What's Making Me Happy: April 11

This was going to be a tough week to find a silver lining: I deleted my entire iPhoto and iTunes libraries, my car battery died (when I was not home, natch), and I was whacked with yet another stomach bug, this one much worse than the previous week's.

But THEN.

Suze!

She was in town and set aside a couple hours to spend with me. My heart lifted as soon as I set my eyes on her and the next two hours flew by. We chatted over coffee and a sweet roll, then headed to an antiques shop. This is not my natural environment, as old things (especially people's former belongings) feel slightly haunted to me, but it sure made for interesting browsing. Mostly I was just so happy to be with Suze. I meant to get a photo of us two together but I plumb forgot. :( Next time.

I'm also happy that my daughter landed a paid science internship: when I was 16, my summer job involved working a till. She'll be working at a cognitive science lab, which is the field she intends to study. The weather is making me happy too. After Suze and I said our goodbyes, I hit a plant nursery and snapped up a bunch of annuals (portulaca and pansies, mostly), some bulbs, and an assortment of herbs. I spent Wednesday afternoon pottering about in the yard, elbow-deep in warm soil, breathing in peppermint and basil, sage and mint.

My lilac is huge. It was just a shrub when we moved into this house seven years ago, and it has since turned into a tree. It fills up the kitchen and dining room windows of my house, and it smells like pure heaven. All I have to do is open up the windows and my house smells like a florist's shop. Lilacs always make me happy. Not only do they smell so good, but they will always remind me of the happy occasion of my son's birth. We used to have a lilac hedge at our old house, and the entire wall of lilacs was in full bloom when I brought him home the first time. I remember carefully settling myself out on the back porch, cradling my brand-new baby, and admiring those flowers and that scent.

And that's about it for the week. Happy weekend, everyone!