ceili, who was with friends in New Orleans) came over to feast on my homemade chili and Kitty's sweet and sour meatballs. We made and decorated Christmas cookies. Much laughter ensued.
On Christmas, we all moseyed over to Christina's for Christmas dinner. It turns out that Christina and Walt forgot to buy the food and both were sure that they had. The realization came just after they left our house on Christmas Eve. By then all the grocery stores were closed (they tried four) and they ended up at Dollar General, getting at least some stuffing mix. Unfortunately, Mark misread the directions and they ended up with stuffing soup. Oh, well. Luckily Jessie brought over the mashed potatoes and Christina and Walt did have a small turkey breast in the freezer. Potatoes, gravy, a bit of turkey, and a small amount of veggies. It turned out to be one of the best Christmas dinners we ever had. Again, much laughter ensued.
Mark got his formal acceptance to college.
Ceili cam back from New Orleans with tales about her trip to NoLa's Museum of Death and other spots.
Christina and family took a few days to travel to Crystal River, where everyone swam with manatees. Jack, who had never seen one was frightened so he held onto Mommy while in the water. Erin was apprehensive because she didn't realized how big they were. In the end, they all had a great time with those magnificent, gentle animals. Walt took some amazing photos of the variety of wildlife there.
What has made me happy for almost half a century is Kitty, ever beautiful, and I get lost in her eyes every day. As long as that keeps happening, 2018 will be glorious.
Jerry-You have got to be the happiest man alive. And it is probably because you are nestled in such a warm and laughing family. How right you were to follow them to Florida. I wish I was close enough to meet up with you.
Happy Birthday, Patti. You are a New Year's baby. My father was born on Jan. 1st also so it was always an extra special day in our family.
I will be 70 in November 2018 ... and still working until end of 2019. I too am glad to still be here and functioning and as long as my eyes hold out so I can read I will be happy.
My husband is making Hoppin' John today, a dish with black-eyed peas, rice, and sausage, for good luck in the year to come. A Southern tradition, although my sister still living in the South does not know anything about it.
Have a good time in Florida.
Happy Birthday, Patti... belated. Enjoy Florida, okay?
We used to make Hoppin' John every year. Miss it.
Thanks, Fred. We will sure try.
My first post didn't show up. I'll try again.
Happy 70th. I turn 70 in April. Enjoy Florida. Hate this cold. Haven't left the apartment for 2 days.
Thank god for Netflix. Tv is terrible this time of year.
Lot of good books. My tbr pile is ridiculous. It is well into the hundreds. The new Robicheaux novel from James Lee Burke comes out tomorrow Still a few movies to catch up on. Especially looking forward to Hostiles which opens mid January. And a bluray of Executioners
Song comes out this week. Remember being really impressed with it when it first aided.
Happy birthday Patti.
I'm with you on being made happy by just being here...especially given I died for a few minutes a couple of months ago...I was extremely fortunate that an off duty nurse happened to be nearby.
Other things making me happy right now are that it's a little cooler (you guys have unbearable cold, we're going through the opposite...back up to 110+ by the end of the week) and that I've already read a great book in 2018 and the latest series of Murdoch Mysteries is airing locally. It is an absurdly cheesy show but it never ceases to make me smile.
Enjoy florida
Enjoy your
Happy Birthday!
Western NY and Buffalo Bills fans everywhere are still celebrating the end of the 17-year Playoff drought. The Bills needed help to make the Playoffs. Andy Dalton and the Cincinnati Bengals provided that assist by upsetting the Baltimore Ravens in dramatic fashion.
In response to the surprising events, Bills fans started making donations of $17 (a dollar for each year of the Playoff drought) to Andy Dalton's Foundation for Sick Children. In two days, Bills fans have donated $57,000!
And, a local restaurant is sending pizza and wings to the Cincinnati Bengals, too!
Oh, Bernadette, what a horrible incident. Hope you are okay now. A great book goes a long way.
George, I hope for great good fortune for the Bills.
Happy Birthday, Patti. Your regular “Things that are making me happy” posts – make me happy.
Happy belated, Patti!
Miscellaneous: Happy birthday.
Christmas: My family was able to drive down and visit my parents in IL. We came back Christmas day which meant dinner was a relaxed meal of frozen pizza and gift opening.
New Year: Most every internet comment I read says how awful 2017 was. I disagree. Sure, politics were insane and disappointing. But, I was able to take a couple one-week long vacations, my children are doing well in school, I finished volunteering with Cub Scouts, and my father and mother have been hanging in there.
TV: I watched MINDHUNTERS on Netflix and it was very, very good. I just finished watching ASH VERSUS EVIL DEAD and really enjoyed it.
Books: Listening to Karl Malantes's MATTERHORN right now. I've not been reading as much as I should. I started a Elmore Leonard novel a couple night ago.
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