Scraps of Happiness

For the last couple years I've kept a jar in my bedroom, and in this jar I've kept slips of paper with good things that happen to me throughout the year written on them. The idea is to look at them at the end of the year (actually, I planned for winter solstice) and then start filling up the jar again with the new year (or for me, any date after solstice).

I started neglecting the happy jar in summer, about when the anxiety really hit big time. This means that there are some things not in the jar that should be, such as spending Samhain with my boyfriend, mom bringing home the new dog, and when I got a new giant cage for the pet rats. I also didn't touch the jar on solstice, and am only now getting around to it. Here are most of the things that are in it.

Started back to school -- spring 2014

Spending time with "Murray" [note: I'm not using my boyfriend's real name] on Imbolc weekend, and Zoe [this one] apparently getting along better with Kokopelle. -- 2/2014

Watching Babylon 5 with Murray -- 2014 ♡

(Yes, I really did put a heart there. No, we've never been accused of being sappy. Why do you ask?) (Ok, maybe I'm lying.)

My cholesterol was checked, all looks normal. The "fish diet" worked! =) -- 1/31/2014

Mom finished her MBA program -- spring 2014

Spending Christmas evening with Murray -- cuddles and getting Salem's Lot -- 12/25/2013

Decided to go back to school. -- February/March 2014

CthulhuCon with Murray -- spring 2014

Fourth of July with Murray ♡ -- 7/4/2014

Field trip to the coast with oceanography class. -- 5/16/2014

I got three A's and one A- during my first term back to school -- spring 2014

Date with Murray, saw Godzilla and went to [library] to get Babylon 5 season 1. -- 5/2014

Went to [arcade] for the first time with Murray :) -- 7/2014

Portland Highland Games -- 7/19/2014

I went to my first Pride parade with mom.  -- June 2014

The smell of fresh rain late at night -- summer 2014

Brushing snow off a bush, and feeling soft snow under a layer of almost ice. -- 2/9/2014

Valentine's date with Murray. Visiting bookstore, movies, cuddles, and chocolate ice cream. ♡ -- 2/15/2014

I got my books out of storage =D -- July 2014

Walking outside and hearing snow melt around me. -- 2/10/2014

Same sex marriage legalized in Oregon! -- 5/19/2014

Jim Butcher book signing -- spring 2014

Despite the last half of my year being crummy (panic attacks for a couple weeks, anxiety, depression...) this list would be longer if I'd kept up with writing down the good things that happened. Now to start filling up the jar with things that have happened since solstice 2014.

Scraps of Happiness

Random acts of kindness

I went to the Portland Highland Games last weekend. They were a lot of fun, and I'm thinking I can turn the day into a couple of blog posts. I normally haven't done that in the past, and I don't think I've even written about all the Games I've attended. But the Portland Games were the only ones I could attend this year, so I may as well savor them.

One of the cool things about the Games is that there's too much to see and do. This can be a bit frustrating, since it's impossible to be everywhere you want to be at once. But it's also awesome to be able to choose between athletic competitions, pipe bands, Highland dancing, non-pipe bands, sheep dog trial demonstrations....oh, and vendors. The vendors are fun to browse.

I think it was at the Highland Games that I discovered the art of Jen Delyth. There's usually a booth of hers at them, and she does amazing Celtic artwork. If I had a ton of money to blow on just one vendor at the Games, it would be on her stuff.

The Lugh window sticker at my old home, during a thunderstorm

You can also see it here

Last week I started my day at the Portland Games by wandering around the vendors briefly before getting some food. (I'd had coffee, but no food yet. Priorities, you know.) I wasn't ready to buy, but was definitely browsing, and taking note of places to revisit later. When I got to Jen Delyth's booth I decided that I would have to buy a replacement for the Lugh -- or Lleu, as they spell it -- window sticker I had up in my old apartment. It didn't survive my taking it down, which was unsurprising but a little saddening.

One of the guys working the booth started a conversation with me. I learned a few random things about Scottish type stuff from him, including that his clan's tartan has a hideous bright shade of orange in it when modern dyes are used. I guess it's not always a good idea to make colors as bright as possible, just because you can. After a few minutes of talking to him my hunger convinced me that I needed to go in search of food, but I said I'd be back later.

When I returned that afternoon I went straight for the Lugh window sticker, and it was the same guy I'd talked to that morning who took my money. Or rather...he tried to take my money.

There's a bit of a problem with my debit card, which is that the magnetic strip is temperamental. It's no problem if someone can (and is willing to) enter the number on the card manually, but with the iPad he was using that wasn't an option. And I didn't have any cash on me.

I was disappointed, but after he'd been swiping my card for more than a minute I finally told him not to worry about it. I said I would probably get money from someone later and come back then. That's when he surprised me by telling me to just take the $5 window sticker and that I could come back later if I got the money.

Um, wow. I didn't know people actually did nice things like that.

Fortunately I was eventually able to get cash from mom, and I returned to pay. The kindness I'd been shown encouraged me to also spend a bit more than I'd really wanted to on a nice shirt I'd been drooling over. It has Danu on it and is quite lovely. I figure if the people there will be so nice to customers, and that since the artwork there is so lovely, I may as well spend a bit extra on Jen Delyth's stuff, especially if I'm going to insist on indulging myself occasionally.

Easter

Traditional Easter Eggs by Petr Kratochvil

The BC Highland Games are always Easter weekend. Always.

Don't ask me why. I didn't set the date.

Because my brother competes on his Highland pipes at the Games this results in the following schedule each year: mom and Tall One leave on Friday, spend Saturday at competition, and then come back home on Easter. This has simply become the norm, and I started the tradition of hiding eggs for their return.

This year, though, we didn't discuss it before hand. I guess this led to them thinking that there wouldn't be a hunt, because mom's first words when I greeted them as they get home were "We aren't expecting an egg hunt." I may have wanted them to find the eggs accidentally, because I responded with the non-revealing "We didn't discuss having one."

But of course, there were eggs. Which still have not all been found.

Hand Painted Easter Eggs by Vera Kratochvil

Tall One in Scotland

Tall One is in Scotland right now. I must say, I'm rather jealous. He's over there attempting to find vegetarian food and getting photographed by the locals. Yeah, apparently the locals photograph the tourists over there. Who would have thought? Oh yeah, and he's competing with his bagpipe band at the world competition.

I'm rather jealous. And you should be too. He left on August 1st and will be back on the 14th.

Funny thing is, I miss him. I miss having my little brother around. (But don't tell Tall One I called him my "little" brother.) Especially when I know that he's like half way across the world. Nearly half way across the world and having fun with bagpipes.

What do you think? Should I bug him to write some guest posts about his travels when he gets back? Maybe I will. He's having fun and has e-mailed us some neat photos.

I really wish he would bring back some genuine haggis for me to try. But I guess customs would get grumpy if he did. People can't sell the real stuff here in the USA because there's some traditional ingredient (I forget what...I think it's the sheep lung?) that the FDA doesn't like. They probably can't bring it through customs either.

Triumph St. Pipe Band

Most of the photos I took at the Skagit Valley Highland Games didn't come out well. Really the only photos that did turn out well were of Triumph St. Band when they took the stage.

(All the other competition was on the grass, but for some reason this band wound up on stage.)

FYI, Triumph St. is the second best band locally, "locally" being the entire Pacific Northwest, and I'd say they're one of the top in the world. To sit down and let their music pour over me was pure bliss.

I wasn't able to get the whole band in one photo.





After their first (or second?) set one like piper stepped forward for a solo. As you can see, his band mates were passing around water behind his back. And rest of the pipes joined in after a minute or so.

This song was actually a pìobaireachd (pea-brok), which I was amazed to hear a band performing. It's sort of the pipe version of classical music, and...I'll just have to share a YouTube of it later. I can't explain it. But it's the sort that is usually played solo, and a band really has to work for it to come out well, and if they pull it off it's a sign of just how good they are.



They also did one rather non traditional music, with a shaker and other stuff. Here you can see one little drummer with finger cymbals, looking so adorable as she waits for her place to join in.

Spinning wheels at the Games

Mom, Tall One, and I went to the Skagit Valley Highland Games today. These are my favorite Games, partially because I learned to spin yarn there in past years. So I naturally dropped by the spinning tent today...and got called a nasty name. To be fair, though, I sort of deserved it. Sort of.

When I got to the another young woman was in the middle of a quick lesson about how to use the spinning wheel. I watched, then kind of almost wandered off when she was through.

"Don't you want to try?" I was asked.

"Yes, but I was also shy." I intentionally neglected to mention that I own my own spinning wheel and know how to use it.

So I was treated to a lesson in how spinning wheels work, and how to spin. I also learned a way of spinning more quickly than I have known how.

I would like to point out that, if I had been up front with my skills, I probably wouldn't have learned that bit. Which I now need to go home and practice. :)

Once that brief explanation and demonstration was over I was allowed to sit down at the spinning wheel. At that point it quickly became obvious that I knew what I was doing, and am certainly not a beginner.

That's when I got called names.

More details about the Games to come soon.