March always stirs my Irish roots. Wednesdays this month I will be sharing memes of Irish toasts and quotes and blessings. Some are serious and thoughtful; others for a laugh. Irish scenery backgrounds will be pictures taken on trips to Ireland.
Our driveway is long. Very long. It also has a killer S curve.
We noticed it when we looked at the house. But, there was so much to love about the property with the yard and interior we decided it wouldn’t be a problem.
The length wasn’t an issue for my husband because he’s an expert backer-upper.
Me, backing is not my strongest driving skill. We won’t go into details.
Instead of letting the view when pulling out of the garage paralyze me. I came up with a plan.
I’d back partway out, pull forward to the side yard and turn around with a short backup so I could head out instead of going backwards the killer distance.
That worked well until two things changed.
One, I started driving alone more. When we’re together, hubby drives and backs down the demon path while I sit in awe of his skill.
Second, a wet, wet fall and winter mean the side yard is rarely dry. My solution of turning around to drive out forward doesn’t work so well. I’m executing a tire-twisting maneuver on the soaked, soggy ground. The ruts are growing. I’m making a mess of the side yard.
Not good. Not good at all. I’m being forced to learn to navigate the killer driveway in reverse.
I inch backward. Very slowly. Pulling forward and adjusting for those silly curves.
It takes a good ten or fifteen minutes. I have to allow extra time whenever I’m going out on my own.
My husband assures me with practice I’ll get better. Maybe even someday be as good as he is. I have my doubts.
At least I haven’t hit the big pine tree yet.
The weather in Texas has always been a little unpredictable. I’ve learned to carefully watch the forecast and then step outside to see what is actually happening.
Lately it has been warm and sunny – almost like Spring. In fact our bluebonnets have started to bloom.
They were planted in 2015 and they have spread nicely. We are hoping to cover that half of the yard.
This morning when I let the dogs out I was completely taken aback by the frigid air. I knew it was going to get cold, but I thought it would be next week.
As I walked past the bluebonnets I thought “I hope they make it through this crazy Texas weather.”
I also hope I make it through.
I recently read a blog about happiness and habits. The blog’s conclusion: happiness is an automatic response based on habits you establish.
That got me thinking. What makes people happy?
This 1970s embroidery sampler that hangs in my hallway offers some ideas.
Thanks to University of California professor Sonja Lyubomirsky there’s a list of things happy people have in common.
1. They devote a great amount of time to their family and friends, nurturing and enjoying those relationships.
2. They are comfortable expressing gratitude for all they have.
3. They are often the first to offer helping hands to coworkers and passersby.
4. They practice optimism when imagining their futures.
5. They savor life’s pleasures and try to live in the present moment.
6. They make physical exercise a weekly and even daily habit.
7. They are deeply committed to lifelong goals and ambitions.
8. The happiest people do have stresses, crises, and even tragedies. Their secret weapon is the poise and strength they show in coping in the face of challenge.
Then I wondered can the things on her list become habits.
In a 2014 TIME article, Eric Barker suggests we schedule most of our life – doctor appointments, hair appointments, Sundays for church. Why not schedule happiness?
Specifically, he proposes we should make happy things part of our routine, part of our schedule and our lives.
I decided to test his theory.
Flowers make me happy. I love when spring blooms burst forth like they are beginning to do in our yard these days.
I decided to establish the habit of keeping a vase of fresh flowers on our kitchen table.
After two months, buying a flower bouquet when I did grocery shopping was habit. My vintage celery server on the kitchen table was always filled with flowers.
And, you know what, making those flowers part of my shopping routine was quite easy.
Now when I come through the backdoor and spot perky blooms or sit down for a meal with cheery flowers, I’m happy. I smile.
Developing a happiness habit worked for me, but then I think Ben Franklin already knew it would.
Franklin proposed the same idea long before Eric Barker wrote his article when he said, “In the beginning, man makes the habit. In the end, habits make the man.”
What makes you happy? Can it become a happiness habit for you?
You can read more of Barker’s article for ideas on happiness habits here.
We used to have ducks. We got them when they were ducklings and they all turned out to be male. This was not good for our farm so they went to live in a pond with lots of weeds to eat.
We have ducks again. This time there is a male and a female.
I named them Lucy and Ricky. Lucy has been laying eggs since the day we got her.
We put them in a separate run. They kept escaping which necessitated chasing them around the chicken yard. They get along fine with the chickens so we’ve just let them cohabitate.
I do have to search for the duck eggs among the hen eggs now.
The other problem is they make a mess of the chicken waterers. I’m not sure how they do It but there is now a layer of mud in each chicken waterer every day.
I was really frustrated by this today and then I found a beautiful purple feather. 
Then I found another one.
It turns out Ricky has purple feathers under the black ones.
It makes me smile. I guess we’ll keep these ducks for a while.
I read in a weather blog recently that “February is not Houston’s prettiest month” and I have to say, how true.
February in Texas is the March of mountain states. Both are the months when Mother Nature is trying to transition to Spring. Skies are gray and the ground is yucky.
In the higher altitudes that means mud and slush as snow melts. You can’t ski, you can’t ATV, you can’t hike without getting dirty. Best thing to do is stay inside and read or do jigsaw puzzles.
Now that we’re back in the Houston area, February is our March. There’s no snow to melt or icy slush on the sidewalks. Nope. We have dreary, overcast days and endless misty, rainy days.
The temperature is like the wildest roller coaster you can imagine. One day will be cold and damp, the next a warm eighty degrees. Or, that can happen all in one day.
It’s not pretty.
What I do when I can’t be outside is the same thing I did in Colorado. I work puzzles.
And, write, of course.
Working on puzzles actually helps me solve stubborn plot problems and characterization issues. A different part of my brain begins to work in the background.
Then, as the pieces of the puzzle come together, that other part of my brain sorts out the plot and characterization issues until everything comes together. By the time the puzzle’s complete, I usually have a solution for my writing dilemma.
On a recent cloudy day that kept spitting rain, which often makes me colder than those sub-zero days in Colorado, I pulled out one of the dozen or so puzzles I’d packed nineteen months ago.
It’s not a new puzzle. I’d worked it before. It’s a winter scene with snow and snowflakes to help me remember how winter was before.
I didn’t get to spread it out on the large puzzle table by a roaring fire like I did in our mountain home. That puzzle table stayed behind because it wouldn’t fit in the smaller space here.
I used a card table and discovered it works just fine for puzzles with a smaller number of pieces, which I really prefer. Those 1,000 piece puzzles, beside being so large, take forever to complete. I get impatient.
How about you? What do you do when the unpretty months between winter and spring arrive in your locale?
As a writer of love stories, February 14th is one of my very favorite holidays. As a history buff, I love the legend and the origin of sending valentine cards. Valentines are the mirror of romance.
A real priest who lived in 270 A.D., Saint Valentine provided Christians with sacraments outlawed by the Roman Empire such as marriage for soldiers forbidden to marry and baptism.
Around 498 A.D., Pope Gelasius honored Valentinus by declaring February 14th as St. Valentine’s Day. The day now appears in the calendar of saints in the Anglican Communion and the Lutheran Church.
Saint Valentine is said to have cut hearts from parchment, giving them to the soldiers and persecuted Christians to “remind them of God’s love and to encourage them to remain faithful Christians.”
That action, whether fable or real, began the custom of giving cards and reminders to loved ones on February 14.
In spite of technology and ecards retail Valentine card sales continue to grow. It’s estimated that about 145 million Valentine’s Day cards are purchased each year.
Artist Esther Howland (1828–1904) was the first to publish and sell Valentine cards in the United States. Before Esther, the cards were hand made with paper, lace, and ribbons and handwritten poetry. The American Antiquarian Society in Worcester holds a large collection of her valentines.
Most Valentines were mass-produced by machine by the end of the 19th century. Creative people like my friend still send handmade cards.
If you read my blog often, you know I collect vintage holiday post cards. Here are my favorite Valentines. While not as elaborate, I love the way these cards speak of romance.
Valentines express our love to others. Will you send valentines to show someone you love them this Valentine’s Day?
