things that make me smile!

Lately, these are the things that have made me smile!

• the sight of two women in heels, one with a shopping bag, trying to gather a couple goslings that were trying to follow their parents (geese) across a busy street.  The geese were honking like crazy as they watched their goslings going opposite ways.  There were only two, but they were shoo'd across the highway as cars stopped to give them safe passage.  WAY TO GO LADIES IN HEELS!
• my grandson telling me "Granny, you have different rules"   "Really?  What do you mean?"  "Well Granny you have different sugar rules, Mom only lets us have one sugar thing".  BUSTED.  
• breakfast with a sweet friend who loves to laugh.  
• going to CURVES to work out seeing how different people are when they use the recovery boards between the machines.  Some jog, some walk, some do weird exercises!  Hmmm…. 
• unexpected connections as I play the Mennonite game with the best of them!!  Some say there are 7 degrees of separation, but in Manitoba - I think it is far less
• my bouquet of tulips
• coffee with a friend tonight.  Did I mention that BOTH friends paid for me because it is my birthday this week.  SPOILED I KNOW!!
• My husband Alvin has always joked with the grandkids from the time they are little - he says "Who's the best?" And then he says (with arm pump in the air) "Poppa" to which the kids laugh with him.  The other day, while babysitting my youngest grand, I tested her to see her reaction.  She is a year and a half old.  I said "who's the best" and she promptly said "Poppa"  Later I told my daughter to ask - and the answer was the same.  Mattie had not done this before. Poppa was pumped to get a video on his iPhone
• the sound of bluejays but better still - seeing them
• CHIPPY our chipmunk has become our thorn in our flesh (fills our car vent with birdseed) A pain, but at the same time makes me smile - because well, chipmunks are just perky and cute little guys.  I think it is the stripe!

More things that have made me smile lately:

• occasional soft ice-cream at Half Moon (its a little too close to where we live)
• our first convertible ride of the summer (love the freedom)
• learning how to cut our front lawn with our big riding mower (bigger than anything I cut lawns with before)  I loved the straightaways!!
• the outhouse that just got put on the beginning of our property (there is a reason)
• beautiful little finches in the trees
• watching a bald eagle soar
• hot tubbing in the early morning
• beautiful hanging flowers that I put up tonight after my friend picked them up and delivered them
• my kids celebrating my birthday (birthday is tomorrow, but we celebrated Tuesday night since the guys work tomorrow) and watching my grands being so excited about the gift they were going to give me!
• feeling so loved, appreciated and special

And a few more things that make me smile

• spending an impromptu tea time and conversation (couple hours) with a very special aunt and uncle 
• talking about high school and my early years of dating my husband (tomorrow I turn 56 … we dated at 16 )
• pushing my grandson on the swing - for what seemed like hours.  There is something wonderful about a swing.  I am looking for a big one for our front tree.
• making a birthday cake for one of our pastors, and I will deliver it - he and I share the same birthday although I am a year older 
• watching YouTube with my husband (ask our kids about that)
• sitting in our gazebo - listening to the birds
• sunsets
• sunrises
• smell of fresh rain
• dandelions …. even if they are weeds.
• My kids, my grandkids and well my husband and I laugh a lot!!  I love my gang.
• YOU … if you are reading this - I hope it has made you smile too.

Don't forget to count your blessings!  Night.