ONE HUNDRED DAYS OF JOY

Well, well, well, look who's here...I can't even bear to count the number of my JOY posts in 2016 or even 2015 - shall I go back even further?  Oh wait, there it is!  On the right side of my blog page - 2 in 2016 and a big ONE in 2015.  How embarrassing!!!  Can you say L-O-S-E-R I'm a busy girl?

Anyway - who cares?  I'm back today.  That's all that's important to you - heehee!  Cuz I'm so important to all my 30 hundreds of followers.

So you need to know I have re-united with a love.  I have been hiking daily with the one and only Daisy Mae at Parmelee Farm here in the Emerald City and I'm in love again.  For a long time, I was scared off by this bad boy:

Well - not exactly HIM, but a few years ago there was a black bear sighting (and an accompanying photo that I can't find) in the mobile park right next door to my love.  That kind of freaked me the hell out scared me a bit and I took a break from my love.

Well, Daisy became very spoiled on our vacation in the Berkshires because we hiked at least 5 miles every day over hill and dale.  When we got home, all she did was stare at me all day long just BEGGING for a walk.  Being bored with our usual haunts, I decided to brave the big, bad forest with my trusted guard dog and I am now reunited with my estranged love!  Pure JOY!

So there IS a point to this story.  As I was hiking along today, I was thinking about all kinds of things and I took a photo of something VERY cool and I caught JOY!  One thought led to another and I segued to my friend Cathy who is in the midst of posting "100 Days of Happiness" or some such thing.  She posts a photo that represents her happy, every day for 100 days.  

So I said to myself, "Self," I said, "You could do that!  You could post 100 Days of JOY on your blog!"  Here's the gig.  I love to write.  But I don't do it.  When I was regularly posting to my blog that I started in - was it 2010 (you know - the year I wrote 83 blog posts?) - I actively sought JOY every day.  It was like practice.  I needed material, people!!!  And since I love to write, I wrote about catching JOY and quite frankly, my life DID feel more JOYful.  But I'm not doing that anymore and so I'm not mindful of catching JOY and often my days do not feel much JOYfulness (is that a word?).  Sooooooo - I am committing to writing for 100 days straight - 100 Days of JOY.

So I know you're all jumping up and down with JOY about this decision!  Humor me here...

So yea - this is a huge commitment because when I sit down to write a blog post, I spend a ridiculous amount of time re-writing it.  So I can't be doing THAT everyday - you know - the 3 little P-I-Gs??  They're teenagers now?  I'm their UNPAID Uber driver?  So I think I can do this if I allow myself to post just a few lines and a photo on some days.  Let's see, 100 days would bring me to...I think it's Dec 30th!  That's 1 day shy of appropriate...right?  Ok - so I'm doing it.  

Today is Day 1.  Here's where I caught JOY today - that photo I mentioned.  Pretty cool, huh?  The path goes right through these two rocks!  

I DO have a confession to make.  This wasn't exactly in Parmelee.  There are x-country team trails that our Middle school created that link up with trails in Parmelee and I use those trails too and this is on one of the school trails.  Regardless - trail JOY!

Now you know I couldn't just take 1 photo of JOY.  So I might as well get them all out here because I can't use them tomorrow!

 This tree was very cool.  That was one busy woodpecker!

 A single Black Eyed Susan in the field!  Ok - I lied.  There were others.  But when I took this I thought it was the only one.  That counts!  No?  Yes!  It's my blog, so there.

Now for the last JOY of the afternoon.  There's a story!  (Of course.)

So I parked at the farm to hike and saw a few women huddled across the parking lot.  I recognized one of my clients in the huddle.  I yelled across a greeting and she got all excited to see me Daisy and then noticed me - LOL.  Here's the good part.  She yelled, "Do you want any tomatoes?"  HELL YEA!!!  So Daisy galloped me over to the huddle and I walked away with 5 heirloom tomatoes, a bag of green beans & a bag of plum tomatoes which I promptly roasted when I got home.  How COOL is THAT????  Can you hear me?  JOY, JOY, JOY.  

This was my lunch.  Heirloom tomatoes with my newly beloved Primal Kitchen Mayo (thank you nieces, Kelly and Leanne).  I often celebrate the life of my loved ones by making food they prepared and enjoyed and this particular dish is a celebration of my Uncle Curt.  I have fond memories of him eating this.  I had never known anyone who ate tomatoes and mayo - I am Italian after all!  I also had a wedge of some amazing Stilton cheese.  Food JOY!

So there you have it.  JOYful to be back.  Now you can bring me into your living room for 100 days and be enlightened.  Or not...LOL!