Negotiating

I ran across this YouTube this morning. It made me laugh - the 40s and 50s ideas of woman and technology are just so far out there. Way back when I was in junior high taking Home Ec, we had a textbook that was straight out of that era. My friend Jackie and I used to sit in my bedroom laughing and laughing till we were almost crying at the out-dated ideas. Obviously I'm no Suzie homemaker. But I do have an apron that I sometimes wear. We've come a long way baby!

Today Carm was on the phone for hours (almost 3 hours) with Bell, trying to figure out what we are going to do for our internet service. They are cancelling the service that we currently use for internet, and are offering us a metered service that is going to cost somewhat more. To make matters worse they have a plan on their web site that no one at Bell seems to know about. One guy typed in the URL and still the information was missing. He was ping ponged to about 8 different people, and each time he had to give the whole story, including the bit where a few weeks ago some guy called Pascal told him he could get that plan (with a reference number). I'm glad it was Carm doing this cause honestly I would have hung up pretty quickly. And done what I'm not sure. In the end his perseverance paid off and he got the plan that we wanted. Whew...

What have the pleasures been lately? Well, for a few days there were none, but yesterday it was nice to see the snow melting back to show some grass. The parts of our path that have south facing tall grasses beside it are melting away. The suns rays are strong enough to warm up the darker vegetation to create local temperature zones. The warmth and sun has been nice the last few days, and although it is cloudy today it is still warm. Unseasonably so. Sleeping dogs are always a pleasure. They are so spoiled to have the whole futon to sleep on. I like bringing my tablet and joining them there. Spike usually sleeps with his head on a pillow - he looks so sweet and peaceful, even when his tongue sticks out a bit. I got an email attachment with beautiful photos of Norway - that was a pleasure to look at. Strangely the music was "Chiquita" - how odd to pair Mexican music with Norwegian pictures! Grace loved it though - she whistled and sang along.

See, even in the most average of days there are things to find pleasure in. The trick is to remember to do so...  One of the suggestions in "Spontaneous Happiness" is to write a daily grateful journal where you list a few things that you are grateful for - studies have shown that this actually works to increase happiness.

Land is the secure ground of home, the sea is like life, the outside, the unknown.
Stephen Gardiner