An Aries (Who Knows Some Stuff)
Back in the dark ages, when Amy and I became new coworkers in the corporate world, she came up to me one day and was asking me something. I’m not very good at shifting focus, so I was probably being kind of non-responsive as I finished whatever I was working on. Whereupon Amy said, “Am I bugging you?” And at the same time, we both said, “I didn’t mean to bug ya!”
That’s how we found out we both liked U2. Rattle and Hum stayed on rotation in my car for years.
One of my favorite songs by U2 is “One,” and I just did a Wordle with it.
2022 ETA: None of the Wordle links are active these days.
Marika sent these little wind-up bugs to Tim and me, and every time I see them, I not only think of Marika, but I say, “Am I bugging you?” and think of Amy, too.
None of which I guess is relevant to anything, except to say that I’ll be more than delighted to bug you with happiness by finding something in this book if you give me a page number between 1 and 611, and another number between 1 and 25 in comments.
Many of you have heard this story from me before, but…
I love the concept of the “happy accident.” Though I didn’t know the term, I remember an early manifestation of it in my life. In one of several elementary schools I attended, we did a Christmas gift exchange. Each child brought a gift labeled “girl” or “boy.” One child’s mother didn’t understand the concept, so we ended up with one less “girl” toy than we should have had, and since I was ridiculously shy and timid and so went last, that ended up as my toy.
It was a set of really, really cheap plastic cars. Cars that kids today would think were so NOT fun that you can’t even find any like them on eBay, or in dollar stores, or even in those packs of party favors with the cheapest toys ever. The cars were all one color plastic–blue, yellow, green, red–including the wheels, which were just part of the plastic mold for the car and didn’t move.
I LOVED them. My brother was older and had long since outgrown toys, which were so scarce in our tightly budgeted household that it had never occurred to anyone that I might like to play with toys that were traditionally considered for boys. They were easy to pack up and take anywhere and required only a little space and some imagination to entertain me for hours.
Even now, Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars, or even cheap cars like those pictured above, make me silly happy, and I’ll drive them around a while before I pass them on to the real kids in the family.
Today, baby, you can drive my car right into the HAPPY books by commenting with a page number between 1 and 611, and another number between 1 and 25. Sorry, kids, the Misery book is closed.
People send me dolls.
That should be read as a statement of fact, not as if I’d written the command, “People, send me dolls!” Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
As I’ve explained before, many of my dolls are gifts. Whether they’re beloved dolls from a person’s collection that she (or he) donates to me so that I can include them in Beck’s Museum of Dolls, Dolls, Dolls in the Attic!, or dolls that people find discounted or for sale in a thrift store or online, my doll population grows. I’m not complaining about that AT ALL. I love them, from the most battered, dog-gnawed Skipper to the priciest designer Barbie never removed from her box.
These two Birthstone Barbies are recent additions to the collection. Mattel used the Model Muse body for them, and in Becky World, that can mean only one thing–you’ll eventually be seeing them wearing my designs. As models, they get names. Since amethyst is my sister’s birthstone and aquamarine is mine, I decided they should have names that are meaningful to us (and likely to no one else). Thus the redhead with the amethysts is now “Katie” and the blonde with the aquamarines is “Dandy.”
Here’s another gorgeous beauty. With apologies to those of you who love your super heroes, I’m not acquainted with many details beyond those most commonly known. So I don’t have a lot of inside scoop on Dinah Drake or Dinah Laurel Lance, the mother and daughter whose alter egos have been the “Black Canary” dating from 1947. What I do know is that this is one sizzling Barbie, and she got even hotter when she borrowed Christina Aguilera’s shiny pants and teamed up with…
The Harley Barbies! These were provided by one of my favorite motorcyclists/writers, Linda Raven Moore, who wrote the wonderful A Little Twist of Texas (which I once reviewed here). For a while, the Harley Barbies were misplaced within the mysterious labyrinth of the postal system, but now they’re free to ride. Today they’re ready to wheel their way through the pages of the happiness book just for you. All you need to do is comment with a page number between 1 and 611, and another number between 1 and 25. Happy trails!
I’m STARVING, and look at my lunch box. The only thing in it is happiness for you, if you comment with a page number between 1 and 611, and another number between 1 and 25.
Lucky.
I have “comfort books.” These are books I first read at a young age that became such favorites that I’ve reread them many times over the years. Several of those comfort books were written by Mary Stewart. I love Stewart’s romantic suspense heroines because they’re never shrinking, simpering females in need of rescue from strapping, arrogant heroes. Her females are smart and spirited, and though prone to getting themselves into difficult situations, are just as capable of getting themselves out. Her males are also smart, wry, and understated, sometimes even bookish, and as likely to be geologists and musicians as secret agents. Though her bad guys can be sinister, a vein of humor runs through her novels that often allows the villains’ accomplices to be more entertaining than tragic.
I well remember the first Mary Stewart novel I read that hooked me: Airs Above the Ground. It was my mother’s book. The dust jacket had been lost, and the book itself was a pale blue-gray. I hope my sister has it, because my own copy is this often-read paperback.
In addition to the story of a husband and his (possibly) wronged wife, there’s another romantic tale within the novel, an old tragedy connected to the famous, 400-year old Spanish Riding School of Vienna. The book’s title comes from a series of dressage movements of the school’s fantastic Lipizzan stallions.
One of the novel’s most poignant moments involving an old circus horse brings tears to my eyes no matter how many times I read it. In honor of good storytelling and one of my favorite novels, today’s Hump Day Happy is brought to you by the pictured horses that I’m calling my white Lipizzans. If you comment with a page number between 1 and 611, and another number between 1 and 25, the horses will dance through the pages and find your own little bit of magic.
Here they are, the ever-vigilant meerkats, ready to snatch happiness from the 14,000 Things to Be Happy About book. You need only to give them a page number between 1 and 611, and another number between 1 and 25, and happiness can be yours.
As always, thanks for playing. And if you somehow miss this on Wednesday, you can still ask. Happiness isn’t like mayonnaise. There’s no expiration date.
While going through my Barbie cases, I found all kinds of stuff that has nothing to do with Barbies. One of those things included this goofy plastic dog, given to me by my first real boyfriend.
The years have been hard on Little Yellow Dog. Still, though he’s missing one of his legs and his tail, LYD is stoic and can find you something to be happy about from this book. Just give him a page number between 1 and 611, and another number between 1 and 25, if you’d like to play along.
Yellow dogs: For some reason, they seem to stay a part of my life in many forms. 😉
It’s back! I listened to the three or five hordes of people who missed HDH the last two weeks, so here we are.
Poor flat-footed Barbie. My intention to cobble her some shoes hasn’t yet found a way into my schedule. Still, she has something to be happy about: this groovy little sofa and pillows I made for her and her friends.
If you respond in comments with a page number between 1 and 611, and another number between 1 and 25, Barbie–or whatever her name ends up being–will flip through 14,000 Things To Be Happy About for you.
As soon as I wake up.
If you want something to be happy about, please comment with a page number between 1 and 611, and another number between 1 and 25, and I’ll tell you what the 14,000 Things To Be Happy About book has to offer you.
That gem is aquamarine, not some sizey diamond. Aquamarine is a stone of courage, communication, balance, and serenity. It’s attuned to the ocean and helps us get in touch with the nature spirits of the sea. Close your eyes, breathe deeply, imagine sitting on the beach as the sun sets, hear the lap of the waves, and feel the sea breeze. That’s a little present to you from aquamarine.