Positively Tuesday and More Simple Pleasures

   

Surprise raspberry's next to the surprise wild ferns. 

     It could be a real yuck of a Tuesday since I'm now truly done with vacation. However, with so much extra time banked I took yesterday as an "ease in" day yesterday and purged emails that didn't require much thought and prepped for the rest of the week. And now, back to back only four day work weeks-well three days next week if I can actually take my flex Friday. Getting time to claim as my own is more than a pleasure. Simple things to make life good abound and here's my recap for the week.

1. Spent a right enough time at my great nephews birthday. He's adorable but the event was way too many people crammed under tents and in a small garage due to the rain all afternoon. I made a quiet exit with subtle goodbyes to hosts without getting cornered by extended family in laws who are pouncers if you know what I mean.
2. Before I left though, I met a sweet little girl of about 4 who was looking for her new best friend she "didn't know yet" who just grabbed my hand and asked me to help her find her. She was looking for the daughter of her dad's cousin, both on my nephew-in-law's side. It was so sweet, and I must have seemed pretty trustworthy. She then had to introduce me to her  aunt, her mom, her dad, and told them I was her new friend that was  going to find her other new friend. I made sure the parents knew I too was family at the party and not just a strange woman off the street, LOL. 
3. Another simple pleasure with a story behind it. About six weeks or so, an old childhood friend called and we had a great catch-up. We got to talking about her old house down the country road from mine. The country neighborhood we lived in has vastly changed and she was commenting how she would love to get a peek at the  house she lived in as a child. Well, she called me to share she was visiting her son   last Tuesday with her dad, and took him to see the old neighborhood.  The man that bought their house 43 years ago happened to be outside and her dad wanted to stop and say hello. Well, I knew these "new" neighbors as very happy and kind people, so know where this was heading. Mr. new neighbor proceeded to invite them in for a full on tour. They have since acquired more land, put in an  incredible pool and pool house, plus an addition to make a master  bedroom suite on the main floor. I was so happy for her and her dad. She lost her mom to cancer during the last year, and that was the bittersweet part as she would have loved to have seen the changes as well. Hearing the story was truly a pleasure. Interesting side note, the new neighbors were hosting their grandsons wedding this past Saturday-the grandson who is one of my nephews best friends. While I was nearly teen age when the house change happened and their kids were younger, we knew all the new kids through 4-H. 
4. Weekend rain was great for the lawn and DH even tackled the overgrown hayfield the back yard was becoming.
5. During a major purge in closet and found a missing pair of comfy capris pants I had thought I left somewhere never to be retrieved.
6. Took myself on a successful thrift shopping trip on Friday.
7. I mastered pizza crust on Sunday! It was the best yeast crust I think I've ever made, and now with all the leftovers, change of pace lunches for a few days. 
8. Losing weight is so hard, but gaining seems to be easy. I didn't gain any this week!
9. I woke up with no headaches yesterday and today! I think my body was telling me I was not drinking enough so have been making sure to take those cues 
10. A few raspberry plants are still thriving-one which sprouted near the deck. I have it marked to dig up to replant when we get the back yard and deck tackled. I love their perseverance despite the neglect of the last decade. 

     That's what I got this week. I had a lazy productive week. Things got done that would not have had I been working, but not enough to make a dent in my project list. Well, I have more days off to come and  the list will still be there. What simple pleasures brought you joy this week?