Happiness Scavenger Hunt #1

There are three swaps on Swap-Bot that are all Happiness Scavenger Hunts. I thought it would be fun to do them since I enjoy photography and looking for things and people that make me happy is always a good thing. 

For the first Happiness Scavenger Hunt, there are six things to look for and photograph. Something that:

You think is beautiful - There are two things that I think are beautiful - one is outside and the other is inside. There was a beautiful sunset the other night. At the horizon, the sky was gold, magenta, pink, and orange. 

Higher in the sky, it was a pale lavender and shades of blue. 

Inside, there's a little Christmas village that is on our dining room bureau. Two of the buildings and some of the figurines belonged to my mom and dad. The set is the St. Nicholas Square collection that Kohls has carried for decades. When my parents died, I inherited the set. It was stored in the hobby shed when it wasn't Christmas. 

In May 2018, the hobby shed burned to the ground while we were away from the farm. I thought I had lost the Christmas village. I did, in fact, lose quite a few pieces. However, I was in the process of bringing holiday bins to the basement in January 2018 rather than putting things back in the hobby shed, and several pieces were saved because of this. 

At any rate, this year I was looking at thrift shops for St. Nicholas Square pieces and found a building (Sophia's Dance Theater) and the ice rink with movable figures. I also added a horse-drawn sled and tree that is for harvesting maple sap. 

So, this is what the little village looks like now. I like it because it reminds me of my parents and there are so many little details that make the scene a beautiful one.

Makes you smile - Sophia was home from college for Thanksgiving weekend. She makes me smile all the time. She was excited to do whatever we had planned which I enjoyed. We went to a small town event where different families and community groups decorated Christmas trees that will be up during December. The Lions were serving grilled brats and hot dogs, chips, cookies, and pop. We had a brat for lunch.

On the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, we went to another small town that had a Lighting Festival going on. A church was doing an Advent activity where you could make a wreath. Sophia sat right down and started assembling a wreath for our family. We each took a turn affixing the greenery to the tree slice. At home, there are five white candles that go in the drilled holes.

On Saturday afternoon, we went to a tree farm that is about two blocks from our home. She and Olivia wanted to hide in the trees from Paige. So, there she is hiding behind a tree smiling.

Is your favorite color - My favorite color is purple (I also like green...but I think purple is my top favorite color). The traditional dress that Olivia wore for one of her senior photos is purple. It was a dress that we purchased when we adopted her in 2003 at the age of 10 months. I'm so happy that this dress still fits her and that she has this special remembrance from the country where she was born. 

  

Smells amazing - On Thanksgiving, the whole house was full of the fragrance of spices and herbs. The table had all the food on it and smelled wonderful. There was pumpkin spice bread; applesauce with ginger and cinnamon; homemade dressing with herbs from our garden (sage, rosemary, and oregano), lemon curd, Brussel sprouts with maple syrup and bacon; turkey seasoned with herbs; and more. 

You love to wear - As the weather is getting colder, I am really liking this new coat that I got a couple of months ago. It's kind of a teal/green color, is puffy, and has a hood. It's been keeping me nice and warm on these cold days...sometimes too warm. So, it should be great once the weather dips below zero.

Feels good to touch - My dogs feel good to touch. The fur on each one has a different texture - from silky smooth to fluffy to coarse. It's comforting to have each of them sit or lay by me and to be able to pet them. 

This is a picture of Cooper. He is nine years old and has kind of coarse - yet soft - hair.

This is Scooby. He's 14 and has fluffy fur.

This is Aspen and Danny. Both have very smooth, silky fur. They are the softest ones out of all the dogs and the type of fur I like to touch the most.