Whenever I go shopping, it takes me twice as long as intended because I also enjoy talking with other shoppers about whatever. We live with tall, tall evergreen trees for which I'm thankful daily as they are part of nature. Always a bright, sunny day is cheerful. Little things means a lot.

Slept last night on freshly washed and fluffed bedding. Yum!

I seldom talk with shoppers unless I know them. I don't actually any more go out and shop much. What makes me happy is to have everyone free from aches and pains. Lots of things make me happy though. Seeing the grandchildren, loving on my puppy and just family get togethers like today.

Sue

Running with my friends, being at home and having my grown sons stop by for a chat..

all of the above, except pets... I am way to allergic to ever have one. Sunshine, friends, a bike ride... all make me happy.

My family. Husband of 41 years. My wooded lot full of wildlife. Chirping birds. My plants coming to life in the spring...

OK, time to get serious...cash!

DH, SS successes, my doggies that let me play dress up with them as if dolls, that I can get over annoying situations, sometimes quickly sometimes not so much

My Harry, enjoying the hand-made, felted wool, mittens that were a surprise gift to me from the younger sister of one of my childhood friends.

So, life-long friends, their families, my sweetheart Harry, warm mittens, and being able to go out in the cold make me very happy.

... and birds.

... and vintage sewing machines.

... and photo albums.

Being blessed with another day of life makes me happy, having a wonderful husband, sunshine, watching all of the birds and squirrels, seeing things come to life in the springtime, and friends.

I'm sitting here with a huge goofy smile, feeling all the good vibes from your happiness :-)

No drama! We had a peaceful Christmas and New Years. Difficult at best during the holidays with relatives that don' t see eye to eye.

I did have a hand in it though by talking to my DHband both DD's ahead of time about my expectations. This doesn't always work but it did this year!

I am happy that we have had a mild winter so far. I love cold weather but it makes DH miserable.

What makes me happy? LOTS of stuff, I'm generally a happy person. My sons, my grand baby, my garden. Bicycling. Cooking a yummy meal (and eating it:)

Helping other people. Watching a good movie.

My dogs, kitty and birds.

Finding something in my closet that is too loose to wear because I've lost weight.

Learning and doing something new (a few weeks ago I installed a new lock on my garage door, no big thing but I've never done it before).

Reading KT makes me happy too.

Excellent thread, Pkponder.

My squirrel Nutty having breakfast.

Hanging out with my daughter. Also Joey, my parrot.

So much makes me happy-so lucky- husband who does lots of stuff to make me happy, my girls who are happy with their family and career, my grands, my good memories of my parents, being a retired teacher but still teaching with only the joy as a substitute teacher, the osprey couple who come every summer and the eagle who hangs out in winter, the blue heron who visits, cooking and baking, and a clean organized house. Lastly a chair at this kitchen table where I have learned a lot and enjoyed the conversations.

Our state parks have First Day hikes, which are guided hikes through the parks on January 1. I went today, and it was fun. Approximately 5 miles, up and down over hills and hollers with a group of 10 adults. Our local park manager is a very good guide, accommodating and informative. Oh, and there was 5 inches of snow on the ground. About 35 degrees with bright sunshine.

We saw bald eagles, lots of animal tracks, the first home built in our county (in 1838) which is being restored by an historical preservation group, and went off the trail to see some special rock formations/caves. I had a wonderful time.

My dog, Elvira. She always brings a smile to my face and makes me laugh just being herself.

My beloved dogs. My rose bushes when they cooperate. Christmas lights. Chocolate. Finding pink cooking utensils and pots and pans. A really good bath and body works sale.

This forum makes me happy .. everyone is nice and helpful. I wished I had checked this forum before getting my flu-shot ... bad reaction of vertigo. Googled vertigo and found lots of help from this forum, such as sleeping on left side rather than right side, certain medications can cause it, and xylitol in chewing gum also worsened vertigo. Kind folks here also recommended helpful exercises for vertigo, and supplements like ginger.

What a wonderful forum this is .. filled with kind & helpful folks that lessened my horrible side-effects of flu-shot. While looking for info in this forum, I did find someone negative & authoritative, but someone else quickly stood up for that !! I applaud the nice & fair people in this forum.

This entire little thread of positive and possibilities and sunshine ideas makes me happy PKponder TX. It is so nice to read something nice now and then. HAPPY New Year and may you continue to not only wear these beautiful smiles but keep spreading them freely. Kindness is an amazing and simple gift to hand out :)

I also enjoy talking to random people on the highway of life. Watching my grand kids at play, seeing well behaved children with watchful loving parents, people who make eye contact, all make me happy. Dogs make me happy. Training sessions with my puppy are happy times even though it's "work".

Being alone makes me happy, riding horses, being out in nature, the beach, the mountains all make me happy. Driving alone late at night when most of the world sleeps makes me happy.

I talk to people when I'm shopping, too. When my son was small, he once asked, "Mom, are you allowed to talk to strangers?"

Having all my children together for a visit, sleeping under my roof again, makes me happy. At that time I know they are safe.

Thank you for this nice thread. :)

I think there are two kinds of happy. The hardest one to accomplish is where you're at peace with yourself and your life. The other is random moments that provide a smile and warm heart.

Lots of things provide those warm random moments for me, like playing with my dog, watching the wildlife eat from our feeders, standing in the silence of a new fallen snow, helping a stranger, Friday nights at home, especially when its cold outside, long weekends, watching my daughter laugh, she has the most beautiful smile and lastly when I'm surrounded by color, whether it's fall leaves outside or a store full of bright interesting things to look at, color really makes me happy.

My animals and being out in nature make me happy. Helping my elderly neighbors makes me happy. But oddly enough, one time I was thinking about a problem that I was having at work and I came up with a good solution and that made me extremely happy. I have no idea why. LOL I, too, am happy you started this thread, PK. Too often the posts are just a lot of negativity and that can become very tiresome. It's so nice to read the good things that happen to people and what makes them happy. Thank you.

Being with my family and knowing they are happy and healthy....love their laughter!

When my son decides to call me, on a rare occasion, and call for a short chit chat.

My two dogs and three cats make me happy(most of the time). My kids and grandkids as well , although I only see one twice a year and the other is heading off to college in the fall. Boohoo. I've seen him every week of his life, so I'll miss him. Something that brings a smile to my face is the National Zoo's panda cam. Bei Bei was born four months ago and there is a camera on him 24/7. His interaction with his mom, Mei is so sweet. I also watch the PA eagle cam , and in the spring will watch three osprey cams. Cams are such a wonderful way to see nature close up.

This thread is full of smiles. I have to admit I haven't felt happy in awhile. Except for getting all the Christmas cards and my swap pkg! The situation with my health has taken most of my happiness away. I can't play in my flowerbeds, it's hard to cook like I want too, I can't get out and do very much. And most important Schultz had to go stay with my daughter. I really miss him. He brought a lot of happiness to my life.

AAA, I'm sorry your health situation as taken so much happiness away from you especially Schultz. You've made us happy so many times. Just wanted you to know.

A good book, my husband, traveling, a good haircut, my warm bed at night, and good friends. I am a simple person, I don't need expensive things.

My grandson. He is the light of my life. How my son and daughter in law got so lucky with this little angel, I don't know. He listens! And he's only 2! He understands no means no. I rush home every day to come and see him.

AAA, I hope your health gets better very soon. It took my happiness away in 2 014, but last year, things were greatly improved....hoping the same for you! Hugs!

I am happy that I am still able to put one foot ahead of the other if necessary. And since I am keenly aware of how difficult it can be for others who don't have a sweet man like my DH to do the difficult things, it makes me happy (and proud) that he never hesitates to step up and help another person who is struggling to load groceries, or a young Mother trying to manage her kids and the grocery loading, etc. He never fails to offer a helping hand when he sees one is needed.

It makes me happy to see all that nature has to offer in my own back yard. The trees, the flowers and the wildlife. It is DH who takes care of all that beauty, so I guess the bottom line is that my sweetie of 56 1/2 years is what is most responsible for my happiness.

I heard this on npr this morning. It's a few years old but taken by a guy walking solo to the South Pole. He stashed caches of food and supplies on his way there, to find on his way back. This is to be his last cache, and he's very hungry. I dare you not to smile!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC8gJ0_9o4M

Listening to you guys ... and getting a word in, here and there.( ; ^ )

I talk to strangers in the supermarket, checkout line, etc., often with something a bit humourous, and usually get a good response, often with a smile, and sometimes I quote what was said here some time ago, that if one can put a smile on someone's face where there wasn't one a minute ago, it adds joy to the day, usually resulting in a reply something like, "That's for sure!" ... as several responded in similar fashion when it was made, here, if I recall correctly.

ole joyfuelled

OJ....you light up my life! So does DH; but thank you for the joy you add here!

I hope you're careful about what you say - I find it can be very creepy when someone I don't know makes an out-of-context comment to me in a public place. Especially if what's said is borderline personal in any way.

Another thing that makes me happy is getting packages in the mail. I ordered 30 daylily fans and they should arrive today, I'm excited about getting them. And with high temps in the mid 60s I'm going to get them planted in the next few days.

There's a lot of things that make me happy....also many things for which I am thankful, which is also happiness-inducing.

I too chat a bit more with people in public nowadays. Just a quick sentence or two. Especially for those in service jobs: working with the public can be very difficult and it's nice when you can give someone a reason to smile.

Retirement has been great and made me and DH happy, so much less stress and no more clock-watching. Lots of books (paper and digital) to read makes me happy. Having my DH alive and well makes me happy; after a serious stroke at age 50 you stop taking togetherness for granted, that's for sure. The promise of good strong El NIno rains makes me happy, even if it cuts back on our local travels - I lost more plants to drought this summer than ever before.

The success of finally putting solar panels on our roof makes us happy: it worked out great and the payback looks to be faster than we thought it would be. The remodeling of our master bdrm, which cost way more than I hoped but looks sensational, means it finally resembles the rest of the house....and after 25 yrs here that's a very good thing, LOL!

The fact that most of our family and friends had a good year in 2015 is also cause for happiness.

Dh & I spent the day working on the remodel together as he took off from his regular job to join me. He has his back to me, cuddled up against me sleeping, bottoms of his feet pressed against my feet. The kitty cat is draped over "our" feet, snuggled in..... a warm quiet home. I'm pretty happy! :0)

I was having some insomnia tonight and came looking for this thread, I'm glad to see your additional responses!I love that so many of you can find happiness around you in the small things that make up a big part of your lives.

AAA, my hope is that soon you will be able to get back to some of the things that bring you joy. I was pretty impressed with your Christmas decorations. It's too cold to be gardening right now anyway!

Sjerin, I loved the hiker's pure joy at finding his food. Was that first bag cookies? :-)

SW, I'm pretty perceptive, I wouldn't speak to you in line at the supermarket. Some folks just have receptive auras :-)

Thank you all for sharing!

Having peace of mind is what makes me happy. Right now we have the remnants of a crisis hanging over our heads and I will be HAPPY when all this is behind us!

I'm an easy person to make happy as I've never been bored. Yesterday I was sitting the day with a sick child. He asked me why I was smiling and I said I was thinking of the time I went flying in an open cockpit airplane which then led to a story of the event. He asked what he could think of when he was bored and I told him every event he's experienced in life and felt happy. So we went over some and I said "lets close our eyes and think of one and we'll tell each other our stories". That led us to talking, while taking turns for three hours with breaks here and there. The time flew by. I hope he can take this with him in life. I will remember to bring this idea into the lives of other sick kids I encounter or any kids for that matter. Outside of death and disaster and disease and severe depression, we can choose to make ourselves happy most any time.

Yayagirl, what an awesome way to look at life!!!

Overall it seems to be the simple pleasures that make us happy. Lessons here are appreciate and savor the good times and weather the not so good. Glad we are a happy, satisfied, resilient group.