It was 21 years ago today, the final game for John Elway

All things considered, I prefer the hammsvirus

Happiness is 36-year-old Aaron Rodgers leading the Packers to San Fran for the NFC Championship game on Jan 19th

Cheeky sports girl announcer called him "old man" after last night's victory over Seattle.

Happiness is visiting the junkyard on a 47 degree day in January and saving big bucks on tires and wheels

It was like winning the lotto. 

There she was, a 2003 Pontiac Bonneville with black steel wheels and tires, not in the yard yet two weeks. Junked probably for a failed tranny. The tires were just over two years old and still had a tread depth of 8. Wheels and tires fit my 1997 Oldsmobile with ten year old rubber needing replacement. Extra set of wheels will get my snow tires.

Who could have predicted? Out the door for $108 plus tax.

Total savings over retail: At least $675. 

Happiness is the best answer ever to the interview question "What would be your ideal job?"

Happiness is 1965's "Wooly Bully" by Sam The Sham and The Pharoahs

Video.

Happiness is the old Majestic 36BDVR gas fireplace fixed over Christmas by your son for less than ten bucks

Happiness is November 1982's TV movie The Scarlet Pimpernel starring Jane Seymour and Anthony Andrews

They seek him here.

They seek him there.

Those Frenchies seek him everywhere.

Is he in Heaven?

Or is he in Hell?

That damned, elusive, pimpernel.

Happiness is Eight O'Clock Coffee

Eight O'Clock Coffee,

     Five O'Clock Gin,

Start the day early,

     End it with a grin.

Happiness is stents, which save lives if your widowmaker is blocked, and improve quality of life, despite recent study

The findings do not apply to all heart patients, including those with blockages in the left main coronary artery, Hochman said. And, she added, “if you’re having a heart attack, stents save lives.”

Story.

Today is the second anniversary of my stent procedure, and I'm happy to tell you I'm happy to be here, because I did it.

If you have pain in your chest or arms on exertion, or quickly reduced function due to fatigue on exertion, see your doctor. A simple stress test and echo-cardiogram can save your life, and improve it.

Pet Peeve: When the really nice looking white-skinned chicken thighs have just as much skin hidden underneath them by the butcher

Happiness is white teeth

We simple toasters take delight

To see our women's teeth look white;

And ev'ry saucy ill-bred fellow

Sneers at a mouth profoundly yellow.

-- Matthew Prior

Happiness is the Victor Tin Cat mouse trap: Holds up to 30!

It works as advertised. We put in some sunflower seeds as bait and set it in the garage overnight and caught four, after which they went for a nice little swim.

Next!

Happiness is replacing the traditional charcoal grate with the Old Smokey charcoal grate

Traditional charcoal grates burn hotter than the Old Smokey type grate because the coals are exposed to air both top and bottom.

But with the Old Smokey the bottoms are not directly exposed to air, and consequently you get a longer, less intense burn.

For me the Old Smokey type, meant for smoking obviously, just works better for things like hamburgers and pork chops because you can grill directly over the coals but the heat is just less intense and you get a more tender, flavorful outcome.

Happiness is a used Karcher G2000QT gas engine pressure washer for ten bucks

For an additional six or seven bucks in parts, my very talented son had this model up and running in a couple of days after taking it apart and regreasing it.

So far we've cleaned some long overdue dirty house siding, the driveway, an old lawnmower, all the first floor cottage blinds (out on the clean driveway), and the Generac, all in the first week, and I'm probably forgetting something!

Works with a garden hose, and we didn't even use any soap, just plain water. Worked like a charm. It takes up very little space in the garage, too.

What a money saver this thing has been already.

Happiness is the 1870 counting rhyme "Over in the Meadow"

Over in the meadow,

In the sand, in the sun,

Lived an old mother toad

And her little toadie, one;

"Wink!" said the mother,

"I wink," said the one,

So she winked and she blinked

In the sand, in the sun.

Over in the meadow

Where the stream runs blue,

Lived an old mother fish

And her little fishes, two;

"Swim!" said the mother,

"We swim," said the two,

So they swam and they leapt

Where the stream runs blue.

Over in the meadow

In a hole in a tree,

Lived a mother bluebird

And her little birdies, three;

"Sing!" said the mother,

"We sing," said the three,

So they sang and were glad

In the hole in the tree.

Over in the meadow

In the reeds on the shore,

Lived a mother muskrat

And her little ratties, four;

"Dive!" said the mother,

"We dive," said the four,

So they dived and they burrowed

In the reeds on the shore.

Over in the meadow

In a snug bee-hive,

Lived a mother honey-bee

And her little honeys, five;

"Buzz!" said the mother,

"We buzz," said the five,

So they buzzed and they hummed

In the snug bee-hive.

Over in the meadow

In a nest built of sticks,

Lived a black mother crow

And her little crows, six;

"Caw!" said the mother,

"We caw," said the six,

So they cawed and they called

In their nest built of sticks.

Over in the meadow

Where the grass is so even,

Lived a gay mother cricket

And her little crickets, seven;

"Chirp!" said the mother,

"We chirp," said the seven,

So they chirped cheery notes

In the grass green and even.

Over in the meadow

By the old mossy gate,

Lived a brown mother lizard

And her little lizards, eight;

"Bask!" said the mother

"We bask," said the eight,

So they basked in the sun

On the old mossy gate.

Over in the meadow

Where the clear pools shine,

Lived a green mother frog

And her little froggies, nine;

"Croak!" said the mother,

"We croak," said the nine,

So they croaked and they splashed

Where the clear pools shine.

Over in the meadow

In a sly little den,

Lived a gray mother spider

And her little spiders, ten;

"Spin!" said the mother,

"We spin," said the ten,

So they spun lace webs

In their sly little den.

Over in the meadow

In the soft summer even,

Lived a mother fire-fly

And her little flies, eleven;

"Shine!" said the mother,

"We shine," said th' eleven,

So they shone like stars

In the soft summer even.

Over in the meadow

Where the men dig and delve,

Lived a wise mother ant,

And her little anties, twelve;

"Toil!" said the mother,

"We toil," said the twelve,

So they toiled and were wise,

Where the men dig and delve.

-- Katherine Floyd-Dana, aka Olive A. Wadsworth (1835-1886)

Happiness is the Lodge 12 inch, 6 quart camp oven, for when the shtf or anytime

There's your regular one, and your deep one. I bought the regular one on deep discount this summer, heh heh, for when the shtf, since I plan to shelter in place. The thing comes ready to go right out of the box, pre-seasoned in the factory. I'm breaking it in inside first, with a few recipes for breads, beans, and roasts before I use it outside on charcoal. For a hoot give a look at the Backwoods Gourmet YouTube Channel to see what using this type of equipment is all about. That Florida boy knows his stuff.

Happiness is homegrown organic San Marzano tomatoes

We are recently harvesting these organic San Marzano tomatoes grown from seeds we bought in March from Johnny's Selected Seeds. These are perfect sliced on the Saturday night pizza, on the BLTs at lunch, and of course for sauce. Wonderfully petite and sweet.

Happiness is a grilled Boar's Head veal and pork brat and some late summer, local farmer's sweet corn for a sunny, Saturday lunch

The pre-cooked brat browns up quickly over a charcoal fire, five minutes a side or so. Available at D&W Fresh Markets in Michigan, they are pricey at $2.00 per sausage, but they are worth it. Delicious served with some Dijon mustard.

Happiness is the era of the Palindrome Weeks