3 Good Things 💖

AgentDragon

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Mage from Maryland
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"I just needed to get that off my chest"
This is a lovely idea!
  • On Tuesday, when I was waiting with four of the work kiddos for their bus to arrive, I randomly suggested that we sing to pass the time. When I asked one of them what we she sing, she said “nothing.” So I did the only logical thing and loudly sang “NOOOOOTHIIIING~” in an exaggeratedly broad, operatic voice. The kids thought it was hilarious and started pelting me with nonstop requests of words and phrases to sing (“window,” “glasses,” “poopy butt face,” “six seven”), which I, of course, obliged. As the elementary school’s new choral director walked by, she interrupted to ask where I’d been trained. And she was literally carrying a piano keyboard, so you know she was legit. I told her I used to take voice lessons, she said I was very good, and I’m going to be riding this high for at least another week.
  • This year’s family Thanksgiving dinner boasted fourteen delicious homemade pies for dessert! Not a record for my family by a long shot, but always a delight.
  • Don’t tell my dad, but I’m designing some hyper-specific stickers for him for Christmas. For instance: Since he works in data analytics and is a great pianist, one of the designs is going to be like a line graph fused with a music staff and read “KPI: Key Performance Indicator.” (That’s a data analytics term I’ve heard him use, but also “key” like key signature? Music pun? I think he’ll like it.)
 

SevenDeadlyExes

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Posts: 377
🎄 We got the decos up last night and the twinkly colourful lights are really brightening things up amongst the winter gloom
🏋️ Completed another Darebee program (Foundation Light)
👹 The final season of Stranger Things is out now (finally!) and we're going to be cosying up for some family time tonight to start watching
 
Bard from Canada
Posts: 4,581
"Striving to be the change."

Moderator
Friday:
  • another productive day: I swept, dusted, mopped the kitchen floor, cleaned the bathroom and kitchen, and hand-raked my carpets
  • Oreo and Shelby made a cute pair in their winter coats and received many compliments
  • our friend's shed was plenty big enough for the four of us, and we had a good visit
Saturday:
  • the water in the water bottle I'd accidentally left behind in our friend's shed on Friday night had not frozen and wrecked the bottle. The bottle is still fine!
  • I like Oreo. I think even Shelby likes him, in her way. But it's nice when he goes back home and we have our walks and our bed to ourselves again.
  • I created a strong plan to help me continue to make good progress with my writing and fitness throughout December
Sunday:
  • early morning game of Dominion with @'rin and @sleep_twitch
  • evening walk amidst freshly-fallen snow lit up beautifully with winter holiday lights
  • I successfully completed my 4 week Return to Writing challenge
 
Bard from Canada
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"Striving to be the change."

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  • a nice, peaceful day at home with my best friend Shelby
  • the weather was mild for our walks, so I was able to wear running shoes. Miss Shelby made several new friends and got to visit with her crossing guard friends.
  • it's been five and a half weeks since my tick bite with no sign of a bull's eye rash or any other symptoms of Lyme disease. Looks like the PEP did its job, and I am in the clear!
 
Bard from Canada
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"Striving to be the change."

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  • one of my online writing communities is doing a workshop together this month to reflect on our accomplishments of the past year and plan for a great year ahead. It is a task I definitely need to do after the year I've had, and it is so nice to be doing it with community!
  • Shelby and I had a good visit with our friend in her shed
  • My friend gave me a pair of sunglasses that fit my face securely enough, I think I will be able to use them for running!
 

MangoTux

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  • My friend gave me a pair of sunglasses that fit my face securely enough, I think I will be able to use them for running!
Stable headgear is awesome! I love my headphones that wrap around my ear, rather than spending the entire run making sure they're not falling out.

I've been meaning to contribute more to this thread; there is a lot I'm thankful for:
- Annual performance review resulted in a raise and some good discussions about flexible scheduling to address notification fatigue.
- D&D tonight! We're allegedly getting close to the campaign's final boss.
- Recently, I've been winding down in the evenings by reading and watching my wife play Hollow Knight: Silksong. It's been incredibly cozy!

Edit: Yeah, we're at the final boss. Sentient computer that's counting down a nuclear explosion and preventing us from accessing it by dropping melting walls of ultra-antimagic. Our DM demonstrated this on a player character ;_;
(Still had fun!)
 
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Bard from Canada
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  • forgot to set an alarm last night but still woke up in time to put the garbage out (an important thing to get done, because it's not always possible for me to get my garbage to the curb in the winter, and it had been seven weeks already)
  • good progress on the Secret Santa gift I'm creating
  • even though my pancake batter experienced a volcanic eruption I was able to salvage most of it, and will get five pancakes out of this batch
 
Bard from Canada
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  • cheese! So much cheese! The cheese that I like best for melting (a nice cheddar with jalapeños) was on sale at the closest discount grocery store to me. So I got a bunch! (Also: I got everything I needed this week at the closer store for a comparable price to what it would cost at the further away store. A very welcome feat now that winter has set in!)
  • I went for a run!
  • we met up with many of Shelby's friends on our walks
 
Bard from Canada
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  • 7AM gaming with @'rin and @sleep_twitch
  • an excellent DreamCasters meeting--I got some great tips from the guest speaker, and the after-meeting convo with the DreamCasters hosts plus another community member re: all things AI was interesting and informative too
  • because I organize the Secret Santa Workout Gift Exchange, I get to see all of the gifts early, including my own. I laughed out loud when I read my gift. It is awesome!
 

MangoTux

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- Deployed a large code change at work that functioned without any issues, which fixed a problem one of our users has been struggling with for a few months
- Saw my first Snow Buntings while on a drive
- Perfectly fried some halloumi to go with my lentil stew I prepped for the week
- (Bonus) My wife's birthday is tomorrow!
 
Bard from Canada
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  • I remembered I own waterproof footwear that doesn't put pressure on my Achilles tendon, and walking in them in our current conditions worked out well.
  • (This one is more a good thing for Shelby. But it still counts!) I told Shelby her realtor friends were not home as we were walking past trying to walk past their office. Shelby did not believe me and insisted on going up to their door. It turned out Shelby was correct, and I was wrong, and Shelby got 3 liver treats from her newest BFF the realtor! (Who was very happy to see her. Shelby lives to please.)
  • It can be difficult for people to enjoy snow here, because it causes us some not insignificant problems. But the gently-falling large white flakes filtering down through the warm amber trail lighting in our neighbourhood parkette painted such a beautiful scene this evening, I couldn't help but be happy to see and be out in it.
 
Bard from Canada
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Friday:
  • I only need 100 more push-ups to earn my Dragon Crystal!
  • got some baking done: Chickpea Blondies + Sweet Potato Brownies. Yum!
  • my hand blender. @NancyTree inspired me to get one several years back now, and I use it all the time. It is a real time saver!
Saturday:
  • soft, warm blankets (Shelby does not like it when I make her wear one, but it was necessary for hiking this day!
  • 500 push-ups completed in 4 days! W00t! W00t!
  • Shelby's realtor friend gave her a fancy Christmas cookie
GingerMan.png
 
Bard from Canada
Posts: 4,581
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Oi! I am behind!

Sunday, December 14:
  • municipal snow removal service (So needed here! Roads would be impassable without it.)
  • municipal waste collection service (Cities would be NASTY places without this.)
  • community (Humanity's capacity for cooperation is our species' greatest asset.)
Monday, December 15:
  • Shelby's vet is awesome
  • a friend gifted me with the geekiest calendar I have ever had
  • his friend gifted me, through our mutual friend, some homemade Christmas pudding
Tuesday, December 16:
  • Shelby got a "perfect" score on her blood exams
  • the real estate brokerage in my community distributed 250 hampers of food, personal items, and personalized gifts (they collect wish lists and get recipients what they actually want, not random gifts) to families in need in my city, and delivered an additional 1000+ lbs. of food to our local food bank this week, all donated by local residents and businesses through the food and toy drive the realtors run.
  • we met up with a friend while out on our walk in the Village and went round to her place for a visit
Wednesday, December 17:
  • Shelby got a perfect score on her urinalysis too. Shelby is awesome!
  • I was able to get all the groceries I needed without using my wagon (which would have been too tough to pull, given the condition of the sidewalks this week)
  • got my Covid and Influenza vaccines done on the way home from the grocery store
Thursday, December 18:
  • all the Secret Santa gifts have been gift-wrapped. They look beautiful (as always)!
  • I survived hiking on the ice without any mishaps
  • another meeting this day with our octogenarian neighbourhood friend
Friday, December 19:
  • the Overwintering Writer Workshop one of my online writing communities is doing together this month
  • hand-me-downs--both of my winter coats, plus the blankets I use to wrap Shelby up in for walks on the coldest days were gifts from folks who no longer needed them
  • warm coats, blankets, sweaters, gloves, hats, socks!
Saturday, December 20:
  • my Aikido club's pot luck. This is a really great group of people I have the privilege of hanging out with. (The food was awesome too!)
  • two days of sidewalks with better traction meant Shelby and I were able to up our mileage a bit on Friday and Saturday
  • our neighbourhood realtors had their holiday party this day. So we got to visit them twice in one day. Shelby was very happy! (They offered me wine and chocolates! Which I declined. But it was nice that they offered.)
Sunday, December 21:
  • I got almost all of the Secret Santa gifts posted by midnight (just have my own gift still to do)
  • I love all of the effort Bees put into their gifts
  • I have seen my own SS gift, and it is awesome! I literally laughed out loud reading it.
 
Bard from Canada
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Shelby's good things:
  • I traded a pot of pee for two liver treats! I am the best deal maker ever!
  • my realtor friend is starting a secret club, inspired by me. I am, of course, going to be an inaugural member! (I cannot share the details of this club with you, since it is TOP SECRET! Suffice it to say, it is going to be a very awesome club!)
  • I convinced a man waiting outside the library to pet me. I am the best at making new friends!
  • I was complimented by my friend Bonnie (veterinarian) for being an excellent pee-er!
  • I got to go to my realtor friends' Christmas party! They gave me many treats!
 

vulture1930

Active member
from Netherlands
Posts: 26
Shelby's good things:
  • I traded a pot of pee for two liver treats! I am the best deal maker ever!
  • my realtor friend is starting a secret club, inspired by me. I am, of course, going to be an inaugural member! (I cannot share the details of this club with you, since it is TOP SECRET! Suffice it to say, it is going to be a very awesome club!)
  • I convinced a man waiting outside the library to pet me. I am the best at making new friends!
  • I was complimented by my friend Bonnie (veterinarian) for being an excellent pee-er!
  • I got to go to my realtor friends' Christmas party! They gave me many treats!
I read that while skipping over the first sentence and was quite confused haha. Sounds like she had a wonderful day :)
 
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vulture1930

Active member
from Netherlands
Posts: 26
- I've been trying to cut my online time and have been noticing the benefits. I hope I can keep it up.
- I enjoyed the snowfight event, wish it had gone on a bit longer :sadness:. It reminds me of the older days of the internet for some reason.
- Feel like I am on a good path when it comes to exercising. I am less hyper-focused on quick results than I used to be.
 
Bard from Canada
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I read that while skipping over the first sentence and was quite confused haha. Sounds like he had a wonderful day :)
Shelby pretty much always has a wonderful day! The realtors love her and give her treats anytime they are in. (I got in trouble last week because the broker had seen me out walking with Shelby when she was out and about in her car and had called her office to tell them, "Shelby's coming! Get the treats ready!" And then her staff reported back to her that we had not, in fact, stopped into their office--because we had already been earlier that day, and the broker saw us later when we were heading home on the opposite side of the road--but the broker didn't know we'd been by, so she was all, "Why didn't you bring Shelby to see us?") We don't walk past the vet's every day. But when we do, we have to go in there to get treats too! There's a guy in our neighbourhood who puts dog treats out in a little box on his fence. So that's a reliable self-serve treat, even when he's not home. There are other dog walkers in our neighbourhood who carry treats in their pockets and happily share them with Shelby. In the summer there are people who sit out at the sidewalk tables at our neighbourhood café who bring treats to share with dogs passing by. It's a great neighbourhood for a dog!
 

vulture1930

Active member
from Netherlands
Posts: 26
- Today marks the final day of a challenging 30-day workout program I've been following. I skipped a day or two, but I'm still proud of myself for staying committed and going easy on myself on the hard days.
- This year carried the heavy pain of something that happened at the end of last year, but it's good to see that I could still find my footing and score a few goals towards the end of this year.
- Soup:vibes:. I rarely made soups in the past and always went for solid foods, so it's a whole new world to me. Learning a lot from cooking these and experimenting around, I feel like I can somewhat call myself a decent amateur cook now.

I'm a day early, but I'd like to wish you all a Happy New Year as well. I hope 2026 is kind to you.
 
Bard from Canada
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Monday, December 22:
  • saw a Cooper's Hawk and a Red-tailed Hawk in the same tree!
  • my favourite sunscreen (the only one I've ever found that I could put on my face and wouldn't run into my eyes and sting when I sweat) is back (after the manufacturer having inexplicably taken it off the market a few years back and tried to replace it with a stinky, eye-stinging alternative)
  • holiday lights
Tuesday, December 23:
  • we got a date for Shelby's dental surgery
  • visiting with our octogenarian friend
  • got a new book from our friend (she is an avid reader and often gifts me with books she thinks I will find interesting once she's read them)
Wednesday, December 24:
  • a sunny and warm (for December) day
  • saw lots of birds in our neighbourhood park on our afternoon walk: a Cooper's hawk, a northern cardinal, a blue jay, dark-eyed juncos, and a red-bellied woodpecker
  • had a pleasant night hike in the mild weather and saw a raccoon
Thursday, December 25:
  • a peaceful day
  • Shelby and I did a nice hike up the Thames Valley Parkway. We saw a Bald Eagle, a Red-tailed Hawk, and a Belted Kingfisher.
  • did not think Shelby would get to see her realtor friend this day, since it was a holiday. But Shelby's friend saw us out walking, rushed home, and then ran out onto the sidewalk (in her happy face slippers, no less!) to look for us and call Shelby in for a treat. Then the realtor's daughter and her friend came into the office. And they gave Shelby treats too! Everyone was very happy!
Friday, December 26:
  • crampons. These were definitely needed in my neighbourhood this week!
  • Shelby has great bladder control. (Sometimes needing to pee outside is a real drag.
  • A got my muffins baked before the blackout hit my street.
Saturday, December 27:
  • was gifted with a big block of blue Stilton
  • was also gifted with some Brussels sprouts casserole. This is the only way I have ever had Brussels sprouts prepared that I actually like!
  • lots of tree damage in my area from the previous day's storm. But nothing fell on us or the house we live in.
Sunday, December 28:
  • we had rain all day this day--but my ceiling did not leak! (It did during Friday's freezing rain.)
  • municipal crews got to the big tree in our neighbourhood park and safely took down a massive branch that had been threatening since the ice storm to come down on someone's head
  • a lovely night hike home from our friend's house. The rain had cleared up, leaving behind a magical scene of fog and pretty coloured holiday lights.
Monday, December 29:
  • we have a roof over our heads.
  • we're well-stocked for groceries.
  • solo mode in board games. (I bought the games to have a social activity to do with friends who aren't physically active. But none of my friends like the complex, high decision space games that I love. So I'm grateful for fun ways to puzzle them out solo.)
Tuesday, December 30:
  • our octogenarian friend has made a new, super cozy setup for Shelby for our winter meetings
  • we introduced Oreo to Shelby's realtor friends
  • snow removal where I live got done in a timely fashion!
Wednesday, December 31:
  • I got a good amount of writing work done this day
  • Shelby and I enjoyed a peaceful evening together
  • we got to bed on time!
Thursday, January 1:
  • saw a blue jay on the big tree in our backyard this morning
  • lunch with friends
  • lots of birds at my friends' feeders: male and female northern cardinals, a chickadee, dark-eyed juncos, house sparrows, and a white-throated sparrow
Friday, January 2:
  • got more leftover plum pudding and Brussels sprouts casserole
  • sent out the invitations to my Rainbow Day feast
  • a new project for DAREBEE
Saturday, January 3:
  • gentle snowfall
  • people in my neighbourhood do not rush to tear down their holiday lights. Winter nights are cold and long here. It's nice to have the festive lights up for a while to pierce the darkness.
  • sleep. Seriously. When I was a child I resented how much sleep my parents tried to force me to take. But I appreciate being able to get a good solid night of it now.
Sunday, January 4:
  • in spite of getting a very late start to my work this week, I hit all of my writing goals by the end of the week.
  • DreamCasters meeting this day was excellent and very helpful!
  • we have a warming weather trend (for a few days, at least)
Monday, January 5:
  • saw an Eastern Cottontail on our morning walk
  • managed to squeeze in a trip to the grocery store, getting in everything I need before the next day's predicted unfavourable weather
  • a fun Aikido class
Tuesday, January 6:
  • Shelby's surgery date got moved up by four weeks
  • the weather this day was milder than threatened
  • a great team coming together for the special project
 
Bard from Canada
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  • took us a while, but we finally met up with our octogenarian friend on our hike! She was out for her walk when we first went around to her place. Her son and daughter in law were a little concerned that they didn't know where she was--she normally leaves them a note with her route when she goes out, being 80-years-old and all, and had written the note but forgotten to leave it behind this day. Turns out she had been walking to our home to drop off a book for me! As we turned onto our own street, heading for home, she was just leaving our place! So we met up a couple of blocks from our home, then walked with her back to her home for a visit.
  • a good visit with our friend--and I finally figured out why Oreo (another friend's dog, who was visiting us) was barking so much at our octogenarian friend's place. We'd taken him to visit her in the summer, when we were visiting outside in her garden. And he was so happy! He stood between her and me, the whole time, with his chin on our friend's knee, being petted by her. When he was visiting us again this winter, he remembered where our friend lives and was very excited to visit her again. But we meet inside her shed in the winter. We have a very cozy arrangement in there with beds for both dogs. But Oreo was not happy and kept barking the whole time. Eventually I got out of my chair and sat on a corner of Shelby's bed with her, to be closer to him. And he calmed right down. Then he put his chin on our friend's knee and let her pet him for a couple of minutes. But pretty soon he was curled up on his own bed, fast asleep. Big baby!
  • a new book from my friend. It's called "Shearwater: A Bird, an Ocean, and a Long Way Home" by Roger Morgan-Grenville. (@MangoTux this one might interest you. It's a memoir about the author's obsession with Manx Shearwaters.)
 
Bard from Canada
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  • a friend with a car took me grocery shopping, and I was able to get everything I need for Sunday's dinner party, plus a bunch of staples I eat regularly at some good sale prices
  • we were too early on our morning walk to visit the realtors, and too late on our evening walk, but when we were passing by the realtors' office on our way home from our evening walk, the broker was in her office. So Shelby got her treats and well wishes for Friday's surgery, and a promise of an extra special big treat once her mouth is healed up and she's able to eat crunchy things again.
  • everyone is rooting for Shelby to do well in her surgery, and she has a great vet team who will be looking after her
 
Bard from Canada
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  • Shelby did amazing in her surgery and is back home recovering well
  • she had to have six teeth extracted (eep!)--but the price tag was the same as what the vets had quoted me for extracting one tooth (It's still not pretty. But it won't cause us to be immediately destitute or anything like that.)
  • our wonderful neighbours helped me to get Shelby back home and up the stairs into our apartment. We seriously live in the best neighbourhood!
 
Bard from Canada
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Saturday's Good Things:
  • Shelby had a coffee date with her realtor friend. (I'm not even joking. The realtors knew Shelby couldn't have the regular liver treats they give her right now, due to her dental surgery. So they invited her around for a Saturday morning "pumpkin spice latte for dogs"!)
  • Shelby was right as rain by Saturday morning, and we were able to hike our regular neighbourhood route and visit our octogenarian friend. She was very happy to see Shelby doing so well, after having dreamed that night that we came to visit her. "It's a dream come true!" she said.
  • Birthday luncheon for a friend. Good food and good people.
 
Bard from Canada
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Monday's Good Things:
  • I have awesome neighbours
  • a fun Aikido class
  • the privilege of living in Canada
Tuesday's Good Things:
  • a relatively mild January day for my birthday run
  • all the Bees and other friends who helped out with my birthday workout
  • it is good to be 55 years strong!
Wednesday's Good Things:
  • leftovers
  • finally got the soup down into smaller pans, so I could remove the huge stock pots from my stove top
  • visiting with our octogenarian friend
 
Bard from Canada
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"Striving to be the change."

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Thursday's Good Things:
  • warm clothing (had to wear three layers of it this day, and two for Shelby!)
  • Shelby is finished the liquid medicine (she was very good about taking it, but having a weird liquid syringed directly into her mouth was definitely not her favourite thing)
  • time to relax
 
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