This Makes me Happy!

I have two posts ready to go---one positive and one negative. I've decided to go with the positive one first. I'll put off the negative one until tomorrow.

When we got home from the beach, we found Justin and Mindy waiting for us. Justin cleaned the leaves out of the pool from the night before. Turns out, he was a pool boy when he was a teenager!

Even Mindy got in on the act. But the truth is, EVERYONE thinks it will be fun to play with that long net!

I can't remember if I got these orchids from Butch for my birthday or Valentine's Day, but they are still beautiful. I don't usually have good luck with orchids. I know, water from the bottom, use orchid food, yadayadayada.

I love the contrasting colors of the house, trees and sky during the summer time.

 I found the perfect spot for that big, honkin' box storing Mindy's wedding dress.

 We went geo-caching a few weeks ago with Jack and Connie.

 It had been a long time since we've done that together. Butch always tries to find interesting caches.

 I picked up the Christmas ornament that Mindy made to commemorate her wedding.

 I just love the fluffly little bow the finisher put on it.

Butch wore his "skewered" t-shirt that Mindy and Justin gave him for Father's Day. It's become a family joke about Butch writing scathing reviews on Trip Advisor. He started referring to it as "skewering" them when referring to a bad experience. In all fairness, he writes more nice reviews than negative. He's one of Nashville's top reviewers.

Mindy and Justin ran a 5k on the 4th of July. Mindy said she was complaining about the heat and the fact that she was hungry and thirsty---less than a mile in. Thank goodness that Justin is so patient with her!

 My hydrangeas after 3 weeks! The flowers still looked great---but the leaves had turned brown.

I had planned to let them dry to see if they would retain their color. But when I came home on Monday, they were gone. Apparently Margarita thought they were done. So, this makes me happy and sad!

Jeanne received copies of 3 documents from Italy. Thanks to Thumbtack I found a guy in Virginia who is going to translate them for $10 per document. We know that one is a marriage certificate, but are unsure about the other two. We're excited to know what they are and the dates.

My cousin, Chrissy told me that ALL of the movie theaters in St. Louis now have big, comfy, reclining seats and food trays. You can even have a waitress come and take your refreshment order. When you purchase your ticket, you get to choose your seat. I'm saying this is a good thing, but since I sometimes have trouble staying awake in a dark theater, this could be a bad thing for me! We don't even have one place like this in Nashville. BTW---saw "The Shallows." It was EXCELLENT---and spine-tingling!

When I got home from St. Louis, I found that Butch had filled my gas tank! He knows I hate doing its so that was such a nice surprise!

 The tree hydrangeas out front are looking spectacular!

 The blooms are so big and heavy that they almost look like a weeping type tree.

I've had my eye on this needlepoint for ages. It is really big. I can't think of where I'd put it, but it is so gorgeous.

 This is just one of the new canvases I bought! There are 9 in the collection. I'm not going to do them all.

The finish work is incredible. I always like to have a small project for traveling. We're leaving for our "Gems of the Danube" river cruise in two weeks. This will be perfect to work on.

 I've mentioned before that I am not a big Oreos fan. Well, I need to change that. I really like the Oreo Thins. I just got the lemon ones for the first time. They are delish!

And the Cinnabon Bun Oreos---omgosh! There's nothing else to say about them. You just have to get them. Run.

So there you have it. Everything making me happy these days---AND---pool parties with friends, a little scrapbooking, reading some really great books and enjoying all the fresh fruits and vegetables of summer.

What's making you happy these days?