Barbara Ann Kipfer - 14,000 Things to Be Happy About

Workman Publishing Company, Inc.
225 Varick Street
New York, NY 10014-4381
www.workman.com
www.thingstobehappyabout.com TO KYLE THANK YOU To Peter Workman: I knew you were the right one. Thats why I pestered you for ten years. And to Susan Bolotin and the late Sally Kovalchick for their support, superb editing, and happy personalities. To my sons Kyle Kipfer and Keir Magoulas and my husband Paul Magoulas. There is no greater happiness than you. This book represents 40 years of recording all the little things that make me happy.

Beginning in the sixth grade with a tiny spiral notebook, I graduated to larger notebooks and finally to a computer that today contains more than 95,000 entries worth of word-pictures. Words, and the images they create, can be a great source of pleasure and inspiration. Sometimes, on a gray day, I flip through this collection to cheer myself up or remind myself to be grateful; often I use it to get ideas about what to cook for dinner or something fun to do on the weekend. As you read through these pages, give yourself time to conjure up your own imagesto reminisce, wish, and dream. I hope you will find, as I did, that happiness comes from noticing and enjoying the little things in life. get amber music deep-dish pies an umbrella in a microburst rolling hills catching fish backstops watering your garden the trade winds a leaders words that stir a nation a widows walk thoughts while ironing onion buns colonial wick lanterns effervescence the large glacial deposits that form on the insides of car fenders during snowstorms Introverts Anonymous a sauce bowl and ladle camp shorts the little things in life that really make your day go right plastic dry-cleaning bags driving under an overpass during a storm the old American custom of serving coffee on New Years Day where writers, artists, and tourists gather playing among big trees and rocks sightseers in all types of garb pink grapefruit with tons of sugar listening for the sound of a key in the lock gratefulness assembly lines cherry pie la mode the United States of America life choices dress shoes soft red color getting warm by a fire or in his arms with something to eat or drink after youve been in the rain or snow photocopying rare and/or expensive books the gap in the dressing room curtain that can never be completely closed the din of traffic interesting wooden house siding Im OK, youre OK beige corduroys, patchwork pants, embroidered corduroys a successful first attempt the rainbow and sand colors of pretty hair oatmeal apple bar cookies Monopolys 10 most-landed-on spaces: Illinois Avenue, B&O RR, Free Parking, Tennessee Avenue, New York Avenue, Reading RR, St. get amber music deep-dish pies an umbrella in a microburst rolling hills catching fish backstops watering your garden the trade winds a leaders words that stir a nation a widows walk thoughts while ironing onion buns colonial wick lanterns effervescence the large glacial deposits that form on the insides of car fenders during snowstorms Introverts Anonymous a sauce bowl and ladle camp shorts the little things in life that really make your day go right plastic dry-cleaning bags driving under an overpass during a storm the old American custom of serving coffee on New Years Day where writers, artists, and tourists gather playing among big trees and rocks sightseers in all types of garb pink grapefruit with tons of sugar listening for the sound of a key in the lock gratefulness assembly lines cherry pie la mode the United States of America life choices dress shoes soft red color getting warm by a fire or in his arms with something to eat or drink after youve been in the rain or snow photocopying rare and/or expensive books the gap in the dressing room curtain that can never be completely closed the din of traffic interesting wooden house siding Im OK, youre OK beige corduroys, patchwork pants, embroidered corduroys a successful first attempt the rainbow and sand colors of pretty hair oatmeal apple bar cookies Monopolys 10 most-landed-on spaces: Illinois Avenue, B&O RR, Free Parking, Tennessee Avenue, New York Avenue, Reading RR, St.

James Place, Water Works, Penn RR not worrying about having what everyone else has pelicans cooks gardens peppermint whipped cream frosting old-style preserve jars Chinese flipflop sandals split-second thrills suit coats pantry shelves loaded with jars of fruit silences in chess games the rising or setting of a star at sunset hot peach conserve, a bottomless coffeepot, and eggs served in individual skillets cinnamon and slate-blue satins dumpling-eating contests returning library books rooms of looms and spinning wheels men putting extra raisins in Raisin Bran cereal Ts and jeans carrying groceries in a backpack gut-spilling softballs Kansas wheat the act of entering a room and forgetting why watching the cook prepare luncheon as you sit on a lawn looking out over the marina things that stand the test of time preparing your Christmas card list before Thanksgiving tepee playhouses wild roses, blush-pink and spicily fragrant in the cool of the evening absorbing natures blessings filling a glass bowl with fresh apples and tangerines Jamaica, Bermuda, or clamdigger shorts learning a new sport Let me bring lollipops and confetti and silly things and place them at your feet tying colorful ribbons around things for the fun of it homemade soups for purple dye: black cherry bark, cocklebur plant, dandelion root, grape toast and honey butter ball earrings Away in the Manger (carol) Starbucks caramel macchiato kids and video games draft horses taking a refresher course digital thermometers bidding paddles the structure of things oil boom towns cat hammocks rising early sponge baths Paul McCartney, singer/composer workworkworkworkwork hearing your children praised by others the one leaf that always clings to the end of the rake melting-pot experiences hostess gifts burying the hatchet burnished, russety, cool, quiet wood tones watching an old Woody Allen movie sports shorts clouds and mist rolling over a mountaintop headache medicines tidings of comfort and joy riding in the basket of your bike balsamic vinaigrette downloading music filled croissants, better than store-bought plastic bags for wet swimsuits a charismatic TV weatherperson giving your hands cold-weather first aid going back to your hometown: visiting the schools you attended, bringing back your childhood rereading specific passages and chapters when seeking inspiration guarantees that dont run out the day before something needs fixing sliced London broil with sauted onions and melted cheese on rye Chinese barbecued ribs a state of continual becoming getting the last newspaper in the dispenser mountains flaming with red, orange, and purple foliage music boxes making the dog taste-test your food natural-wood milk pails the art of following through sauntering chocolate pops snow in March a shingled water tower the riddles of space and time lobster ravioli late Sunday breakfast brick floors Tahitian tans waking up an hour early and meditating outdoors spotting a city slicker using sugar nippers to break up big chunks from a tall, cone-shaped loaf of sugar homey touches reliability laundry soap charred hot dogs the segue to a new career the onset of a peaceful feeling rational, clean, spacious, joyous settings throw rugs oven fries planning a rites-of-spring party a spring-flowered leotard padded shoulders frosted-glass walls two ground beef patties, lettuce, cheese, special sauce, mayoon a toasted double-deck sesame-seed bun vine-covered trellises plants on windowsills lavender-scented evenings workbenches Circle Line tours being delayed in an interesting airport a submarine sandwich of roast beef, shredded lettuce, mayonnaise, and salt and pepper an enchanted cottage finding a hammock and setting out to be lazy skit night at camp getting snow caked on socks and in jean cuffs fresh, organically grown foods two seats together at a crowded movie songs of the meadowlark winding country roads, leading past rustic farms with weathered barns and stone fences painting a mural dandelions and buttercups an elegant stone terrace where guests drop by for croissants and coffee warm firesides learning a headstand Wi-Fi cards steamer clams, dripping with drawn butter the beach in the fall BLTs and potato salad Rural, Indiana imparting an aura of passion, childlike innocence, or serenity Porsche 911s alkaline batteries a stand for your unabridged dictionary batik dyeing a blue-and-white pitcher filled with jasmine or daisies plastic cups with built-in straws regional offerings on the menu the click of a closing purse toasting marshmallows crpe de chine library tables the symmetry of roof tiles a room filled with art and sewing reading