A daily post of Happy.
Day 334: I love hosting guests. Last night I threw a very small dinner party for three: my parents and myself were the attendees. Mom and Dad were in town just for the night, and I thought to myself: what better excuse will I have to use the Timmins things than this?? Why not! We used the fine china (the "Spode"), the tomato juice glasses, a salt cellar, crystal coasters, the Holtyre kool-aid pitcher, and even the real silverware. On the menu was "beer can chicken" cooked on the BBQ (made with club soda), sautéed brussel sprouts, and a red cabbage coleslaw. It was such fun! What I might have loved the most was how excited Mom was about the stuff we used...stories were told, memories shared, and it was just lovely. Looking forward to the next dinner party! #idoloveagoodparty #luckyhotdog #LovelyHouse #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 28, 2015 at 10:58am PDT
Day 333: Thirty years ago today I became a big sister! Today's Happy is for my little sis who joins the "dirty thirty" club today! Can it really be thirty years? Why, it seems like only yesterday that we were sharing a bedroom and I was piling all of her stuff on her bed so it wouldn't be strewn about the floor, or when she would purposely play "Bone Sweet Bone" or "Lavender's Blue" over and over and over until I had to bribe her with chips to make her stop, or how she kept a journal detailing how much I would torment her which only fuelled me to want to do it more...she and I, like most sisters I dare say, had a disagreement or two in our youth. Both of us will say we got all our fights out by the time we were teenagers or so, and we've been the very best of friends ever since. One of my absolute favourite memories with her was the day we spent, just she and I, at Magic Kingdom together. We literally ran from ride to ride, we ate all the popcorn and turkey legs, we sang the songs and we left feeling like we won the day. Now that she's an old married mom (haha) we don't get to see each other as much as, well, *I* would like (wonder how she feels after that comment lol), but every time we DO get to see one another there is a shout of joy, hugs, and silliness that commences. Welcome to your thirties, @shopgirll. Jump in, the water is fine. We'll rock 'em together and make those twenties look like kids stuff. Time for to cake? La la!! Happy Birthday!! Xoxo #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 27, 2015 at 6:49am PDT
Day 332: Today's "Happy" is one I share with mixed emotions. Today I am remembering my little Thomas Cat and, though the anniversary isn't a happy one, the little dude has been on my mind. Most of my memories with him are great, so today I kind of feel like I want to post about him. One year ago tomorrow he and I said goodnight for the last time. I adopted Thomas when I was living in TO during my second year of uni. I was living in an apt, the second floor of an old house just north of Chinatown with four other Ladies, and our home had mice. I'd always loved animals and so I was delighted when my roomies agreed we could get a cat. Down to the Humane Society we went and there we saw a lot of nice looking cats, and there were two that really caught my attention: a small orange kitten and this giant grey tabby named Tom. The kitten was adorable, and Tom looked like Tom from "Tom and Jerry". Humming and hawing between the two my Friend who was with me helped me decide by pointing out that lots of people would likely want a kitten, and fewer people would look at a 22lb adult. So Thomas I picked, and we lugged him home on the streetcar. That night began a mostly awesome/sometimes rocky 13 year relationship. We had our ups and our downs, he was extremely aloof and sometimes temperamental (he puked in my Friend's shoe once just to spite him), but in all I wouldn't have traded him for anything. He was my constant companion, my little buddy, and he was there for me through some high highs, and my lowest of lows. Watching his health degrade once he was diagnosed with pancreatitis and heart disease, watching my once robust and stocky boy shrink into a small old-man cat was hard. Saying goodbye was harder. I was with him through it all, holding his little head as he crossed the rainbow bridge, and it was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I miss him a lot, but I'm so Happy that I had him around all those years. My new little Friend, Ginger, is *nothing* like him at all. That's nice in a way. You can't "replace" someone like him. So today, Thomas, my Happy is for you. Thanks for the memories. #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 26, 2015 at 2:11pm PDT
Day 331: Happiness is having a rice-making tutorial from my favourite Indian chef and then feasting on the results! I was SO sad when Taj Indian Restaurant closed here in OS. It was kind of like my "Golden Mile" of Indian food. Happily the restaurant owner is a wonderful man, and tonight he taught three of us how to make his amazing basmati rice! Oh, I'm SO happy! That stuff could be a food group all on its own! #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 25, 2015 at 6:31pm PDT
Day 330: Might've got skunked on the 50/50 and our score may not have been right on par...but I can think of worse ways to spend an afternoon. Great day for some golf!! #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 24, 2015 at 9:04pm PDT
Day 329: My Gumpo P used to say, "Time is a great healer." This is the wall clock that hung in the dining room of the Timmins house for as long as I can remember. I'm not completely sure of its origins, but I am sure that it has been a fixture in my life all of my life. When the house sold in March and we made ready to clear it out, I desperately wanted this clock. It hadn't worked in years...but if you haven't learned this by now I'm somewhat the sentimental sort. How many times I heard the gentle chimes of this very clock as we feasted at Christmas around that glorious table, or when we were little and watched the Disney Channel lying on our stomachs in front of the old TV on a Saturday afternoon, or when Grammy and I would sit and chat about life at the kitchen table while she "did her pills" or cared for the dogs. Yes, I'm definitely the sentimental type and I just *had* to have this clock. So home it came with me to OS after the last clear out, and then back to BA it went to be repaired at Voldi's Time Centre a week or so later. This was in early April. Voldi assured me it could be repaired, and I tried to be as patient as I could while I waited (I only called maybe three times lol). Well Friends: today is the day. Today it is ready to come home to Lovely House. I can't begin to express my joy...I may or may not have shed a few tears when Voldi turned the hands for me to play the chime...I could just imagine her excitement knowing that it was fixed and will chime again. Pieces like these have such souls and stories. Time might be a great healer, and though my grief remains I am so Happy to finally have this bit of Timmins at Home. #luckyhotdog #LovelyHouse #GrammyP #GumpoP #VoldisTimeCentre #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 23, 2015 at 7:55pm PDT
Day 328: Today was awesome! A great day reconnecting with Friends and colleagues I don't get to see in real life very often. From a rousing Amazing Race competition to delicious delicious Indian food, to now lying in bed listening to a beast of a thunderstorm, today was pretty great. #TeamAwesome4Eva #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 22, 2015 at 7:40pm PDT
Day 327: If we weren't regularly communicating two winters ago you may or may not be aware that Lovely House had a little ice problem. In my first year owning my own home we enjoyed a beast of a winter in the Land of OS. Coming from the North as I do, I wasn't scared of a little winter. Growing up where I did I figured I'd seen it all. Well. I know that OS doesn't get the worst winters known to man, but I also now know they are not to be taken lightly. Home ownership has a different set of responsibilities too...in some cases you must actually *defend* your home against Old Man Winter by doing such things as raking your roof clear of snow and ice, a task I didn't really consider too seriously. I mean, come on: this house has seen more than a hundred OS winters. Surely it can handle this, right? Well one boatload of ice and thousands of dollars in damage later, I learned a hard lesson. Assume nothing. Thank heaven for dads, and especially for my Dad. My superhero father who, after the disaster with the porch, came to my rescue the very next day and spent more than eight hours literally chopping my house out of winters icy grip. Eight hours of dealing with ice dams more than a foot thick around the entire circumference of my home...eight hours chopping, chipping, melting and peeling my poor roof free to prevent any further damage. My Dad is a rockstar for all kinds of reasons: he has the Dad Jokes thing down pat, he worked impossibly hard while we were growing up so we would never be without, he's one of the best tennis and racquetball players I know, and he's always there when I need him (like how often I would miss the bus home from TO and he'd STILL come down to the bus stop late at night so I wouldn't have to take a taxi). Happy Fathers Day Dad!! May it be full of BBQ, pies, hammocks and A&W Root Beer. See you soon xo #FathersDay #LovelyHouse #luckyhotdog #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 21, 2015 at 9:12am PDT
Day 326: For yesterday (boy I am really failing at this lately...). So, yesterday was a busy day. I worked in the morning, performed two sets with my choir in the afternoon and evening, and spent the balance of the time with good people who make me Happy. It was a full day and I didn't once think to take a picture. This "Happy" thing, the way that I've been doing it, requires a photo to represent whatever thing I'm choosing to share for that particular day. I've run into this problem before where the "Happy" I wish to share is a feeling or a moment, rather than a tangible physical thing. Yesterday was one such day. There were all kinds of things that made me Happy but nothing that I could take a picture of to represent it. By midnight when I was debating sleep or fulfilling the requirements of this project to post, fatigue won out. While scrolling through my newsfeed on Facebook this morning I saw this picture and I thought aha! That'll work. My circle of people that I find myself surrounded with seems to get richer by the day. I have some perfectly fantastic people in my world that, for one reason or another, seem to like to spend time with me. That makes me feel really good, and pretty Happy. It is so true, "life is too short to be anything but happy". Some days I have to work at it, some days it comes easy. Yesterday was an easy Happy day (well, I could have done with fewer zombies but the intentions were good lol). So thanks Friends, thanks for being awesome (that goes for all y'all). #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 21, 2015 at 8:51am PDT
Day 325: I thought this was a fun shot: on stage at The Roxy for the very first time. It was for the dress rehearsal for the show tomorrow that my choir is doing a couple of songs in, not for anything I personally am doing, but I kinda liked this shot of a single mic facing a darkened theatre. Easy to imagine something more. Maybe someday. The idea made me kind of Happy! #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 19, 2015 at 9:12pm PDT
Day 324: I was too tired to post yesterday, and I'm not doing a ton better tonight (it's midnight) so this'll be short. Happiness is seeing a photo of a young, bearded Harrison Ford. *le swoon* #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 19, 2015 at 9:08pm PDT
Day 323: I love this table. I love how many memories have been made around it in the past, and continue to be made on nights like tonight. Tonight I had a small gathering to officially christen my recently repaired record player and speakers. Such a lovely time...and we even used the fancy glasses. Next party we break out the tomato juice glasses and the Spode. #partylikearockstar #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 17, 2015 at 8:15pm PDT
Day 322: Anybody who I am friends with on Facebook saw this coming I'm sure. I've been laughing all afternoon. So, two Saturdays ago I attended a wedding for two great people. These people are FUN people, and I knew the wedding would be amazing. Normally I'm not one to really get up and groove at a wedding. I can be fairly self-conscious and, believe it or not don't often like to "put myself out there" a ton, but for this wedding, with these Friends I said: Yes. This is happening. Life is short, make a memory, dance like nobody is watching. And so I did. Except it turns out that a few people WERE watching and were taking photos. Even when I saw some of the pics I was super reluctant to let myself be "tagged" in them...but then I saw this one. The one in the upper left corner. I guess I was really into whatever song was on and I grabbed the nearest available bubble wand and I gave'r. And seeing that photo today made ME laugh, so I figured I'd share the fun. Well. What fun Friends I have haha. My dear Angie has decided to turn this into a few photoshop masterpieces and, well...when I saw the first Harry Potter one I laughed so hard I almost choked. Today's Happy is all about good times and good laughs, and about enjoying how fantastic my Friends are haha. Thanks for the smiles! #partylikearockstar #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 16, 2015 at 2:17pm PDT
Day 321: One of my very favourite seasonal rituals (next to baking pumpkin pies at Thanksgiving or putting up the Christmas tree in December) happens in early to mid-June when I watch my all-time favourite summer camp movie: "Meatballs". To me it is perfect. I've never really been to summer camp, always wanted to, and this movie is what I imagine the perfect summer camp experience would be like. It gets me right from the beginning with the camp chorus singing "Are You Ready For The Summer" to the very end when Wudy Da Wabbit races in the marathon. Though the thrill has faded a bit now that I don't really get a break in the summer, I can vividly remember that feeling on the last day of school and then that beautiful first morning of summer vacation. I remember those cool summer mornings, waking up with the whole world at my feet. It felt like anything was possible. I think it's important to try and remember those feelings when this whole "adulting" thing seems to feel heavy. Bear in mind the wise words of Tripper Harrison (Bill Murray): "It just doesn't matter!!" Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Bill. See you next year. #spazspazspazspaz #sheprobablywantsit #itjustdoesntmatter #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 15, 2015 at 8:13pm PDT
Day 320: Today was a day of highs and lows. Low = waking up and realizing my cat has thrown up a hairball on my duvet and soaked through to the comforter. High = well, I really could wash that duvet and comforter anyway. Hurray for a clean bed! Low = rainy day and my rain boots have a big crack and tear in the rubber. High = being resourceful and gluing then taping then colouring the tape black so it kind of blends in and results in super ghetto boots that make me laugh (note to self, buy new boots). Low = getting pooped on by a seagull right on my hairline where my hair parts. High = well, at least I wasn't looking up or laughing with my mouth open. And apparently it's "lucky" (hmmm). Low = laughing so hard while playing Cards Against Humanity with good friends that you get a splitting headache. High = laughing so hard while playing Cards Against Humanity with good friends that you get a splitting headache. Sometimes it really is all about perspective. What a great day! Lots of Happy. #CardsAgainstHumanity #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 14, 2015 at 9:03pm PDT
Day 319: The roomie's birthday week festivities continue! What a beautiful spot. Spending the afternoon at a place like this on a day like this...amazing. #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 13, 2015 at 4:10pm PDT
Day 318: Do you have any wood? My first foray into Settlers of Catan! I didn't do too badly with...7 or 8 points was it? I had some major coaching. Looking forward to playing again so I can try and figure out how to use the robber and where to build my roads. Awesome! #nobodywantsyoursheep #SettlersOfCatan #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 12, 2015 at 8:38pm PDT
Day 317: Today was a good day! All kinds of things were good today. Today it was sunny and warm, today I was able to cross off and finish some items at work that I have been struggling with, today my knees have healed from some pretty serious dancing at the wedding on Saturday, today I got to go out for curry with a dear Friend, today I got a surprise visit from some Family, and today I got to see a little of the Pan Am torch relay! Today my Happy is that today was pretty darn good. I'll take it! #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 11, 2015 at 8:05pm PDT
Day 316: Corn on the cob!! Few things say summer more than corn on the cob! #weevenusedthecornthings #LovelyHouse #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 10, 2015 at 3:22pm PDT
Day 315: Tonight my Roomie and I watched "Unbroken". If you are unfamiliar with the story, the film is based on the life and experiences of Louis Zamperini, a WWII soldier and Olympic athlete who competed during the 1936 games in Berlin. He served the U.S. during WWII and spent time in a Japanese POW camp. I don't want to say too much lest I spoil the film or book for anybody who hasn't yet had a chance to experience it, but I will say this: the story really touched me. It's a powerful film, at times hard to watch, and while I'm sure that some of the story has been "Hollywood-ized", I'm also sure that the real horrors of what the soldiers actually went through during that time doesn't even compare to what can be represented on film. To understand the magnitude of what those men and women did, and continue to do today, people who fight to protect our rights and freedoms...it's extremely humbling. I know that I tried on a few occasions to get my Gumpo P to tell me stories from his experience while he was overseas, and he always would give me the same story of him being caught behind enemy lines for three days and surviving on nothing but raw onions, and then change the subject. In retrospect I'm sure it wasn't something he was particularly eager to discuss or remember. Today my Happy is gratefully acknowledging how beautiful it is to live in a country that is free, and remembering that freedom came at a great cost. I'm happy that my "problems" are pretty small in the grand scheme of things, and I'm happy that I have a small orange cat curled up on my lap, snoring. Life is good. #lestweforget #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 9, 2015 at 9:30pm PDT
Day 314: Happiest of birthdays to my lovely Roomie!! An evening of delicious food (no meat sweats), laughs, cake and camaraderie!! #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 8, 2015 at 9:35pm PDT
Day 313: "...oh my dear little librarian: you pile up enough tomorrows and you'll find you've collected nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays. I don't know about you, but I'd like to make today worth remembering." A favourite quote from a real favourite movie/stage play, Meredith Wilson's "The Music Man". There was a more recent made-for-tv version of this picture, but I don't think it can stand a chance against the original 1962 version with Robert Preston as Professor Harold Hill. I've loved this movie most of my life. I can remember watching it with my mom during "Saturday Night At The Movies" hosted by Elwy Yost on TVO. I saw a lot of great films on that program: "Papillion", "Murder On The Orient Express" and many many others...but none impacted me the way this one did. I've never been able to really pinpoint exactly what it is that appeals to me so keenly...be it the story, the visuals, the music...I can't get enough. I've seen it more times than I can count. I've worn out at least one VHS copy and am on my second DVD (I really want to find it on BluRay). I've got the soundtrack and I know every word of the film by heart, and every single time I watch it it makes me Happy. Today I shared this dear favourite with a Friend, and being able to share the joy with someone of a like mind who appreciates these kinds of films was just lovely. Today, The Music Man made me Happy! #TheMusicMan #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 7, 2015 at 8:28pm PDT
Day 312: A beautiful couple, beautiful wedding, beautiful day. The awkward but enthusiastic dancing by the entire party shall soon commence! #unzeunze #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 6, 2015 at 5:55pm PDT
Day 311: Six months of practice, two shows, one incredible choir. I'm so proud to be a member of The Choir That Rocks. I can't explain the rush I get from standing up on those risers under the lights with my Friends belting out songs and making them sound powerful and fantastic. It's magic. Maybe someday I'll get the guts to do a duet or maybe even a solo, but for tonight just being a part of this incredible music machine rocked my world. #TCTROS #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 5, 2015 at 9:35pm PDT
Day 310: It's been awhile since I've remembered to do a #ThrowbackThursday. This photo serves as a "2-4-1" by being both a great throwback pic from 10 years ago at my sisters wedding, and being a photo that makes me happy by showing two people I dearly love. Today my Happy is all about how no matter how blue I can be, talking to an old, dear Friend can change my whole outlook. It's been a very frustrating week. I started today feeling frustrated, small, and pretty homesick. I've had a few challenges to deal with this week, none of which I can really change or "fix", and all I want to do in the world is curl up in a ball in the Brown Chair at the Timmins House, have a piece of Golden Crust Bakery toast and listen to Grammy P tell stories of the old days in Holtyre. When I felt this way a year ago my simple solution was to pack a bag, fill the tank with gas and head north. There I would find comforting surroundings, familiarity, and I could forget about my own messy world for awhile. Nothing much ever changed there and it was always so lovely to go to that beautiful home just bursting with love and hospitality. There I could drive down familiar roads, visit familiar shops, see familiar faces and remember so many good memories. I'm not meaning to idealize the place or say it's perfect, I absolutely love where I live now...but that beautiful city and surrounding towns are sure pretty fantastic. So now, now that the house is gone and the memories begin to fade, today when I am feeling like I just need a "hit" of old familiarity, who should come online and cheer me up? My Soupy Pie. Friends since we got lost on the cross country skiing "Loppet Loop" when we were 12, this guy gets it, this feeling I have romanticizing the city we both grew up in and call Home. He lives abroad now, we rarely get to see each other "in real life", but the connection remains solid. He cheered me immensely today. Thanks Soupy. #youcantmakeoldfriends #TBT #GrammyP #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 4, 2015 at 8:33am PDT
Day 309: "Chinese Chicken Salad" is labelled as a vegetarian option? Really. Hmm. #somehowiamnotconvinced #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 3, 2015 at 6:12pm PDT
Day 308: After a tough day Happiness is eating your feelings with one of the most perfect desserts there is. #macaroons #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 2, 2015 at 8:59pm PDT
Day 307: Found this puppy in my desk drawer at work this afternoon: my old second generation 40 GB iPod classic! When I started here five years ago it worked, and then one day it didn't. So I threw it in my middle desk drawer (my junk drawer) and eventually apparently forgot all about it. I found it today and showed a colleague (we were laughing about old technology) and he suggested I try plugging it in. To my amazement there seems to be life! I have no idea if it'll get past the stage of the dead battery/lightning bolt, but even seeing that made me kinda excited. I hope it works! #iPodClassic #Apple #fingerscrossed #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on Jun 1, 2015 at 11:52am PDT
Day 306: I think I might need a little help here! Today I'm finally going through the boxes and boxes of china, glassware and porcelain that we brought back from the Timmins house when it sold. See, there wasn't much time between the sale and the close, just a couple of weeks really and only 24 hours to pack up what we could to prep it to move or pitch, and as such it was decided that rather than just get rid of everything, I'd take it home here to Lovely House and sort it all out. My objective was to preserve family treasures (my great grandmother Dewish's china set, the "Spode"), keep what seemed interesting and fun (the Irish porcelain coffee set) and then dispose of the rest. I think I thought this would be a pretty quick job. Well...what you see here is about half of what there is, and I am already stuck on a few things. Not whether to keep them or not per say, but more of what they *are* or what they were used for. Before I make a decision on whether to get rid of something or not I'd kind of like to know what the item is. There are all these odd little pieces of crystal that I have absolutely no idea what they would be used for, so many different kinds of glasses and plates and all kinds of things. How I wish she were here that I could ask her questions and hear the stories about the origins of some of this stuff (what is "Irish porcelain" anyway? Is it rare? Is it common? Did they get it as a gift or on a trip?). Still, bittersweet as it is, as I unwrap each piece I can almost imagine her little voice and how excited she would be to see her treasures out on display one last time. Imagining that makes me Happy. #GrammyP #LovelyHouse #365happydays A photo posted by @kaileyjane82 on May 31, 2015 at 10:05am PDT
