What made you happy today?

[Jenny]

Hi everyone, 

It’s easy to get lost in the doom and gloom, from reading news, personal worries, the Summer sun slowly leaving us … that’s why I thought it’d be great to combat this by focusing, together, on the little and unexpected sources of joy we come across. 

Something unexpected like your nephew or grandchild’s giggle, an out of the blue phone call from an old friend, a smile from a stranger, or a happy guest leaving you a compliments-filled review; these things can lift our mood and make us happy. Happiness is a beautiful feeling we are all in search of but it may be closer to us than we sometimes see. 

What made you happy today? Let’s share our little moments of joy, and inspire each other to see the positives in our days!

Jenny

[Huma0]

@Jenny 

It sounds like Walter and Merlot have a similar story.  Merlot turned up in 2014 and the vet at the time said he was around three years old, but another vet has estimated him as older, the would make him between three and six when he adopted me.

He had also definitely been stray for a long time, perhaps all his life, but I don't believe the vet's assessment of him being completely feral because he's very far from being independent. He's very needy and, apart from the time he got lost for two weeks, never ventures too far. It sounds like Walter is very attached to you despite his independence.

Merlot is very scruffy and a bit scrappy, so there's still a bit of street cat in him.

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Jenny 

Like @Huma0  we have a morning ritual here. Our local Stellar's Jay arrives in the oak tree next to the bedroom and calls and whistles good morning to us, with the added comment that we are sleeping in late, by bird standards. We are also reminded, in Jay language,  to check on the hummingbirds, as their caloric requirements are huge and they were up even earlier, at first light, draining the feeders. These little high performance jobs are always 15 minutes away from literally starving to death. We whistle back to that dear bird, and greet the day!

[Huma0]

@Kitty-and-Creek0 

What a lovely way to start the day. Sounds like a scene from Snow White (the Disney version)! She was quite a hard worker too and would probably make an excellent Airbnb host.

[Jenny]

That sounds absolutely delightful, @Kitty-and-Creek0, waking up to nature sounds is just the best.

[Sybe]

@Jenny I ordered new fabrics today. Winter is coming, and we cannot have enough sweatshirts!

I have another pattern for a t-shirt that I'd love to use but I have no inspiration. It's a half-half t-shirt where it's split in the middle, perhaps it would be interesting to do a colour block with both sleeves and both chest pieces all in a different colour. @Gillian166 I'm not sure if your eye for design overflows into fashion but I know you're good with colours, what do you think?

[Gillian166]

@Sybe  fashion really isn't my thing... but you could do an 80s vibe thing and do either musky pink + grey + white + black. I prefer muted tones in my own wardrobe but if you are brave and can do bright colours, go for it! 

[Jenny]

That's so cool @Sybe - please feel free to share your creations with us!  I love @Gillian166's suggestion of 80's vibes!

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

To everyone on this forum -

Offering our sincere condolences on the passing of The Queen, who has always made me smile. Life will be different without her. Such a great Lady, such a great Life!

[Gillian166]

Yes, very sad news to wake up and even though we knew this day would come, I am still shocked to hear this news. The end of an era. 

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Gillian166 

Inevitable, yes; but it is very sad to have to actually acknowledge the end of an Era. An Icon, the personification of Dignity. A constant stabilizing presence, in decades of massive changes.

[Gillian166]

100% agree. Someone who prayed she would have the strength to do her duty to the Crown, and she was still working 3 days ago. A very sad day for Britain. 
@Kitty-and-Creek0 

[Jenny]

Thank you @Kitty-and-Creek0 and @Gillian166 - we're in strange times indeed.  I watched all the news coverage yesterday, as you can imagine, and heard a lot about the Queen as a person.

As a Scot, it always made me pleased that she favoured Scotland so much,  so I hope that she was able to rest knowing she was in one of her favourite places.

One of the news programmes I watched told a story of how the Queen would speak Doric (a dialect spoken in the north-east of Scotland) to a woman at Crathie Kirk, the church she attended when visiting Balmoral.  Doric is not the easiest to speak or understand (even for a southern Scot) so I thought that was cool!

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Gillian166 

My father was Canadian, my mother was a nurse in the Blitz, so we are close to all British subjects, in our hearts. Watching her Coronation was an awesome experience as a child. Her manners were taught to us, and her modeling of a life of service. She has been an inspiration for me in my life, which is community service oriented. Yes, she was working, serving, to the very end of her life. That is so impressive to me. I am smiling as I remember and carry her example with me in my daily life. I'm sure she has inspired a great many of us, quietly doing what we are able to do in the best way possible. 

[Laurelle3]

@Jenny 

 the picture of the flowers make me happy. The sweet fragrance of some flowers like, Daphne, Roses, Violets, Honey Suckle and Orange Blossoms send me to my seventh heaven my happy place.

 Yesterday, I finished a mosaic for the community project at the Dunn Lewis Community Centre with a permanent memorial for 2 young lads who were killed in the Bali Bombings in 2002 after arriving for a surfing holiday. 

There will be 88 panels made to represent the 88 Australian lives lost. There was no theme for the panels. I decided to do a Peace Dove to bring peace, hope freedom and love for their parents and friends. Today in this world we all need a Peace Dove.

I think  @Huma0 @Kitty-and-Creek0 @Sybe and @Jenny have their own Peace Dove in the friendly calming and beautiful Cats, kitten, **bleep** cat or moggy. 

Today, or yesterday we could say that the Queen is at peace after 70 years of service to the British people and Commonwealth countries that she has represented as our head of State which  @Gillian166  would know.

@Sybe the Queen wore bright colours so that she could be seen in a crowd because of her short statue. So maybe you could take up her advice bright colours for your Sweatshirt which we call Downunder as a Sloppy Joe, Pullover or Jumper or one made with a hood - Hoody.    

[Gillian166]

       @Laurelle3  Each xmas we do a bunch of games and everyone has to host a game of their choosing. Usually we have fun trivia games, and I had already planned my game for this year which is "guess the colour of the hat the queen is wearing" and i've been printing out images of her (I wanted to be prepped early as we are moving interstate early Dec so i know i'll run out of time later) and marvelling at all the brightly coloured outfits she wore over the years (and how often her hat was not the same colour!). Now my game has an ever deeper meaning.