Six Important Things That Make Me Happy.

Reader Will tagged me for the Six Important Things That Make Me Happy meme. Since I haven't done a meme in some time, I thought I would do this one. So here it goes:

1. My Christian Faith makes me happy. I love the Lord. and am thankful to Him for my many blessings.

2. My family and friends make me happy. To have them in my life is my greatest blessing.

3. Nature makes me happy. As a destitute child in a refugee camp in Austria, where I lived for four years, I learned to love nature. I used to escape that drab camp, with it's rows and rows of old army barracks lined up like soldiers where desperate people just existed, and sit by a beautiful river, gazing up at the mountains in the distance, and dream about a better life in the future. That river and those beautiful mountains gave my heart hope and saved me from despair. Nature has been my joy and solace ever since.

4. Animals make me happy. I love all animals; my dogs and cats, and all the beautiful, or not so beautiful creatures that share these woods with me, like the opossum that comes every night for his hot dog treat!

5. Writing makes me happy. I am a writer who has suffered many hardships, saw much destruction and tragedy as a child of World War II in Hungary. At the same time, I experienced some genuine miracles during those times as well, saw people rise above and survive many hardships, and was also the recipient of much compassion and kindness. Those experiences shaped me into the person I am today, and inspired me to write about them many years later, finally taking away their haunting power over me.

6. Living in the United States of America makes me happy. This wonderful country, Home of the Free, Thanks to the Brave, has been my home for 58 years, and I'm so blessed to be here. We can never forget that Freedom is Not Free! Many have paid the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy. We honor their memory this Memorial Day.

There are many more things I love, but we were to list only six. However, I will sneak in one more, I love my pink roses, in full bloom right now!

I will not tag anyone else for this meme, but if any of you would like to join in on the fun, let me know. I would love to come and read your answers.


Thank you for reading. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!


Blessings from the woods.

Two Oldies in Blue! A Little Update

Hello Friends in Blogland! I thought I'd do a little update and say Hi. It's been a little while since I did. I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day. I certainly did. I received cards and gifts and phone calls and was treated to a delicious Mother's Day dinner by my younger son, Greg. Of course, Eileen was included, because she is my best friend and she is also Greg's honorary aunt!

And here we are, two oldies in blue on Mother's Day! I didn't know Eileen was going to wear blue, and she didn't know I was, until we saw each other in church that morning. Imagine our surprise! LOL. Of course, she is more stylish than I, being into more accessorizing and all. She is a New York City gal, after all! (Well, actually, from Rockaway Beach, New York, but that's a part of NYC.) And I hope, Patty, her real life niece in Broad Channel gets a kick out of the picture! All in all, Mother's Day was a wonderful day, although I wish my daughter and older son and families could have been with us.

Otherwise, everything is green and beautiful, the garden is growing by leaps and bounds, and I'm enjoying wearing my jaunty straw gardening hat, one of my Mother's Day gifts from my daughter!

I haven't had much time for blogging lately, and that will be the case for a while longer. But I will try and visit with you all, and wish you a wonderful week ahead!

Thank you for visiting.

Blessings from the Woods!