homeyness

I called my mom this afternoon and found out, among other things:
-the dog died and the cat disappeared
-my aunt Shirley probably hasn't died yet
-my sister dinged up both vehicles while practicing parallel parking

No word on said sister's motorcycling adventures, but I'm sure they'll be glorious.

'cause I stopped the slaughter of turnips

...by killing five men in a rage.
Link.

mail check 2

Junk mail, in various designs of paper-wastiness. Also can be taken as metaphorically exploring the ultimate meaning of life, but I'm in too good a mood.

mail check

Today I received a wedding invitation, a flyer about this summer's family reunion, and a fundraising letter from the cemetary association that manages the spot up the road from my parents' house where many of my relatives are buried.

That pretty much covers the important life events that one might find notice of in the mail. It was a bit overwhelming, but I survived.

what makes me happy?

Sunshine on the back of my neck makes me happy.

Also, banana chips. I used to go to camp every summer at High Braes, which is about a half hour drive from my house. It was (and still is) free for the kids who attend, and mostly supported by area congregations. I'm sure there were many things that my mom liked about sending me to camp, but every year I would look forward to eating banana chips at lunch. I never saw them outside of High Braes, so I thought of them as a special 'church camp' item that only the cook at the Braes could find. They fascinated me; I understood that raisins were dried grapes, and prunes were dried plums, and I had seen other dried fruits, but dried bananas just seemed magical.

At some point, perhaps in high school, I found a tub of banana chips at the grocery store. It was shocking, paradigm shifting- I could just buy banana chips on my own, without going to church camp! I could eat banana chips all year 'round! I could eat them in the hay! I could eat them every day! I could eat them on a boat! I could eat them with a goat! (but I wouldn't share them with the goat, because I like them too much.)

Anyway, I like banana chips. I got a box from my mom yesterday that had banana chips and yogurt raisins in it, among other things. I like yogurt raisins, but the tub of banana chips was the most exciting thing I've seen all week.

Hooray for banana chips. And sunshine- they go together.