The Joys of Week 21, 2020

As I have done since the first week of 2020 I am keeping a list of things everyday that bring me joy. My aim is to reread this list on New Years Eve to see how rich my life has been. The joys of life are so subjective, and due to circumstances beyond my control the joys have been relatively small joys lately. Alabama has begun opening back up (What do I mean ? It has not just begun. The idiots in my state are out roaming around everywhere like nothing has ever happened. Meanwhile infection rates are rising.) but I am not ready to join the hoards who think it is a great idea to go shopping or eat in restaurants, or go to the beach, or use public pools. By default, the joys I find are things I read, see, smell, taste, touch or hear in my mostly isolated world.

Wednesday I had a lovely phone call from a friend who had just heard about Mom's passing. Additionally I received a card from one of my blog friends who lives in Australia. It was such a surprise that deeply touched me. I have been overwhelmed by so many different people who took the time to think of me in such lovely ways.

Thursday: Stopped by Mom's house to check the mail and put the garbage can on the curb. One of her neighbors came up for a visit and also brought a bottle of wine for both my sister and me. What kindness! I always love just visiting with Cathy. I know Mom loved having her as a neighbor and friend. I like having her as a friend also.  I left the wine on Mom's kitchen table and will let my sister choose whichever one she wants the next time we are there together. I like wine but have a very uneducated wine palate.

Friday: After hemorrhaging money and spending the day with the plumbers when the hot water heater crapped out I was sitting home doing nothing, because nothing is now the way to stay safe. Out of the blue I received a phone call from none other than Sluggy!  What an unexpected and deeply appreciated joy!

Saturday:  I got the porch and deck at the lake de- pollened. The entire screened porch was yellow, as was every single item on it. So I washed all the pillows and cushions, then got busy with a hose. scrub brush and rags for cleaning every inch of the the place.  While I did that TheHub worked in the yard trying to tame a years worth of neglect. We were both pooped afterward, ate a quick dinner then watched a couple of episodes of Waco. As soon as the show was over a storm began and I got to watch a gorgeous lightening show over the water. I love the way storms at the lake or beach reflect in the water.

Sunday: We are not as young as we once were and it takes us longer to recover from a hard workday. We both hung out on the porch, read and napped. Falling asleep looking at the lake is pretty darn nice! Reading a book by Christopher Moore (Shakespeare for Squirrels)  also makes me happy. No, it's not literature, but it is a dang fun read.  Plus it makes me pull out my Complete Works of Shakespeare and re-read A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Monday: Since it was Memorial Day, TheHub had the day off and made plans for the day that included lots of yard work to get the backyard ready for the summer. The joy? Well it's done and anything else we do will just be window dressing. I still need to plant a few begonias and some lobelia in the shady part of the yard, and buy some outdoor pillows for the upper patio, and make a solar chandelier to hang from the redbud tree, and plant another zinnia bed above the upper patio wall, and, and, and!

Tuesday: My Beloved Sister and I worked sorting some things at Mom's house. We found some true vintage table cloths that we barely remember. Neither of us had seen them since my parents built this current house (in 1968) and a couple of them we only remember from the house we moved from when I was 5. Anyway these were folded and stuffed in a closet for over 50 years. We got them out and I listed them on a FB site. 2 are sold with 4 more still listed. The joy is just getting rid of something and the fact that it is going to someone who really wants it would please Mom.
And I almost forgot to mention the delicious Hot and Hot Fish Club's tomato salad and okra box. They are reopening June 2, so I am pretty sure take out will no longer be an option. As much as I love it, I will not be going into the restaurant for quite a while. (I have yet figured out how to eat a meal in public while wearing a mask)

I hope you all have a week filled with joys, big and/or small!