Happiness…

Sunday 10^th April 2011

….happiness, the greatest gift that I possess.  Now, who on earth sang that old song?  I can hear his slightly estuary-English nasal voice, and I could Google the song – but I want to dredge it up from my memory, via the transistor radio in our kitchen when I was small. It’s true that sunny days and warmth and blue skies make everyone happier, I think.  I’m also happy for a number of other reasons.  Such as:

  And this:

  I love magnolia trees.  This one is tall and has been literally covered in blossoms, creamy-pink, thick, waxy petals – oh my, to have a complexion like that!  It is now in blousy end-of-the-season melt down and the petals, big as oval tea plates are either blown wide open and just about hanging on, or else all over the garden like huge snow flakes:

  In the front garden of the house we first bought when Florence was very small and we had just moved to Somerset, I planted a Magnolia Stellata.  The smaller growing tree, with starry flowers, pure and white, much more delicate that the candle-plumes on the one I have here, now.  I loved that little tree and I also loved that house.  It was huge, far too big for our small family, for Lily did not arrive for seven years after Florence.  When we sold that house, after about eight years, for all sorts of ‘head ruling heart’ reasons – and I now don’t regret it, but I did at the time, very much so – the magnolia was still very small and didn’t yield much in the way of blossoms. I was literally unable to walk or drive down that road, past that house for a very long time after we moved out.  It was too painful.  Then a few years later I was able to, and indeed, would stand and stare, rudely I suppose, up at its Victorian bulk.  It was a shock, many years later to see that the magnolia was now a proper tree, and covered in starry, spikey blossoms.  It so thrilled me.  I hope the current occupants love it, I think they must. I have a space in the garden here for one more tree.  Dilemma:  a magnolia stellata to replace the one I left behind?  Or a plum tree?  I also long for one of those. This decision-making is making me happy today. So is the fact that yesterday’s workshop went well and the knitters were lovely as was the cake that Lily made.  The post-workshop baked goodies are stashed away, and we have Victoria sponge, cookies and brownie.  Three kinds of cake to go towards our five-a-day? I am also happy with this jumble of pretty luxury mittens:

  A knitting get-together with a friend who is going to teach me to make toe-up socks has been arranged and that is happy-making, as is this sleepy dog: