We talk a lot in this forum about what makes you mad. What makes you happy? What makes you want to dance around your house in your socks?

-- Anonymous, November 28, 1999

Answers

happy? good theater. hot chocolate. rossini overtures. the university of north carolina basketball team winning, and winning big. getting email from my crush. girl scout cookies. hanging out with my sister, who after 16 long years has finally become a person.

and naps. naps make me want to dance around the house in my socks, except that i'm sleeping and i can't.

-- Anonymous, November 28, 1999

Now you've done it! Given me an excuse to talk about my babies . Puppy breath makes me happy....the babies were two weeks old yesterday, they weigh about 3 lbs, both have their eyes open now and are toddling around the whelping box. They pee on me, they poop on me, they spit up on me... but just one cuddle, smelling that stinky puppy breath, and I'm in heaven. :-)

-- Anonymous, November 28, 1999

Hey, all the kids and the husband are gone! Away from this house! and I'm the only one here....

I'm dancing already.....

-- Anonymous, November 28, 1999

Really, really tasty food makes me really happy. Seeing the Jacarandas out at my home town. Looking at the faces of my kids when they're asleep. Morning fog... Heaps and heaps of things..

-- Anonymous, November 28, 1999

A long drive with a good audio tape, landing a plane well, laughing with my spouse.

-- Anonymous, November 28, 1999

Nice, well made spagetti. I only like angel hair and that other kind, it's flat, but its not Fettucine, I don't like Fettucine that much.

A nice evening of tv. When everything good is on, and you are switching between 3 or 4 shows. And they're all really, really good. That makes me happy.

Also when my sisters are gone and the house is all to myself. And sleeping, when I get just enough rest, I'm terribly happy.

-- Anonymous, November 28, 1999

Waking up while camping to the sounds of our world. Looking out over the river watching it come alive. Baiting my hook and settling in with my java and smokes for a long day of no luck fishing.

That's what makes me happy.

-- Anonymous, November 29, 1999

Sunrise lighting the world from west to east because the mountains, lilac and pink and blue in the west, are taller. The smell of my cockatiel's down. Meeting dogs on the trail and bounding with them. Snuggling into my armchair in my bathrobe with a cup of tea and my bird and a book. Swimming in the winter because there are pools. Nudey-dipping in real water. Reading Swallows and Amazons to my husband in bed at night as he snuggles warm close to me against the cold breeze from the window. Cinnamon toast. Becoming incapacitated by laughter with my sister about some small silly inexplainable thing. Singing, loudly and badly, with no audience, either for a distance at highway speeds in the car or bouncing around my apartment to Godspell or the Sound of Music or the Romantics' "What I Like about You."

-- Anonymous, November 29, 1999

Waking up to sunshine, even if it's cold outside. Leaving the office and walking into hot, sultry air that I know will stay warm into the evening. Sitting in a sauna and feeling myself relax in every muscle as sweat pours off of my body. Slipping into the cold plunge and feeling myself getting very, very, still until the tiniest sounds in the room seem loud and my attention is getting smaller and smaller as I examine the tiny hairs on the back of my hand. Affectionate cats who are glad to see me in the morning and make their imperious little demands on me. A fire in the fireplace. A craft or art project that I can't wait to return to and that absorbs my attention for hours. Driving through a landscape of rolling hills with oak trees here and there. Wildflowers are a bonus. Pat making me laugh until tears stream down my face. Making Pat laugh until he's red and helpless.

-- Anonymous, November 29, 1999

The smell of an apple pie baking. Smiles on the faces of people I know and love. Smiles on the faces of strangers. Fresh air and a good stiff breeze. Clear blue skies and bright leaves. My kitties because they love me unconditionally. Seeing Sabs smile at me *just that way* Rolling down hillsides in the spring. Dancing in the wind. Chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven with a tall cold glass of milk. The sound of my mother's voice. Lots of different kinds of music, but right now, "While the World Sleeps" by Deep Forest with Peter Gabriel.

Getting email from long lost friends. Getting any kind of mail/phone calls from friends. The way the sun looks as it sets over the hills as we drive home from work. Waking up with Pearl curled up in the crook of my arm.

Breathing.

-- Anonymous, November 29, 1999

Storms outside - curled up inside listening to the shipping forecast on BBC radio 4. Being in the grip of a good book. Waking up on Monday morning then realising it's Sunday. Clothes dried on a country washing line. 'Spooning' my Honey - fitting perfectly into a question mark. A great haircut. Painting pottery. My Mum's stew and dumplings. The first beer of the evening. Getting good mail. stripy socks. Reading aloud. Singing Jazz. 'Good face day's'. Irridecsent bubbles. Having my back stroked. Our soft blue checked cotton duvet. Apple crumble. Italy. Childrens books and a having really good poo! : ) (sorry couldn't resist that last one!)

-- Anonymous, April 11, 2000