"...And the Pursuit of Happiness"

Happy Fourth of July!

Here are a few things that are making me happy right now.

Iced espresso with soy milk, vanilla syrup and sweetener.    

Really good ripe watermelon.  Paul is eating it in slices while Ben and I are using it for the base of a cocktail we found in the New York Times:

Mix three parts watermelon purée with one part silver tequila and ½ part fresh lime juice; serve over ice with a pinch of salt, a couple of slices of jalapeño and a little agave nectar to sweeten to taste. You can also substitute grapefruit juice and swap the jalapeño slices for basil leaves.

We gave our old kayaks some love today, getting them off the racks they've been on for the past three years, clearing out the nests that critters had made in them, and washing them.  When all that was done we realized that two of them were just not going to work for us.  Paul had grown quite a bit in the three years since he was last in his and it was just too small.  I could squeeze into mine but it was a tight fit and hard on my knees.  So we went to Plan B, renting kayaks out on Harness Creek in Annapolis.  We had a great morning paddle and feel good that the kayaks are ready to move on to their new home down in Richmond with my neices' family. 

Clever Paul fixed our Anderson side door so now it opens and closes without binding.  I had the right tool and the instructions and spent some time trying to fix it last night, but to no avail.  When I asked Paul for help, he ignored my instructions, looked at the tool and the hinge, and five minutes later the door worked great.  How does he do it?  As a "thank you" we let him pick the patriotic, suitable-for-the Fourth movie we'll watch tonight.  Without hesitation he chose Captain America.  

My gardens are looking so much better!  Amazing what a little hard weeding and pruning can do.

And so far the deer haven't eaten any of the new flowers I've planted.  

Of course big things like freedom, love, faith are the cornerstones of happiness.  But I do think that enjoying the little things is also key to finding joy.