2022 Happy To Be Here

 In the last few days I have completed the first three modules of the prerequisite course I'm taking to try to get into a different course next year.  These were the short, this is how the course will work modules and a very introductory coding one.  The modules get longer and more in depth as the course progresses.  It feels good to have started it.  Other happy things from today: After leaving the car at the shop to try to get it inspected, I walked to the studio.  Here are a couple things that made me happy along the way. My protege came by the studio and helped me to get started on warping a loom.  There are more champion's bands to make and I would like to finish them soon. In the evening a few of us went to the movies to see Avatar in 3D.  It came out originally in 2009 but I hadn't seen it.  Gideon hadn't either and we all enjoyed it.  I look forward to seeing the next movie, Avatar 2: The Way of Water , coming out toward the end of the year. ☮ Currently readin

 Happy Michaelmas !  Every year a friend of ours makes a point to have goose on Michaelmas (for prosperity) and so I have.  This year it was a little bit of a goose pate (forgive my inability to add the appropriate accents).  It doesn't seem to matter how it is prepared, having had goose for the last few years I still don't care for it. It makes my friend happy though, and that makes me happy.  Other happy things from today: We went to the studio.  Keziah and Gideon went and did things with ceramics and I tried to do things with weaving.  Perhaps I was too tired, because I wasn't able to accomplish much.  Instead I took a nice nap. It can be a sign of stress for a tree when just one branch turns color before the rest of the tree.  I still find the way it looks when that happens to be rather striking. As the sun was setting there was a thin layer of clouds on the horizon that started to turn pink.  There was also a sliver of a moon that I wish I could have captured in a pict

It is Thankful Wednesday! It is my midweek day where I am too tired to do much. Here are some things I am thankful for today: At work, a box fell and almost hit me in the head. I'm thankful that it missed. Also at work, I found out that raises are coming in October. Yay more money! TF called to do our midweek check in. I had forgotten, so I'm thankful she called. I also forgot that I wanted to practice typing and do a little cleaning each day. It was a perfect reminder. Milkweed ☮ Currently reading: Pocketful of Miracles: Prayer, Meditations, and Affirmations to Nurture Your Spirit Every Day of the Year, Joan Borysenko. And JAVA , Adam Dodson. Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

When I consider the training course that I am trying to get into, I feel excited. Then starts the anxiety where I think of all the ways that I am lacking. One of the things I started doing today is to take an online free typing tutor to help me increase the speed at which I type. When I have taken free online tests for speed I only type around 32-35 words per minute (WPM).  According to the internet, 40-45 WPM is the average but 65 WPM and higher is where to aim for a job with typing.  I’m hoping that the typing tutor that I am using will help to increase my speed and accuracy. I’m happy that I thought about doing this. The big question is whether I will remember to practice daily when I can. Generally when I decide to do something daily, I’ve been pretty good at it. Other happy things from today: Keziah made a delicious baked French toast that I had when I got home from work. The possibility that I might be getting this training has inspired me to get other things done. Thing

Once again I am awake too long on a day before I go to work. It has been a busy day. Maybe today should have been the day that I let my daily step streak end, but it wasn't.  Here are some happy things: Although what I made in ceramics class isn't what I was aiming for, I like how it turned out. The pot with the curve is today's pot, the other is from last week. With last week's pot I learned to trim that.   Keziah and I took the long way to a newly built grocery store. It was a pretty ride with some leaves changing color. This morning I checked my email to be sure I had completed everything for the class I am trying to get into. It turns out that there was one more thing to do. I finished that up this afternoon. I don't feel as good about it as I did the last one, but I don't feel bad about it either. Time will tell. ☮ Currently reading: Pocketful of Miracles: Prayer, Meditations, and Affirmations to Nurture Your Spirit Every Day of the Year , Joan Borysen

We are trying to re-home Aesop, our dog. It was a difficult choice but we can't seem to get the dog and the cats to tolerate each other and this creates much stress within our house. He is a cutie and when the cats aren't around he is generally a good dog.  Prospective new owners will be looking at hime later this week.  We are going to miss him. Here are some happy things from today: Aesop and I had a nice walk up a side street I hadn't ventured on before. There are a few trees that are showing their foliage.  For the first time in a few weeks TF and I were able to share our weekly accountability goals. Usually every week we go over our goals and encourage each other to get things done, it has been a busy few weeks for both of us and that got dropped.  Concerning the classes I am hoping to take next year; I did the next task in the process of being approved. It was a logic test and I feel like I did well on it. ☮ Currently reading: Pocketful of Miracles: Prayer, Meditat

This is the first time I have ever started to think that being a snow bird isn't that bad of an idea. Am I forgetting how much the heat bothers me? Anyway, here are a couple happy things from today: Today I participated in a walk to help prevent suicide through the AFSP . It is a cause I believe in.  They give away different colored beads to show the reasons for being there.  A color for loss of a spouse, personal struggle, loss of a friend, etc.  This year they added rainbow beads to show support for the struggles within the LGBTQ+ community. The event meant a nice visit with my dear friend and her family. Concerning the job/training steps I have been working towards, I completed half what I need to do this weekend. ☮ Currently reading: Pocketful of Miracles: Prayer, Meditations, and Affirmations to Nurture Your Spirit Every Day of the Year , Joan Borysenko. And JAVA , Adam Dodson. Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Autumn came in with a chill. The temperatures only got up to around 56 degrees today with quite a breeze. I don't want summer back, but I was cold. Here are some happy things from today: My morning started with a follow-up doctor's appointment concerning my thyroid. The good news is that I don't have to go back for another year. I have reason to believe that giving up gluten may have helped reduce some inflammation and helped my thyroid look better on the ultrasound. I visited a friend and we shot archery. I didn't do great, but that is what practice is for. In the afternoon I hiked with some friends. We went about six miles around parts of Crotched Mt. here in NH. There were four different apps used to calculate the mileage with four different results. It is a beautiful area and will be more colorful in a few short weeks. There is a foundation in this picture DRAGON!! In the evening I went to craft night. I have been working on the finishing touches of a latch

Today the YouTube rabbithole was metal engraving. I learned more about the products involved with it than I did the actual craft. There are microscopes made to craft with. This doesn't surprise me, but I hadn't really thought about it before. Here are some other happy things from today: It is Hobbit Day. We watched Episode Four of The Rings of Power . There were no hobbits in this episode. I’m hoping that means more of them in the next one. Autumn officially began at 9:04 PM ET. Keziah and I went to the ceramic studio today. Keziah ended up with another piece, I got nothing. I did try, but I think I was too tired to concentrate. Keziah's pieces so far. ☮ Currently reading: Pocketful of Miracles: Prayer, Meditations, and Affirmations to Nurture Your Spirit Every Day of the Year , Joan Borysenko. And JAVA,  Adam Dodson. Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

It is my thankful Wednesday. This is the middle of my work week and the day I tend to be the most tired and so a thankful day seemed a better option than happy. Here are some things I am thankful for today: Yesterday I wrote about applying for some training through work. If all goes well, this will be a long process. I'm thankful that the first step is done and accepted. I'll be doing the next step over the weekend when I have slept. One of the things I will need to know more about for the training is JAVA. It is a computer programming language that I know little about. I'm thankful that Hoopla had a small ebook I could borrow through my library to read and start learning. Every little bit will help, or I'll find that this isn't for me. Either way is a good learning process. Today is the last day of summer. I'm thankful that autumn is on the way, though I'm not looking forward to winter this year, maybe that will change. I took some pictures of s

The company I work for is offering technical training classes starting next March. There is an application process and getting in is competitive. I applied today. I find it highly unlikely that I will get accepted, but I want to try. If nothing else I will learn a few things about myself. There are a few caveats with this, one being that should I be accepted and pass the class, I would most likely need to relocate somewhere else in the country to get the job I would be training for. There are a lot of steps to pass before that is something to worry about. Other happy things from today: Keziah has been putting in extra time at the ceramics studio. She has sent a couple pictures and now has two pieces that look really good. Last weekend at the event there were many lovely scrolls that were given out. I took a few pictures and forgot to share them. I don’t have the artist information, but they are some very talented people.  It makes me happy to look at them. ☮ Currently readin

The day after a weekend event is hard. I'm always tired and there is always a lot to do. There is, however, incentive to get up and get going now on Mondays; ceramics class. After class, I was pretty tired. Here are some happy things from today: There were errands that I needed to run today and I remembered to do them. Sometimes, the little things are what counts. Today is Zed’s birthday. Happy Birthday to Zed! Keziah and I are still having some problems getting the hang of using the wheel and turning clay into pottery. I did get one item off the wheel today and I am excited to learn what comes next. Keziah did not, but I expect her to take the time this week to go in and practice more. We have our friend at the studio that is willing to help us. It isn't completely round, and  it is supposed to be a tall cylinder, but it is something! Using clay is messy work, these are my jeans. ☮ Currently reading: Pocketful of Miracles: Prayer, Meditations, and Affirmations to Nur

The event has ended and I am happy to be home. Here are some of the happy highlights from today: This morning we started with the Heavy List Champions. There were six fighters who all fought well. Keziah gets the winner as her champion but I choose from the rest. It is never easy. I decided to go with who was having the most fun out there and asked each fighter who they had the most fun fighting. It was the same person so the choice became easy.   The other championship today was for Thrown Weapons. Again, there was a lot of talent on the range. The winner is the one champion for this competition. The end was close and suspenseful which always helps to make it more fun. I have a friend that has stayed home more than not during the pandemic. I've seen her a few times but it was quite the surprise when she showed up at the event today. She retained for Keziah and myself and we got to visit. It was so nice to see her. Keziah got a migraine. She toughed it out until after c

At the SCA event, there were three champion competitions today. The first was for Fencing, the second Archery, and in the evening was Bardic. Tomorrow is when it will all become official. Here are some happy things from today: For the fencing competition we had three contenders and one will become Baron Keziah's champion and one mine. They all fought well. The fencers are fun to watch because they play the sport in a joyful manner. For the archery competition, we miss the beginning and come in for the semi-finals and finals. They had some very neat looking targets. The targets for the finals were hanging blocks. It can be hard to hit hanging things because they move easily. We each get a champion.  It wasn’t a windy day and the archers shot well. It is always fun to watch the more unique target options. Keziah and I walked around the event after the archery portion and saw different people. Eventually I walked alone, stopping to say hello to some people, and trying to ge

 After some morning appointments my day was all about preparing for the SCA event, Harper's Retreat.  Keziah and I spent some time at the studio.  She had last minute sewing repairs and I got the rest of the bands we wove off the loom and ready.  Five of the eight bands will get awarded this weekend and three will be promisaries.  I think that we did well considering we started so late.  Here are a few other happy things from today:       The event site has some cabins to use so we didn't need to set up tents.  Since the temperatures will be in the 40's tonight, that alone makes the cabin more comfortable.  The cabin that we are in also has a bathroom and beds.  Gideon and I are sharing the pull out couch.   It has been nice to see friends.  I got to hang around with one friend for a while and catch up, that was nice. There was bardic (performing arts) in the evening.  I didn't stay long but was there to watch a friend perform a song that I have heard before.  It is a f