Things to be happy about (updated January 31, 2024)

I'm aetataureate, or aeta. I'm an artist and writer.

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  1. A neighbor's pink rose blooming in October
  2. Remembering when I first tried feta on pizza
  3. My cat Harrison's puffy "pants"
  4. Looking up crystal tear lamps that remind me of my late grandmother
  5. The 2024 Cramer Games (YouTube)
  6. Putting together my first bird feeder
  7. Seeing a new-to-me bird (the Eastern bluebird!)
  8. Jonnycakes trying jack o'lantern cakes (YouTube)
  9. Cleaning up the files from my desktop
  10. Trans guy Ash Perez gets a pogi boy makeover (YouTube)
  11. Friends coming over for dinner
  12. Maesri curry paste
  13. Seeing tiny little birds by our new feeder (I don't know what they are!)
  14. Ice water
  15. When people have complicated French braids
  16. Bins full of craft supplies
  17. A new Stardew Valley update
  18. My best friend is picking up a new minivan for his growing family!
  19. A squirrel using their own tail as a wind break
  20. Stepdad Greg (my partner) on an academic mentoring call downstairs
  21. Using a scented Flair pen to fill out my absentee ballot ("Homemade Raspberry Jam")
  22. 15 people have joined my sticker swap!!
  23. Stepdad Greg correctly recognized Mr. Eko from Lost as the attempted assassination politician from The Bourne Identity
  24. Before the internet, then before the wider and more useful internet, my family had a massive BOOK where you could look up movies and actors. We kept it in the living room and used it constantly
  25. Therapist Reacts to 'Howl's Moving Castle' (YouTube)
  26. Smithsonian's Fantastic Worlds online exhibit
  27. My 39th birthday
  28. nora's Miscellaneous Reasons to Live bot
  29. The first season of Lost
  30. Stepdad Greg got some very good work news :)
  31. I'm excited for the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays for myself and other holidays for you if applicable!
  32. We successfully put some frosting cling film on the bathroom window that was just a regular window for some reason.
  33. For my birthday, I got a big rug for the living room (it's from Wayfair, not a sponsor!)
  34. Cats basking on the rug like big potatoes (that's what they are)
  35. Revisiting Battlestar Galactica with Stepdad Greg and it holds up and I'm enjoying it more than 20 years ago
  36. Getting the heat pad arranged just right on my sore shoulder
  37. Nichet Crochet's Will It Rat? crochet series (YouTube)
  38. I remembered JC Penney got Google delisted for black hat SEO (here's a news story from back then)
  39. 21 Levels of Ballet, from Simple to Complex (YouTube)
  40. Jon Batiste Hears Green Day for the First Time (YouTube)
  41. Packages of index cards
  42. Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996-2003)
  43. A walk in the rain under a big umbrella
  44. Matt McGorry on having long covid (The Guardian): McGorry is thoughtful and mentions major thinkers in disability studies while sharing his own experiences with ableism from doctors and more -- really moving to see someone as high profile as him talking about these things
  45. Gene Behind Orange Cats Found at Last (Science)
  46. Index cards
  47. (& making a little PLAN using them)
  48. Inviting friends over for dinner
  49. The Beatles song "Helter Skelter" is literally about this real life British slide (Wikipedia)
  50. Herkimer diamonds (Wikipedia)
  51. Christmas crafts season (I'm making paper garlands)
  52. 10 Ways to Use Leftover Ham (Chef Andy, YouTube)
  53. This FAQ on Earth's magnetosphere, as asked by children
  54. Remembering the short lived and doomed streaming service Quibi
  55. A gray and white cat just strolled down the sidewalk past our house, crossed the street, and disappeared through the little corner of a fence.
  56. A new-to-me YouTube channel, The Last Homely House, very calm and fun videos about quilting and fabric.
  57. The fact that "homely" means ugly in the U.S. and cozy in the U.K.
  58. Asked my partner and another pal some questions for work and got really great helpful info.
  59. Helping my partner buzz his hair off!
  60. A new high score at one of my favorite games, Dorfromantik.
  61. Remembering the spaghetti pizza in my hometown (yes. It's like a regular thin crust pizza but there's spaghetti stuffed between the crust and the cheese).
  62. My partner and I were joking about him blaming me for ordering less spicy food, leading to a Ratatouille joke. He then said, "I always wanted to be in the Gundam anime but I didn't know I could BE the gundam."
  63. The new episode of the Maintenance Phase podcast, about longevity blue zones.
  64. The Smithsonian Folkways album The Science of Sound from the 1960s (check it out).