By Slanted Light

Well, it's that day - Day 100 of 100 Days of Happiness! And naturally it had to be a challenging one... I woke late, with a headache, and perhaps rather foolishly a decision not to take painkillers because it was nearly a week later and I'd better see how I'm really feeling. I also, for some reason, had a slightly dodgy tummy. All in all, I couldn't concentrate on work either, with the consequence that as usual I'm here in the small hours trying to get finished. Which will mean I'll wake late tomorrow. Plus it was colder again - though at least it didn't rain. Grumble, grumble, grump!

So - I finally decided I'd better go down the garden for a look around in the vague hope that I might find something happy to post about! And it worked. *g*

The sky! The sky was doing gorgeous things with clouds! And when I got to the bottom of the field and peered over the hedge at the hill, there was the moon looking all big and pale and gorgeous.




Also, as I stood near the Slaughterhouse, eying the gorgeous sky, I realised that I could hear baby birds from up under the roof, where I'd seen ravens going in and out. So I watched, and I watched, and I watched...

...and sure enough the parents put in an appearance! It took me a fair few shots to get something recognisably bird-like rather than a scrappy black mass of something in the air, but that was fun too - and that is happy-making. *g*

And we have to finish with some flowers, because they are always happy-making. Some blossom still lingering on the fruit trees (hmmn, is that the quince?) And the yellow roses, standing high above the trellis against the gorgeous sky.


So - I started this 100 days way back on January 26th, when the world was a very different place... The UK was still (just) in the EU, I didn't yet own a metal detector, and people were allowed to leave their houses whenever they felt like it, and for no apparent reason at all... Perhaps a strange happy at the end of this 100 days is that I have a bit more faith in more people than I did at the start. There are some idiots out there, and there are some frightening idiots, but the vast majority of people in the world (that we're able to see, anyway) seem to be showing that maybe the Doctor was right after all - maybe humans are basically good and able to look out for each other. Some of them do it by going out and doing wonderful things, some do it just by staying home when they're told to, to avoid hurting other people, but it seems like more people are doing those things than trying to push their own selfish agendas. Most people are caring more about other people than they are about money, and I find that quite happy-making.

Now let's see if I can keep posting, even if I don't put "100 Days" in the subject header... *g*

Right - catching up now so that I can keep up with the last two happy days out of a hundred!

Saturday
The sky made me happy on Saturday - look at that blue! I was actually trying to take a pic of the moon beside the church here - you can just about see a white smudge! And then in the evening, those fab swooshes of cloud...


It also made me happy to realise that it was quarter to nine at night, and this was the view from my window! *g* Love the longer nights...


Sunday
I finally made banana bread with my too-ripe-too-sweet bananas, with a vegan recipe (I didn't have an eggs *g*), and I added chocolate instead of nuts, and it turned out really well! I shall use that recipe again - really simple too. (BBC Good Food)

And when I looked into my house from outside, I could see how very nicely my salad was growing, which made me quite happy. *g*

Also it made me very happy to actually manage to write a wee Pros fic (and to have the other chapters all planned out ready to go *g*) It's hardly my best, but... it's writing? *g*

So this was a tricky day. As I was waking up and thinking randomly, as you do, and lazily planning what to do for the day, I suddenly realised that what I might need to do to try and combat the damp in the bedroom was rearrange bookcases... because as I stared at the corner, I realised that I could fit another bookcase along the inside wall, and I probably only hadn't because I'd been trying to maximise the number of shelves by being able to put stuff on top too. And it would mean I could move the bookcase out of the nasty problematic corner too... Which would, in fact, make me quite happy. *g*

So I went from this to this... added bonus that I can access my Pros/fandom shelves and my books more easily. Why didn't I think of that before?!

I guess it makes the room feel a little smaller, but I don't spend alot of time in there... and I do like looking at bookcases full of books. And fic. *g*

Less happily, it turned out there was another nasty damp patch on the back of the wall, and a gentle fluff of green on the back of the bookcase, so I had to clean that. Then, being me, I had to move the books from the other bookcase to the new one at the end of my bed, because then they'd run around the room starting from A, rather than in an alphabetical muddle (shush...), and since I was taking the books off it anyway, I thought I'd better move the other-corner bookcase and check and clean behind it - and although the wall looks fine, there was white mold on the bottom of the bookcase - waaah! So I had to deal with that too, and then it needed to dry overnight, so ack for mess of a room to go to bed in!


Luckily there were other happy things to think of - reading fic in the garden, and then discovering these odd tall purple flowers, growing randomly wildly beside my sitting-out garden! *g*

(Anyone know what they are?)

And the deep blue of these flowers always makes me happy. *g*


How about you - what's making you happy this weeknd?

Tuesday
Today started off quite cold, but the sky was a gorgeous blue and it felt warmer than it was by the afternoon. This blossom-dancing tree made me happy.


Blossom and daisies everywhere - lovely! And this chap peering from the room of the slaughterhouse made me happy too! *g*




Wednesday
Landlords' gorgeous tulips made me happy. This pink one - so delicate! And the ta-da! of the red one. *g*


The gorgeous soft evening made me happy, walking back from food saving. And what really makes me happy? There are bats flying all around the village at dusk! *vbg*


These chaps in the first picture made me happy. Someone, years and years ago, apparently put that stone owl up on the top of the telegraph post to try and stop birds perching on the wires and making a mess of everyone's cars. If if ever worked in the first place, the crows have definitely got it sussed now. *g*

More of landlord's tulips - the way they're all splayed out makes me very happy for some reason! None of this stand-to-attention tulips for them, they're far more relaxed! *g*

And finally, I wouldn't say it makes me happy, but I'm rather relieved that I've been sent a week's worth of work after all...

Easter Weekend - far too much time spent in front of my computer trying to sort out food saving, but happy-making that it's getting going with the volunteers. Very happy making to be able to wear dresses and Crocs - wheeee! and the lovely blue sky, too. *g*

Saturday
There is a gloriously blossomed tree in the churchyard, and it came out for this weekend - and look what I spotted on it! Adopted paganism! It's a wishing tree this year! Full-circle back to where Christianity adopted existing traditions and celebrations!

I can never resist golden sunshine on a wall, either... *g*

Sunday
More time in front of the computer on Sunday, but to stave off madness I took my detector into the garden, finally notched down the iron on it, and did an hour's detecting. And I found a spoon handle! That's not iron! *g* I also found a wee shoe buckle that wasn't iron too. Neither thing properly old and wonderful, but old enough and wonderful enough for me right now. And not made of iron! *g*
Shame the weather's on the turn now, and it's getting colder again, and perhaps damper... Mind you, I've been sent a day's work for Tuesday anyway, which doesn't exactly make me happy, but is something of a relief. Cross fingers for Wednesday now, I guess!

I had to walk past the churchyard at twilight, and couldn't resist the ribbons and blossom again...

Hope you've had a happy Easter weekend!

Today I finished the last piece of work I had, which was nice and straightforward (which was a happy thing). It would be slightly happier if I had work lined up for after Easter, but we'll just see how that goes. For the moment the sun has been shining and warm, and all is locally well.

Wander down the garden, which is a general sea of forget-me-nots.


I finished work and went out shopping for essentials, for me and landlords. Very odd shopping during covid-19, isn't it. Most people doing the oops, sorry thing if you accidentally round a corner and end up near-ish them, a few people completely oblivious to the fact that you were waiting patiently for your go at the cheese after chappy was done, and a few shopping assistants who don't quite know that anything has changed in the world. Is it better now that we're more aware of each other? Hmmn...

Anyway, this was the road home - I took advantage of empty roads and my phone camera, cos I'm not likely to be out again soon...




Foodsaving again tonight,and tons of food, so it made me happy to be able to see it to good homes. Without work tomorrow I can actually get the other volunteers organised to do collect-and-drop-offs too, so I can have some nights off again. *g* Although if I'm not doing anything else, then it's nice to feel useful... Anyway, finished that, had something that I saved for dinner, and decided to crash in front of catch-up tv. His Dark Materials, which I missed at Christmas.


And now - bed! Oh no - post the Prosfic review I started while dinner was cooking, then bed... *g*

How're you doing?

Monday just seems to keep coming around... and today it blew in with warmth, and a kind of muggy feel, which normally I wouldn't like at all, but which made a nice change from the cold of winter today! also it had rained overnight (and dripped a bit today too), which was actually something we've needed for a few weeks! Doesn't feel right to say it after endless wet days (it felt like) over winter, but there you go! Today was a gloriously spring day, though...




I was out food saving again tonight, but because it was a yet again situation where the carer who'd stepped in was called away and couldn't do it, and I'd filled everyone I knew easily's freezers over the last week, I sent out a call for anyone on the village support group who might want food - and had half a dozen replies from people who said they'd be glad of a bit extra, including one guy who'd been living on food bank deliveries (via our village group) for ages. So I was very happy to be able to do something useful there too. It was dark by the time I got back, but the moon was full and it was a gorgeous night. *g*

Also, my current awkward work assignment is almost finished (last day tomorrow) and although I don't have anything else lined up yet (which is always very gulp when they leave it late to send), I'm very happy to be nearly done with this one!

Hmmn, well I've just been told off by my sister for suggesting that other people's feelings might also need to be considered (a nurse who fucked up but luckily it turned out okay in mum's care home), and I'm still trying to work out what to say to an old friend who is rather more to the right wing than I'm comfortable with, and posted a Nigel Farage vid on her fb page without apparently knowing who he was (or why he's a frightening and awful human being), and although I've been sent more work (good) it's a really difficult document that's going to last four days if I can get my finger out, and... just...

Right.

1. Talking to friends on Threema today - that was happy. *waves to you* *g*

2. Having to cover for food saving again today, so saving it up for my daily exercise outing, receiving more food than we've had for ages, walking home with it at 8pm which was clap-the-NHS-and-Key-Workers time, and trying to clap with both hands heavy with bin-bags of saved food, but everyone I passed being smiling and friendly and laughing with me as I tried. Getting home with it in-half-despair thinking what am I going to do with it all to find half a dozen of the neighbours still in the street and happy to save some of the food, which I laid out on my boxes, which I'd left in my car, and then stepped back two metres or so, so that people could come and get things one at a time, which they mostly did (just a few people still not getting it!), and still enough left over to take to a friend who I'd offered some to before I realised there'd be that much! So... that all worked out. No food was thrown away, people took it which means they'll be out slightly less often to go shopping and thus risking covid-19, and... yeah. Ultimately - happy. But it's been that kind of complicated day!

3. Oh, happy that my shoulder blades and neck (and tooth that I didn't mention earlier cos I don't want to talk about teeth, and I took a paracetamol) have all settled down, at least for a bit, and will hopefully be fine tomorrow. *g*

4. Thinking oh-fuck-it about work, and watching a documentary about the Mary Rose, because god I miss history... and I can't even metal detect right now! Well maybe in the garden, because landlord said it was my garden too. So - maybe I could detect in the garden this weekend when it's nice, and plant my seeds, and... detect in the garden. *g* Anyway - cool show, even though it made me miss isotopes and think about what could have been... Hmmn. Come to think of it, I don't think anyone who's likely to read this now will have any idea what I mean, but if you were with me way back in 2005 or 2006 or 2007 you might...

5. Oh buggrit. The curve of Doyle's body, beside the straight and solid lines of Bodie's. The way Doyle's t-shirt is echoed in Bodie's jacket. The way Doyle's elbow slides behind Bodie, so you know that they're probably touching, just a little bit, or almost touching. The way they're looking in the same direction, thinking about the same thing, and in five minutes or two hours, or a day or more they'll be able to turn to each other and talk about it, and be right there on the same page, in the same place. The way it's summer behind them, and the air is not cold on their skin, but touching them gently. The way, any moment now, Doyle will say "Yeah, alright," and they'll go off together, and get things done, because that's what they do. Together.

6. And I will be reading Forever True again shortly, which, just... melt...

Happiness for the day:

- Finishing work before midnight for a change - yeay!
- Watching two eps of Doctor Who to catch up (weird that I didn't watch the season at the time, but glad it's still happy-making!)

And the sun came out occasionally too.

Oh, it's weird times, isn't it... Don't know about you, but I'm finding it fairly hard to focus on any one thing. I have the Lads in Lockdown half in mind - I know all sorts that are going to happen, but my brain's still chuntering along the next few hours after Doyle's... well, that would be telling. *g* But I'm determined my brain will re-focus and get there. *g* I'm slightly distracted by having done something to my wrist - not sure why, but it's a bit swollen and sore, even just lying in cushioned comfort in bed at night - and by my laptop mouse playing up a bit too - gargh! Still, I'm relatively comfortable here at home, my volunteer patch seems to be sorted, and even if the wind was cold today, and the clouds were out, there was also still sunshine.

The clocks went forward here today. On the one hand we lost an hour, on the other hand - light, glorious light in the evenings (which is when I tend to be most awake...)

My goal today was to plant some seeds in the greenhouse that Landlord won't be using this season, but in the end I kept being interrupted, and only got as far as clearing my veggie bed. Still, that's a happy thing to start with. On the bright side, Landlord says he's not planning to do any more gardening than he can near the house, so I've probably got two greenhouses to myself, as well as his three-times-the-size veggie bed outside. Let's see what I can do... I have work tomorrow, and half a day on Tuesday at the moment - hopefully I can do some gardening around that.

My Christmas cactus made me happy today - she's also an Easter cactus (which she has been before, so I did wonder... *g*

And the goblin village was back again tonight at sunset - look at this amazing goblin cathedral... *g*Ooh, I'm seeing wolfs-head windows, too... *g*

Otherwise, I sunk into watching Bridget Jones' Baby this evening, and when I've got time I'll catch up with the second ep of McDonald and Dodds. But last night - last night I watched a random Pros ep, which turned out to be - Involvement. I so love that moment at the end where Bodie goes after Doyle, Doyle shrugs him off, and then is the one who puts his arm around Bodie at the end... *sigh*

Speaking of *sigh* - I'm rereading Tangled Web by Jack Reuben Darcy, which I adore - my heart for them... *g* Anyone else reading Pros fic? Or watching eps?

Take care, my lj-friends - stay at home, wash your hands, and keep half an eye on the sunshine, because it will always be out there for us.