Michelle, the things that made you smile also made me
smile. You have a wonderful way of telling things that
make me feel like I was right there with you. ( I wish)

Thank you for sharing your delightful tales of neighborhood
children, Steve, Izzy & Jaz and of course your family.

You are a treasure and I smile when I think of
you and the laughter you brought to the get togethers we've
had.

A new neighbor might be a good thing.
The woman that lives next door to me manages to yell, scream and *cuss* out her poor husband or someone daily and I find myself wondering how anyone could lead such a miserable life.

I could hear the roar of the tractor nearing the house and in flies my husband, grabbing the pair of binocs and the digital camera and then the roar faded off in the distance. He returned to the house and wanted me to help him identify a bird he said looked just like a robin, but it was all white, with a red breast. Well, seems he captured a shot of a leucistic, very leucistic robin. It always makes me smile that he never lost the curiosity or enthusiasm of a kid.

I have done absolutely nothing of any consequence today except wallow around in my vegetable garden poking in the plants who were ready to be transplanted three weeks ago. Every single item was grown on in my greenhouses, since the weather wasn't cooperating to get the tractor in to disc the ground in early May. The up side of it is, regardless of the delay in getting the plants in the soil, the garden is right on, or even ahead of schedule. The corn is knee high already, and the pepper plants are already loaded with tiny green peppers. I do this every year, to foil the critters who like to nibble on the very young seedlings, and have freaked more than one visitor out who sees the empty garden one day and a week later, sees one half way grown.

I am on my hands and knees slipping the last of the watermelon plants into place and look up in time to see a groundhog staring me in the face. We lock eyes and face off, rofl. If he had a gauntlet on his person, I think he would have thrown it down in front of me.

My husband dismantled the supports where once my ancient red grape vines grew. A family friend and he "pruned" my precious vines two years ago and they never recovered. By chance, out in the field where we threw the residue, one of them took hold and rooted, and the DH built a new support there. Redemption. I then let him mow down the bone of contention for at least a decade, my bramble patch because on the new land we bought, there are literally hundreds and hundreds of wild blackberry bushes and he took the mower up and cleaned a path into the heart of the them so that when berries come on, I can get to them. They are in bloom now and I walked up there this evening and discovered the path, it was like entering a giant maze of white blooms.

I love this time of year, with the promise of all the goodies ahead and tonight it is to rain. Perfect timing. Below is shot he managed to grab with the zoom lens of the very white robin.

{{gwi:161852}}

I enjoy the hustle bustle of walking around a busy city,and find it very energizing. When I do that, I feel more a part of the world and able to see things with a different mind set. But..the things that make me smile the most are the country things around me on an everyday basis. I always wave at the big old school bus that goes by twice a day, and at the farmers going up and down the road on their tractors,or corn pickers, Every few days,all year long,flocks of Canada geese fly overhead and sometimes so low you can hear their wings flapping. I always stop and look up when I hear them.Another thing that makes me stop in my tracks no matter what is the sound of our woods when the wind is really blowing. When I close my eyes it sounds just like the ocean. I could go on and on. None of these things cost a dime and yet the pleasure I get from them is constant and never seems to lessen. All that being said,I love my new pair of shoes and they are making me smile..but soon they won't.

I smile at lots of things, like Marda, the free ones are the best. That first bloom on new plant, a favorite photograph, the sound of a gentle rain hitting the leaves of the trees, oh gosh, there are so many things! I think we all have lots and lots of things that make us smile but I have to admit there are times I don't smile at the little things, guess I am too caught up in myself, but I find as I grow older I take more time to just enjoy all that is around me. Oh, I also like the sound of the UPS truck 'cause that means some thing I ordered is here! LOL!

Smile 1: Surprises! This past Thursday, I received a big one. My boss called me and told me I needed to accompany him to a meeting on facilities. Seems I'm always in the footprint of some big construction project and losing facilities faster than anything can be constructed. So, I rolled up my sleeves and prepared to do battle with "The Boys Club", which is my affectionate term for our Director, Deputy Director, and various Division/Branch Chiefs. They're all male, all retired miltary, all served together at one time...it's just one of those nepotism rings that are becoming quite common. Everyone was very somber as I entered the room, it was so quiet I swear you could hear their lightly starched shirts with matching ties wrinkle as they moved. I took the chair next to the Deputy Director and had a very uneasy feeling. The Deputy pushes a red folder over to my boss who was seated across from me and said "I'm going to let you tell her". Uh oh. "What? Am I being fired?" I asked. No one said a word. The boss says "Well, we're all adults here...Maryanne, you know we did your mid-term counseling last week, we talked about a lot of things, changes that will be made, and well, there's just no easy way to say this..." He slides the folder across to me adding "you can open that here, or you can open that in private and we can discuss later, you're choice." Seemed the air was sucked out of the room at that point. I looked around, everyone was very intense. I figured I might as well get it over with and opened the folder. On the left side was a personnel action...I quickly scanned it for the words "terminate" but didn't see any. Then I slowed down and read it a bit more, searching for the words "reassigned". Again, nothing. It looked like a normal personnel action. Then I noticed the papers tucked in the pocket on the right. A position description? I started to read it with shaky hands when all of a sudden it hit me...I WAS PROMOTED! All I could do was say (very loudly) OH MY GOD! At that point, everyone stood up and applauded. The Deputy announced that I was now officially a member of "The Boy's Club". I was shocked. Still am. But I'm smiling from ear to ear!

Smile 2: I bought one little patio tomato plant a few weeks ago, since I can't have a real garden due to the impending move, I figured a potted patio would sustain my need for fresh 'maters. I haven't had much time lately to repot it or mess with it, so imagine my smile when I checked it this morning and found 15 little green tomatoes hanging from its' branches!

Smile 3: My boys. Wish I knew how to imbed a link, but I'm technically challenged, so you'll just have to click on the link below (please watch the short video, you won't be disappointed!). As one young kid told me recently "Ms. Maryanne, you make my gizzards grin!" Well, that's exactly how I feel about my boys! BTW, if you look closely, you'll catch a fleeting glimpse of me!

Here is a link that might be useful: videos.newsobserver.com/?a=player&id=1894706

Congratulations, you certainly deserve this for all your hard work!

congrats from me too Maryanne. Being a member of the Boys Club has to mean you're doing a more than great job..and a military Boys Club..WOW. You must work your beind off for them. It has to have been tough sometimes.

Congrats!!! Was that you with the ponytail and sunglasses?

Good for you! Congrats on showing the good ole boys that you can hold your own with them. I had to chuckle about the way they told you, shows they like you and are proud to have you in their "group". Loved the video, thanks!

Now that makes me smile. Congratulations, you deserve it!
Anneliese

Mary Ann, I've always known your "boys" must appreciate your ability and "get it done" attitude ...it's nice the brass recognizes it too. Congratulations! josh

Maryanne, It's great to see you getting recognition. We know how hard you work with the troops.

As for me, this afternoon what is making me smile is teh sound of DH pounding the hammer & finally finishing the needed work on our deck.

What makes me smile? Everyone here.

Mostly, Maryanne finally finally getting what she deserves. You go girl!

There are lots of reasons to smile in this world and
most of us take great pleasure in the things that happen in our little corners of the world.
I know I do.

The things that not only make me smile but really get to the very soul of my being, is when good things happen to people I know and love.

Maryanne, your news has made my day. I know that you
have been climbing the mountain for a long time,GF, now
you are on top and it's time to try out those wings. :0)

Reopening this thread after a weekend in the garden and with friends is a gift. Maryanne, YOU GO GIRL OLD BOY! Nice to see dedication recognized and rewarded!