2026 Happy Blog Challenge

Thunder and lightning were very close in the morning and woke us up.  It was a day with off and on rain showers.  Here are some happy things: The last lampwork bead making challenge was in the morning.  The theme was potpourri.  For this challenge we form a bead and then someone pulls a popsicle stick out of a bag with something written on it.  That prompt is what we do to change the bead.  It could be adding a color, pulling with pliers, rolling in a heat sink, or other things that I hadn't done before.  It was a lot of fun.  I made two beads.  I lost count with both of them of how many different things I did to each bead.  I ended both of them by rolling them on a heat sink.  It is a neat effect. First bead. Second bead. Keziah headed up a small dinner of around 40 people.  Maybe that is more of a medium size.  Anyhow, I was able to help out with that.  I had to leave for a bit and go back to help with the clean-up....

 Some happy Saturday things: It has been a long day.  We didn't plan as well as I wanted when it came to food.  So I'm happy that there are places open on site where we were able to get food this morning.  Keziah had errands to run and brought back food for the evening.  Yay food!  We are part of a meal plan that starts tomorrow or Monday. We got the awning onto our tent which provided some much needed shade.  Some of our neighbors have been clearing away brush and Gideon and I helped with that some.  We have some nice neighbors here in our little section of Pennsic.  We were asked to deliver some things to Pennsic for other people.  There was something that I didn't know what it was and (should have listened better) thought it was some kind of game.  It turns out that it is a board to use to make bow strings.  Now I want one!  😂   I got a picture of the moon.  A few minutes later I tried to take a picture ...

 June 30th According to the calendar, this is the last day of June.  Here are some happy things from today: Work went well.  It was very busy so things kept moving.  I stayed late to work on the hazardous stuff.  One of the supervisors saved pizza for me since I was working late.  One less meal I had to buy, yay! There has been a plant growing by the door at home that I suspected may be a weed.  Google Lens suggests that it is gooseneck loosestrife.  Interestingly, they seem to be expensive as well as invasive.  It looks like around $7 a root that will grow and expand. For the SCA events this summer I decided to buy some stickers to give out.  I think they will be fun. ☮ Continued listening to: Paladin's Faith , by T. Kingfisher. Thank you for being here and being part of my daily happy things. Stay safe!

 June 25th Some happy things from today: Normally Thursdays are the last day of my work week.  This week Thursday marks three out of five days.  My work week is over halfway through!  Yay!  That said, work was a good balance of steady, with a few minutes of not enough thrown in to balance the oh my, we are swamped times.  😂 There was pizza after work so I didn't go home hungry. Now that I have figured out the fingerloop pattern I am going to try to make a bunch of them as potential token cords.  Hopefully it won't get too boring for you, the reader, or for me.  🤪 ☮ Continued listening to: Paladin's Faith , by T. Kingfisher. Thank you for being here and being part of my daily happy things. Stay safe!

 May 28th Happy Thursday things: It was my last day of the work week and it went well.  Next week I will be interviewing for the interim position I applied for a few weeks ago.  I learned that there are a total of eight people that applied for it.  I'm not holding my breath, but will try to continue to do my best and hope that is enough.  The hours would be 3 AM to 1:30 PM.  My work day would start a little later and that really appeals to me right now.  I'm happy this work week has come to a close and that I have made the decision to not try to pick up any extra hours over the weekend. It took me a while, but I was able to take a short nap after work and before going out this evening.   With an attempt at planning for Pennsic I met some friends at a local diner for dinner.  The couple is who I am hoping will someday be able to take over the Pennsic encampment so that I won't have to do it every year.  She has been doing the cooking...

 Happy Pi Day!  To celebrate, I bought pies. 🥧  Here are some happy things from today: My father's side of the family are part Irish.  A cousin had a little St. Patrick's Day get-together this afternoon.  There was corned beef and cabbage as well as a lot of other foods.  Over twenty family members and friends were there.  It was nice to catch up with folks.  I didn't take many pictures.  Zed went with me so we had some good conversations during the drive there and back.  There has been so much going on lately I don't get to spend as much time with everyone.  I was able to spend time at Keziah’s store with her too.   A friend at Keziah’s store and I talked for a few minutes and she suggested that I should try to go for a walk by myself.  A little before dark, that is what I did.  She was right.  Just walking on the street, a much quieter street than where we used to live, and I could feel some tension I had...

 March 10th Here are some happy things from Tuesday: Work went amazingly well.  The Problem Solve Area wasn't as busy as usual.  When we got a bunch of carts that were all delivered to us that should have gone somewhere else, the supervisors sent other people over to take care of them.  Then the Hazardous Materials Area looked like I had days worth of work to do but I got it all done.   After work they fed us burgers and fries from Wendy's.  Burgers aren't usually my favorite, but free food that I don't hate, I eat.  😋   When I got home I fell asleep.  That was not part of my plan, but a full stomach and exhaustion was all it took.  The weather is beautiful.  Temps are in the 70's and it is almost too warm in the sun.  Some windows are open and things just seem nicer.  For a little while I just sat on the steps outside.   I can see parts of the yard! A little brook cutting through the ice. ☮ Continued ...

 March 8th Happy Sunday things: The clocks moved forward last night.  The thing that I am happy about is that modern technology has made it possible to not have to worry about changing clocks.  This meant that I was on time when Stephanie came to pick me up. Stephanie and I drove north to the Conway, NH area to check out some stores with backpacking supplies.  I didn't find a new backpack, but I did find a new pair of cargo pants like the ones I already have.  I've been looking for some since I purchased the ones I have on clearance a few years ago.  These were on clearance. We also went for a walk.  The temperature was in the lower 60's today!  It was beautiful, but slushy.  The pictures are from throughout the day.  Sunset on the drive home.  At home we had a family meal followed by games.  The meal was a baked potato bar.  The games were so much fun.  I've already forgotten the game names, but I had a great time....

February 25th  Here are some happy things from today: Due to the storms south of here, work started late today.  It made for a weird feeling day with times being a little off in my head.  We made it through and the company treated us to Pizza Hut pizza after work.  Yay, free food! There were messages on my phone after work and people hanging out.  I sat there for about an hour texting on the phone and talking with people sitting near me.  This was good. There were fun things I wanted to do when I got home.  They didn't happen.  I had business calls and dishes to do and distractions that happened.  However, I also visited briefly with a member of the house that I don't always get to see and that was really nice.   The flower I was given on Valentine's Day still looks great!   ☮ Finished listening to: The Art of Community: Seven Principles for Belonging , by Charles H. Vogl. Continued reading: A Trail Through Time , by Jodi ...