Happy

Things that make me happy today:

1. freshly vacuumed apartment(nothing like the absence of stray kitty litter )

2. Just cleaned windows in the apartment (I love how it almost looks like there is no pane of glass between you and the world outside.

3. Seeing my dear cats happy. Nothing like the eternal smile on Sandi's face or Nicki's sweet, yellow eyes.

4. A well constructed salad. (Home made , of course! This usually means the following ingredients are used:pine nuts,cranberries, crunchy lettuce or spinach

5. Lighting candles in the evening as the sun disappears for another day and dusk sets.(This is especially wonderful on cold winter nights=almost as good as having a fireplace)

6. Making art of any kind. I love creating things & I especially love making something for someone else.

7. Coming home to a letter in the mail box. Especially letters from artist friends as they choose wonderful stamps, have fantastic handwriting and make the most beautiful envelopes. The effect is such that it inspires me to continue the old art of letter writing much as I love the ease of email.

8. Recycling. Knowing that I am doing something good for the earth makes me very happy. Being able to use recycled materials in my art makes me even happier. (Like making a sketchbook cover collage out of a friend's amazing envelope.)

9. Opening up the bedroom curtains to sunny mornings. It starts the day off right and makes me feel like everything is going to go really well.

10. Bird song and rain hitting against the windows at night. Both make me very happy. I especially love hearing a bird, hidden in a bush or tree somewhere and being able to spot it among the foliage and identify it. Morning dove. Sparrow. Pigeon. Crow....

After ignoring all of the "Happy Lists" popping up in the world of blogs I finally caved in and made my own. If you happen to like reading other folks top ten things that make them happy go here . You'll find them scattered around the blog or under the listing of The Happiness Project.