Shades Of Happy

Susan, Peggy, and I set off to hike Sleeping Beauty on a gorgeous fall day. We unintentionally met up with several of our hiking friends who were doing the same hike, so it was an impromptu lunch gathering at the top. 

Peggy, me, and Susan were first to the summit. 📷: Amyjean

It was fun to meet up with them and catch up on each others lives.  Margy, an 80 year old  woman I met on the Norway trip, was happily climbing still. As one of the hikers pointed out,
we range in age from 62 - 80 and this is what makes us happy!

The three of us are introverts, so we discussed that on the hike down, and found out that Peggy has not read Quiet, by Susan Cain. I'm adding a copy of that to her gift at tonight's party. She is a classic social introvert. 

I'm happy that all I have on my agenda today is making meatballs for the party. As I do, I will be making a giant batch so I can stash a few in the freezer for future me.

Halloween decor has started popping up lately, and my neighbors could not be happier. While they were installing the last three dancing witches, I went over to say hello and we chatted for a bit. They love Halloween, they know they are a bit nuts with the decor, and they are the sweetest people on the street. They ended up bringing me into their backyard to pick me a bag of apples, and I got caught up on their skunk saga. The skunks are alive and thriving under the backyard shed instead of the front porch, so they are all happy. 

People walking and cars driving by activate the dancing ghosts and witches, complete with music.
In this instance, my hearing loss is a positive!

As I was making my coffee one morning, I thought about how happy my little ritual makes me. Expensive decaf coffee that is indistinguishable from regular, and a pour over method which produces the smoothest, yet bold coffee flavor. 

It doesn't take much to start my days off in a good mood.
And yes, I take my pour over with me when I travel.

While in Saranac last week, the AirB&B's coffee cups were tiny, sad little vessels, so I bought this one to get me through this hardship. It is substantial in size, the rim and handle are appropriately sized, and it has a compass on it! What a happy find! It's becoming my favorite mug.

Zinnia's and nastertiums have earned a permanent place in my gardens. They are going strong even as everything else has mostly finished. I'm in seed collecting mode so I can grow an endless supply to share next spring.

These are short but an absolutely brilliant red.

Pink and very tall zinnias

Weirdly wonderful nasturtium seeds.

I would have to work very hard to get rid of these anemones.
They do provide excellent color through the fall to justify their spreading nature.

Is this the final hurrah for the flowers? 

The party was fun and successful in that Peggy was surprised and happy. My meatballs turned out well and AJ’s dessert was a hit - an homage to book club. 

Surprise parties are not my thing, but my friends just love them.

AJ created a little reading nook.

The fire in the fireplace was real and caught the fireplace on fire a moment after this.
We had a bit of an unintentional book burning.

Susan texted me this morning to arrange a meet time for the concert she invited me to a couple of weeks ago. I had forgotten to put it on my calendar and was planning a nice quiet evening at home. I rallied though, and we saw a Billy Joel tribute band and presentation. They were excellent to listen to, and people watching was a hoot. 

A couple behind us were yelling/singing so loudly, that we moved seats during the first song. Thank goodness there were a few open seats. Rather than getting angry at them, by relocating we were happy listening to the performer, and they were happy absolutely losing their minds (loudly) over every song - it was a bonus performance!

He played all the hits and told the story of Billy Joel.

I didn't get home til nearly 11 pm but it wasn't raining so I took a dip in the hot tub and admired the chirping crickets and frogs, as the stars and nearly full moon weren't visible. This storm is dropping lots of rain for the next couple of days, so I'll plan on a quiet day at home tomorrow.