1. Elley has been prom-dress shopping. She didn't want a floor-length dress. She wanted modesty. And she didn't want to spend a ton for it. And, the miracle is, she found it! ($49, including shipping). She also found silver shoes for $8. The dress arrived this week, and when she tried it on, it made me smile!
2. One morning last week I suddenly realized that the sun was coming up 45 minutes earlier than it did at Christmas, and is coming up much further north on the horizon. Somehow, I get surprised that the dark winter will NOT last forever, and spring really will come. And it made me smile!
3. We had warm weather last week. Really WARM weather! One day it reached 65 degrees--and the snow disappeared into oblivion. We still have a few small piles around--they shrunk from 8 feet tall to 1 foot tall. And there was a lot of water running everywhere. But oh, how I smiled as I sat on the deck in shirt-sleeves and read a book, soaking up the sunshine that has been so absent. I made a lot of vitamin D that day!
4. And with that wonderful melting snow, I really smiled while out driving, as it is now possible to see in all directions when coming to an intersection. Before, you had to nose out into the cross-lane to see if anyone was coming. Nasty!
5. I'm also smiling now that the frost heaves in the roads are smoothing out. Some roads were pretty bumpy! And I'm smiling at the city workers filling in the pot holes that always come as the frost leaves.
6. Notice the (almost) lack of snow in the background... But what makes me smile is the Christmas cactus--it blooms for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Valentine's Day. I love over-achievers!
7. And speaking of flowers...
I treat myself to a $4.00 bouquet often, when I shop at Aldi. Flowers brighten my day and really make me smile!
8. This morning I got to sleep in a bit as the regular Early-Morning Seminary teacher is back, so, after 4 weeks of substitute teaching, I'm smiling.
9. I smiled when I peeled a newly-purchased clementine, and it was delicious. We've have 2 or 3 bad bags lately, and I was feeling silly for even buying another bag of them.
10. With the warm weather a couple of days ago, I smiled as I noticed the first green points of spring flowers poking up through the soggy soil by the front sidewalk.
Yes, indeed, spring WILL come!
11. Alice is trying out a couple of new violas, to see which one we should buy, and on Sunday evening a week ago, Elley started playing them as well, to give her opinion.
Soon, the girls were playing together, and not arguing.
That is quite the miracle.
And I smiled!
12. And I have a perpetual smile on my face whenever I get a moment to work on my cross-stitch project. I had forgotten just how relaxing and fulfilling this is for me.
I now think of it as very low-cost therapy,
especially during the time of year when I can't get out and garden.
13. And, if I didn't have enough to make me smile, this past week I have been busy working on family history, and suddenly found three (3!) new families!
Clues that had been overlooked before,
or information now available
has led to hours and hours at the computer.
And that brings me to #14 on my smile list: the treadmill, which helps me overcome all those hours of sitting!
(Because of course, I wouldn't want to take the smile away from my sweetheart)!
