Half Way! 52 Weeks of Happy...26/52.

The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything.

Joining in with the lovely Jen at little birdie, here are my happy moments from the past week. 

1. Framing the personalised print I ordered for John and I from Isa Form (to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary, the reason for our break last week). It makes me smile every time I look at it.

2. A jug of anemones. There is so much anticipation in knowing how beautiful these flowers will be when they open fully.

3. The way the children have settled back into routines and playing at home this week. Bella's collection of "small people" are arranged all over the house at different times. I try very hard not to think of them as clutter to be tidied away, but something to be enjoyed and savoured.

4. Chai tea, my new favourite thing.

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As I am half way through my 52 Weeks of Happy posts, I've looked back through the last 26 weeks in this series, curious to see what has featured regularly, what themes emerge. I think it's worth saying here that the idea for this joyful series came from Jen of the blog little birdie, and if you do join in (as many do!) then please do her the courtesy of linking back to her blog. Credit where credit is due. Well, the children feature more than anything else; things they have done, said or made make me very happy. No surprise there. Next is food - baking, cooking and eating it - and yes, that is one of my great pleasures. Time with family and friends, fresh flowers, books and tv, a new magazine, some new yarn or fabric, bits and bobs around the house, all these feature regularly. Often it's simply a moment that I wanted to capture and preserve - an afternoon spent crocheting on the sofa, a night out with friends, some time for myself. 

The thing that really took me by surprise was how much nature and the seasons features in my happy posts. I am not a particularly out-doorsy sort of person but time spent outside - on the beach, autumnal walks, snow - all appear to make me very happy. And the changing of the seasons and the traditions that are associated with this, like sparklers on Bonfire Night or daffodils in spring, they are incredibly important to me. They make me feel grounded. The garden only featured once, but then I joined this series in the autumn and spring is still arriving, so I'm sure there is time for that.

But John, the person who makes me so very happy, hardly features here at all! How odd. I don't really know why. I think it's partly my way of trying to balance public and private, to share but not over-share, and partly because I think the ways he makes me happy are lots of little things which add up to big things, and they are hard to capture in a photo and a sentence. 

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Also, while I remember, I have added a bloglovin' button to my sidebar. I have to say this Google Reader business is passing me by as I never use it, but I know many of you do, and you can import all the blogs you currently read on Google Reader over to bloglovin'. 

Have a great weekend lovely people!