Sunshine here in New York, finally. It has been a long cold grey winter and today feels spring-ish. Or at least spring adjacent. 😄 My daffs and hyacinths are popping, and I am finding strength in peace and sunshine.

Actually a lot of things, thanks to an ability to compartmentalize and not let a big scary picture overshadow the truly meaningful things in life. People I love, the beauty of creation, my devoted cat.

The pictures the astronauts took from space and their joy in the experience.

My redbud tree is covered in buds and the heavenly aroma from my viburnum.

This morning my investments rebounded slightly.

Easter weekend spent with a 14-month-old and two dogs. Total chaos, but great fun for two days.

I am having a total hysterectomy tomorrow. I tend towards anxiety around medical issues so I am try extra hard this week to be calm and let simple things soak in and make me happy.

I saw my next door neighbor perform a monologue last night. She was so calm, clear, intentional. It put me at ease.

I saw this walking home and it made me smile.

Then I got off the subway and pet a 14 week old shiba inu named Toast.

Kendrah I hope your surgery is routine and uneventful, that you will be home soon as possible, and that you have friends lined up to fuss over you and bring you delicious things to eat and interesting things to read.

Kendrah Wishing you a good outcome from your surgery!

Our local SoCal eagle celebrities hatched their 2 chicks this past weekend. They stream live on youtube with no ads. Such a joy to watch their little bobbleheads!

Their habitat is under pressure to be developed. There is a fundraiser to purchase the land and save it from development. Such a good cause to give to!

SAVE MOONCAMP

Well, other than the “Smile” thread, nothing on KT.

Best if luck tomorrow, Kendrah Kendra. Hope you have a speedy and uneventful recovery.

Love the dog’s name.

Fortunately there is a whole world out there outside of KT. I'm hoping we here can lift your mood and bring you a smile, or something beautiful in your life and real world surroundings can make you happy.

Good luck and good healing Kendrah! 🪻

Sherry - please take care of yourself. Take breaks, walk outside in the sunshine, pet a critter (friendly critter, choose wisely! 😄), and don't let it get you down.

A clear mammogram! I am now 7 years out from treatment for breast CA.

RNmom that is WONDERFUL news!!

Lucille, I was wondering how your patio gardening was coming, glad to hear an update. And how sweet about the paintings.

Fun, so glad you got to see your family on Easter!

Hugs, Kendrah, I hope everything goes well and you have a smooth recovery. 🤍

Czarinalex, thank you for sharing that link.

Something very simple that has made me smile this week: my new window planter outside of our guest bathroom window. It doesn’t have a great view so we decided to try to fix that. It gets a lot of shade, so I planted caladiums and impatiens. Every time I go in there, I see the pretty plants outside and smile. It’s amazing how much it ”brightens” the room.

Another is Baby (my little kitty) wanting to snuggle in my arms at night. She is such a joy. I found her starving when I was out walking and knew it was my turn in the Cat Distribution System.

I’m enjoying reading about everyone’s smile moments, thanks for this.

RNmom, your post wasn’t showing when I made mine … wonderful news!! So happy for you!

Thank you all for your well wishes. I appreciate them.

Kendrah, wishing you an uneventful surgery and quick recovery. I don't know if they keep you in the hospital overnight, but if they do and they give you some good pain drugs, enjoy those (my favorite part of surgery is that machine in your room with the button where you can dose yourself)!!

I saw a hand surgeon today and will be having carpal tunnel surgery asap for a fairly severe case in my right hand. This specialist treated me 20 years ago for trigger finger and I love him, so am at ease about it. So what made me happy, besides that, is I've been trying to anticipate how I'm going to manage when I have my dominant hand in a cast (I live alone), so I purchases a Toto Washlet bidet because that issue of personal hygiene had me worried. My wonderful handyman came and installed it and told me the funniest stories about the one in his house that he bought for his wife, who will let NO one in the house use it. He said on her list of favorite things #1 is him, because he fixes things, and #2 is the Toto bidet, lol. She loves it SO much!

Well, now I know why! Lid opens automatically when you approach, warm water with many adjustable settings. Heated seat, warm air blow dry, self cleaning, lid lowers on its own. Remote control for features. Wow! Where has this been all my life? So I am smiling big!

edit: Rnmom - congrats on another year cancer free!

Oly, wow, that does sounds great. I might need to look into that. :D

Hope your surgery and recovery go well!

Wishing you quick healing, Kendrah.

I am having a much smaller surgery tomorrow — my second MOHS surgery within 6 months. Now that I know what to expect, I am anxious, so I have a nice little dose of Lorazapam to start my morning. And ice cream in the freezer for later. We never buy ice cream, so knowing a special treat is waiting for me is making me smile.

mmm, lorazapam and ice cream - you know how to do it up right! I hope all goes well.

Sueb, hope your surgery goes well and quickly and effectively. And that you enjoy your treat :)

Olychick, hope that yours goes well too, whenever you have it scheduled.

Sending healing wishes to Kendrah, Olychick and Sue! Hope you all have uneventful procedures . I always have ice cream as part of recuperation - the medicinal powers are well documented.

Playing games with our kids. We tried a new one and it was challenging!

Sue, hoping everything goes well tomorrow! And that the ice cream helps. 🤍

@Kendrah, @Sueb20 and @Olychick hope things go well and recovery is swift.

I think we need to rename the thread GW Recovery Room.💕

@Kendrah and @Olychick, best wishes for a smooth surgery and fast recovery.

@RNmomof2 zone 5, congratulations on another cancer-free year.

@lucillle I forgot to say that I am envious that you have tomatoes setting fruit! It's still too early to even plant them here.

@Kendrah sending healing thoughts your way. Hoping everything went well and you make an easy recovery.

I had the same except kept my ovaries in 1996. I was out and about very quickly. I will hold you in my thoughts. c

Wow! Best wishes to everyone.

My smile today was just enjoying a brisk walk in the neighborhood and seeing everything starting to bloom❤️

Kendrah and Sueb20, please check in here and let us know how your surgeries went.

@lucillle I forgot to say that I am envious that you have tomatoes setting fruit! It's still too early to even plant them here.

I cheated a little, didn't grow from seed but instead bought already started plants from Walmart.

My procedure went okay, thanks Lucille. I now have 12 stitches but at least I didn’t need a skin graft this time. Amazing what is needed to get rid of a cancerous spot that is barely visible to begin with. Today has been painful; I have been alternating advil and tylenol. And ice cream.

Hugs, sweet Sue. ❤️

I am so pleased that my sister will be discharged from her rehab facility on Monday. She had suffered a cardiac arrest and her situation looked grim when I visited her in the ICU. Now thankfully she has recovered well enough to go home.

Stacey, wow, how scary … so glad she’s ok and going home! ❤️

Sue, glad all went well and you are taking care of yourself. Sounds like your doc is thorough about getting the "margins" and that is a good thing in the long run.

Kendrah, hope you are doing well too, and that you both have smooth and swift recoveries.

Oly - sending all the best in advance along with hopes they find a spot for you soon. Totally approve of the bidet. We first installed one when our son was home from grad school. His then GF had been iin Japan and introduced him to one. After that, he didn't want to come home and be without. We pretty quickly added them to the other bathrooms.

Czarinalex, we have at least one monitored bald eagle nest about 4 miles down the road from me. They were developing land in the area and had a full stop for a while while they decided what to do. There is a fenced area with some tall pines where their nest is that I believe is protected from further development, but they built an office building, a hotel, a parking garage and now something new is going in, so they are surrounded. I thought they would have been given a wider berth, but they keep returning to the area (they did build a new nest). There are folks who gather to look and take photos, some of which get posted to a facebook group that keeps the rest of us updated. They only had one offspring this year, but that was celebrated after not having any that survived last year. Seeing "Junior" flying now is something to smile about.

We got our first ripe tomatoes this week, a couple of peppers and went strawberry picking. I made two batches of strawberry jam and some strawberry ice cream. We are doing garden clean up and planting and watching everything come back to life, bloom and turn green. We have fruit setting on trees (my grapefruit has it's first fruit setting since the deep freeze that knocked the power out, but seeing the first wasn't this week). DS and his college roommate impressing me again with what great men and teachers they were so lucky to have connected with each other. All these things make me smile.

Hearing baby birds chirping. Heard some in the trees when I was out running errands today, but it's quieter at home right now. The baby bluebirds in our nest box fledged this week and the nest box in back has eggs that appear to be titmice (who named them that?)

Going out and finding all the fabric I needed for a memory quilt in one trip and without having to change my vision.

Getting a full body hug and curled lip smile from my doodle when I got home - and just about any other sweet or silly thing she does.

First watermelon in our first fruit salad of the year.

Oh, I almost forgot a funny one -- we have a fountain in the middle of our front sidewalk where a tree had been when the house was built and the bush that replaced it had grown so tall you couldn't see the door. The fountain with flowers planted around it was the it won't ever grow too tall solution. It has also been a source of amusement as birds bathe in the upper bowl, squirrels take a drink or lay along the edge of the lower bowl to cool off in the afternoon shade and other antics. Yesterday, I looked out and saw a robin perched right over the center top knot. We have it set so the water just more than breaks the surface, but it was enough for the robin to enjoy the running water bubbling under his belly for a bit before hopping to the side and flittering and fluttering for his bath. I told DH the robin found a birdie bidet! LOL

Lot of heavy stuff around here too, but it's hard not to find things to smile about in spring.

Kendrah, SueB and Olychick, prayers for healing.

RNmom, prayers of thanksgiving.

This week my smiles have been from spring flowers, enjoying the beauty of nature on the golf course, and trying to capture it in watercolors.

Lot of heavy stuff around here too, but it's hard not to find things to smile about in spring. AMEN!

Sorry to hear of all the health challenges.

Definitely the Artemis 2 and seeing all the WOMEN who have been part of the ground crew.

Gorgeous weather, lots of things blooming! Easter service and then drove two dogwood trails (we have an annual dogwood festival with trails (in neighborhoods) and open gardens). Lots of time outside; we planted some additional azaleas and a tree 😊

Dinner with friends tonight. My husband, always ❤️

ETA; Thoughts and prayers to all those with medical issues. Kendrah, hoping you were able to have a robotic surgery!

@Sueb20, sorry that it took that many stitches. I hope you are feeling better today.

Hysterectomy was yesterday and I’m so bloated I joke that instead of removing my utrerus they made me 8 months pregnant instead!

I’m managing the pain and discomfort well. Thrilled to have rented an electric recliner that brings me to standing. My husband, friends, and neighbors are showering me with love, flowers, and assistance. I’m feeling very grateful. Thank you all for your well wishes too..

Sounds like all went really well. Enjoy the people that are showering you with love. How lucky are you!

Glad you are getting such great care. Friends and family are the best medicine. ❤️c

Good to hear from you, Kendrah, and happy tings went well and you are getting great care. I wouldn't have thought about it befroe, but when my DIL had her gall bladder out last fall, the hardest part for her was being bloated. She told me the doctor explained that they pump in air to puff things up and give them more room to work. Hope you are able to be upright and moving enough to help the air work its way out. It will pass, one way of another. LOL

Glad you are on the road to recovery with lots of support.

Kendrah, so glad you're home, and I hope the recovery goes well. It's so nice to read you have such wonderful support.

Sue, sending good vibes your way, too. I can't believe it required 12 stitches! Wow.

Olychick, hope your surgery is successful, as well.

RNmomof2--congratulations on your health news!

Like Lascatx, the chirping birds made me smile today. Spring is slowly making its way here, and the birds have been extra chirpy, it seems. It's like they're congregating after being away all winter, and are catching up with one another.

Thanks for starting this thread, Lucille.

Have a new one today -- baby ducks at the pond!

I know the term is ducklings, but the little fluffers deserve a cuter name - baby ducks. My mom used to call them baby ducks when we saw them in the spring and it stuck. So they are baby ducks when we have the excitement of seeing them at one of the ponds in spring -- ducklings otherwise. No need to correct me - it's just a thing.

As I mentioned in another thread, I finally opened a box of photos and memorabilia from my Dad. I have been laughing for 2 days looking at the photos, handmade Father’s Day cards he saved, letter to Santa, etc. The items are so funny, sometimes deliberately so, sometimes because of the styles shown. It’s been funny, and heartwarming, but also stirs up so many questions we’ll probably never get answered - like ” Who are these people?!”😆

I’ve roughly separated the photos into three groups: Recognizable family, Military (photos from his travels and years of service), and Mystery People.

I will have mulitple family members visiting next week and I’m sure we’ll spend time looking through the photos.

When we were going through picture for Dad’s funeral, I added one I didn’t recognize, hoping one of Dad’s cousins would know. Cousin C looked at it and said ”oh, that’s Uncle Peter.” He actually had no idea, no one can even recall an Uncle Peter, but C figured he looked like an Uncle Peter. Everyone deserves a name! So now that memory has made me smile. And Uncle Peter is still in a box of photos.