Day 136: Small pleasures

A day that begins with sleeping late is bound to be a good day. It was well past 10 AM when the craving for coffee finally got me to swing my legs off the bed and bounce into the kitchen. While the coffee was brewing, I puttered with this and that until, quite unexpectedly, the doorbell rang. Still in my nightgown, I was a bit put off and assumed it was someone in the building on a board of directors errand. Not really intending to open the door, I peeked through the peep hole only to discover that the mystery intruder was none other than a friend visiting from Australia.

We'd made plans for her to stop by for a cup of tea and a chat, plans that I'd managed to completely forget about! Naturally, because I did not write them in my calendar. Nothing to it but to open the door and welcome her in. What a lovely couple of hours we spent catching up on what's been happening in our respective lives over a hot drink and pastries she brought along. Put a smile on my face for the rest of the day :-)

Day 135: Daytime escape

There is something delicious about catching an afternoon movie, especially on a weekday. It's like a mini holiday right in the middle of the week. And when it's a good movie like the one I saw today, it makes the experience all the more wonderful.

And now, back to the warmth of my bed from which I sprang when I realized I'd forgotten to blog! LOL! Good night y'all!

Day 134: From the belly kind of laughter

I haven't been to see a stand-up comedian in ages so when I saw the event posted on MeetUp, I though, "Why not?" Let me tell you friends, there is nothing like spending a couple of hours laughing so much that your belly shakes. Al Pitcher is funny, in a Robin Williams kind of way: quick mind, quirky way of seeing the world and an hilarious take on Swedish (the language, the being, the lot).

An extra delight is that he appeared at Södrateatern where our production of Assassins will play in January. And I managed to get in a plug, if not for the production per se then at least for Sondheim. Pitcher asked if anyone in the audience had ever met anyone famous and I answered "Stephen Sondheim." (You'll understand the caliber of this comedian when I tell you that he spot-on knows who Stephen Sondheim is! And this in Sweden.) As he was signing autographs in the lobby after the show, I whispered in his ear, "I have have to run but I leave you with these parting words: Sondheim to the Masses!" He laughed at that one and I knew that he knew exactly who I was. Put a smile on my lips for the remainder of the evening.

Day 133: Happy is in the doing

Not our sukkah but wanted to give you an idea of what one looks like

It's Sukkot and for the first time since I was a child, I spent time in a sukkah. To my great surprise, today's shiur (lesson, in the biblical sense of the word) was all about the pursuit of happiness. Apparently, on Sukkot we are commanded in the bible not once, not twice but thrice to be happy. There were interesting discussions in the sukkah this evening about why that might be and how one might go about it.

In one of the associated readings by a biblical scholar, a long list of ways in which the writer tried to find happiness concludes with (and I paraphrase) "and I found the most rejoice in my labors." This resonated with me and I shared with the group the story of finding happy in 365 days. How I am finding that a sure-fire happy every day is the act of writing the blog. The doing in itself makes me happy.

As a bonus, a number of the people there became quite intrigued by the idea, perhaps even inspired to start one themselves. That, too, made me happy.

Day 132: Variety is the spice of life...på svenska

Hatching Heart
av Kali Franciska Von Koch

En sådan här dag gör mig glad. En dag då jag inte har planer utan bara gör. Och så hittar jag på saker. T ex, att anmäla mig till ett dansläger i Gäddede den 18 okt. Nu försöker jag att lära mig uttala Gäddede. Det går mindre bra ;-))

Idag är jag glad för tak över huvud, bra mat på bordet och det engagerande liv som jag lever. Har funderat en bit över min sinnestämning som på sistone har varit så himla positiv och som ger så mycket energi. Relationen mellan hur mycket energi jag har för att göra saker och hur mycket energi jag får av de saker jag gör. Känslan känns skör...jag skulle kunna vänja mig dock. Tänk att leva resten av livet i den här sinnestämningen?

Day 131: Surprise!

My finding happy mentor, Grace Ann, celebrated the three-quarter mark of her journey today with a Happy Giveaway, a tradition she started on her blog to commemorate milestones along the journey. She randomly picks among the people who commented on her blog on the milestone day and the lucky person receives a Happy Package.

Guess who won this time?
:-))

Day 130: Fall

One of my Dale cardigans made its debut of the year today thus officially opening the fall season at my place.  Scrumptious. Love that I live in a climate that calls for cardigans in the fall. Have no wish to give up the luxurious and cozy feeling of a fine wool sweater just to live in year-round warmth.

Welcome Autumn!