friday five: smile, smile, smile!

For this week's ff Jan writes: what makes you smile? Remembering that Meister Eckhart said that if you pray "thank you" that that is enough of a prayer, share with us five things, memories, or activities that bring you smiles and gratitude.

Too many good memories from which to choose, so...

Very simply, after days and days of rain, we have sunshine today! Big ol' smile!

I got a lot done last night around the house. We've been doing a little remodeling, and the remnants are still present just about everywhere (we are still working on the punch list). I unpacked boxes of books, put things away that had taken over surface areas, cleaned the kitchen, and so on. It's almost a whole new house this morning!

I have some shipping supplies left over from a time when I had an online craft business. Thistle Farms (I live about 30 miles from its location) has just let me know that they would be glad to have them. I'm freeing up even more space in my house and doing a good deed in the process. Yippee!!

I tried online shipping last night for the first time, and am thrilled not to have to make a trip to the post office, and I saved money (you pay less, which I didn't know).

Spent an hour and a half on the phone the other day with my best friend from seminary. Tonic for my soul, it was. It had been too long since we had talked, and the joy of that exchange is inspiring me to get on the phone with my friends more often.

A bonus, "feel good" story to share. The mother of my phone conversation friend died a few years ago, and Carolyn shared with me that her mom's last words, surrounded by her family, were, "my cup runneth over." Apparently this was a popular phrase with Carolyn's mom, so much so that the letters MCRO were embroidered on a pillow for her. That story elicits a spontaneous smile when I think about it.