Happy 101 and my Aunt Martha's birthday cards

Ruth of Genealogy is Ruthless without Me was kind enough to award me the "Happy 101" blogger badge in January (that's like 10 years ago in blogger time!).  I was away during my dad's illness, so I forgot about it at the time, but remembered again recently.

Recipients are supposed to list 10 things that make them happy, and pass along the award to others.  So here's 10 off the top of my head:

1. my hubby

2. my cats, especially furry genealogy assistant Roux who keeps me company on or by my desk, and (semi-) feral Ella, who likes it when I take a "petting break" outside

3. ice cream

4. lovely SoCal weather like today (upper 80s and sunny; if only it would stay at that temp)

5. discovering some new genealogy tidbit

6. meeting new cousins (via the Internet or in person) who share my genealogy addic-- um, interest :)

7. reading about the history behind the tree

8. Cajun food

9. having written -- or perhaps more accurately, having written and also edited a time or two

(I'm not sure who first said, "I hate writing; I love having written," but it's a good quote.)

10. comments on my blog!!!! (hint, hint!) :)

I'll pass this along to a few bloggers whose work makes me happy when I read it: "Make a Roux" (a CaliCajun like me, but who can actually cook! :) ), Dionne at Finding Josephine (compelling stories of chasing down her ancestry), Lisa at Adventures in Grave Hunting (fun celebrity graving and SoCal history), and Louisiana Genealogy Blog (whose author does a great job of keeping me up on Louisiana genealogy news).  I was looking for a newer blog (or new to me) to encourage and found one by 5th-graders in Quebec called "All Things Quebec."  Seeing kids blogging, especially about their history, makes me VERY happy!  Their teacher is Evelyn from a blog I already read, A Canadian Family.

Oh, and Aunt Martha's birthday cards of my post title?  They were always late, but knowing I still had something coming after my birthday made me happy, not unlike my late acknowledgement of this blog award. :)  Thanks for the encouragement, Ruth!