Well, obviously I have the most severe case of end-of-the-summer lethargy in history! I believe I still have lots of fascinating insights and spellbinding stories about my laundry and the front porch and stuff like that, but I just haven't been able to summon up the energy to dazzle you with my stories.










So anyway, I was tagged by Jen again, this time a meme about 6 things that make me happy. And that's enough to get me posting again, since I didn't have to think of a topic.
Here goes (the obvious things - Gus, Matthew, sisters, Dad, cousin Beth, Aunt Jane, Uncle Rob, dear friends - I will skip because, well, that's obvious) in no particular order:
1. Psych! I lied! I couldn't skip this, because (cue upswell of sappy music) it's what makes me happier than anything and everything else combined:

(I'm talking about Gus, not the deep-water band, though that did make me very happy.)
2. But there's also this (Vermont, in general):

I've always loved our annual visits to Vermont, but this year the Northeast Kingdom made us all fall more deeply in love. The quiet, the mega-NATURE-y quality of everything made this suburban girl want to move there immediately.
3. These (representative sampling below, big Funny and kitten Nuts watching BirdTV):

I've always been a dog person. I loved my ker-AZY Huwie and was convinced that dogs were the way to go. Cats were aloof and snooty - what was the point? But then we brought home Silly and Funny from the SPCA, and I was hooked. They (and Nuts and Caroline) make me laugh out loud every day. They're sweet and loving and goofy and inexplicable. And I have become the crazy Cat Lady.
3. This (in general):

The chance to fry my brain on something crazy like this makes me happy. Knitting's so much a fabric of my life it's hard to remember what it was like when I didn't knit.
This (in particular):

Who knew you could do something you absolutely love and get a little $$ for it too?
3. This (the Phillies in general, not Chris Coste in particular):

Being a Phillies fan has been a huge part of my life since 1974 - Tommy Hutton and Willie Montanez and blessed Mike Schmidt - I was done for. And even though for every Bull Luzinski there's been a Danny Tartabull, and only one World Championship in all those 34 years, there's always this:

And it never fails to make me happy.
4. Oh this:

The only thing better than a good sea yarn is TWENTY-ONE of them, one right after another!! Patrick O'Brian captured my imagination this year like the Sophie captured the Cacafuego! You know?! Having a great book to curl up with before bed makes me very happy.
5. This:

The beach at Amagansett. Our annual wintry trips to this desolate stretch at the end of Long Island recharge my emotional batteries every time. Thank you, Aunt Jane, for letting us share this.
6. Who loves a paint job, big or small? I DO!!! When we moved to our house every room was white. Two years later, I had taken care of that. This summer I painted the back patio concrete tiles (I will paint anything!), the foundation of the house - three times! ( 1) too pink, 2) too orange, 3) just right!), the window and door trim, the front porch, and now I'm primering the clapboards so I can paint the whole shebang outside.

Aaaaaaaaaah - painty goodness.
So there are a few (of the many many) things that make me happy. Now you tell me 6 things that make you happy in the comments! It's Happy Time!!