Happiness 101

It’s never a bad thing to be reminded of the people & things in our lives that give us happiness, so I’m indeed glad to have been honored recently by the Happy 101 award from Lizzy Frizzfrock (nom de blog of Cheryl Cato). The Lizzy Frizzfrock blog is a delight, with its mix of photos & essays—everything from wild turkeys on the roof to meditations on politics & spirituality. Do check it out!

In keeping with the spirit of the award, 10 points of happiness:

1. My relationship with Eberle
2. My many dear friends, both those known in “real life” & those known in blogdom.
3. Playing guitar, banjo, etc., especially for other folks
4. Playing guitar, banjo, etc. with other folks
5. The support readers here & on Days of Wine & Roses have shown my poetry & music
6. The ocean—especially the Pacific—& especially walking in the environs of same
7. Speaking of the ocean, lunch at Cranky Sue’s Crab Cakes
8. The model train project Eberle & I are working on jointly
9. Watching birds at our four feeders
10. Road trips (see Monday’s post for more on this!)

As far as passing the award on: I know some folks don’t do awards, & I understand the reasons they don’t. So I’m going to name some blogs I think you should check out, & if those bloggers would like to display the award, list 10 things that make them happy, &/or pass it on, I say great! If they only wish to do one or two out of three, also great, & ditto if they choose to do none of the above. They’re all fine blogs that may be flying a bit under the radar as yet:

• Platypuss-in Boots: Of course! It’s Eberle’s really fun & witty blog about everything from stuffed animal consciousness to tattoos.
• 12 Tuna: Earl Butter, AKA Ray Halliday’s paean to out-of-date tuna cans & what to do with them. I don’t know how long this one will be on the shelf—there are only 12 cans in the title—so check it out soon!
• Usually Confined: The blog proprietor, Bill, bears a marked resemblance to another UK blogger we all like. He also bears quite a marked resemblance to Big Bird. Everything from global politics to The Wind & the Willows, with sharp, clear writing.
• Thoughtful Eating ~ A Food Blog: Speaking of bloggers we know from elsewhere, this is the work of Raquelle of Out of the Past ~ A Classic Film Blog. Raquelle’s writing is always well conceived & informative &—most importantly—fun! She’s coming up with some great recipes, & she explains them thoroughly & clearly.

Finally, a note on coming distractions here on Robert Frost’s Banjo. As regular readers know, two big series ended within the last month (give or take): Dad’s Photos & the Weiser River Pillow Book. Also, as I announced on Tuesday, Translation Tuesday is ended for the time being—nothing heavy here, just wanted a bit of change in direction. So I’m happy to announce three new series:

Adams County Makes the News: A collection of historical letters from the Adams County Leader, the Council Record, & The Adams County Record, compiled by Eberle, complete with her introduction to the collection. Both Eberle & I worked as reporters for the Adams County Record in the past, so we had a stake in the local newspaper game. Eberle compiled these letters as part of an Idaho Commission on the Arts-funded grant for a dramatic presentation titled Dear Editor. Adams County Makes the News will post every Thursday.

Mystery Posts: The first of these went up yesterday. These are “randomly timed but on-going series of Mystery Posts by Eberle," exploring her Catholicism & ancient goddess poetry—including her rendition of some ancient Sumerian poems! I’m looking forward to these.

L.E. Leone’s Poetry: Speaking of poetry, I’m so pleased to announce that my dear friend L.E. Leone, also known to blog readers as Dani, will be contributing to Robert Frost’s Banjo. L.E.’s poems will alternate on Tuesdays with B.N.’s (interesting how so many of my friends are big on initials!), just as my translations had alternated with B.N.’s poems in the past. L.E.’s poetry is much different from mine or B.N.’s, so her writing will bring a very new voice to the ol’ Banjo. L.E.’s first poetic appearance will be on Tuesday, February 9th, so stay tuned—& don’t miss the next B.N. poem this coming Tuesday either!

Hope you enjoy these new features!


Second pic: The old Adams County Leader office
Third Pic: L.E., gowned & gloved & bouqueted