long live live theatre!

we saw an updated musical version of the three musketeers last evening at the utzon (he of sydney opera house fame)-designed music house in esbjerg. and the music was...wait for it...80s glam rock with a bit of madonna, cyndy lauper and eurythmics thrown in. and as weird and possibly awful as that sounds, it really wasn't. it was awesome. a cleverly-done update that made the three musketeers story relevant for today and totally struck the right notes of nostalgia for those of us who grew up in the 80s. to take a story that everyone knows so well and has seen a million times and to couple it with music that we've all sung along to a million times transformed both into something new and fresh. it was a bit of what the russian formalists called "making strange," and it just worked. it helped that the acting was great, the music was great and the lighting was very cool. and the way they played with mixing english and danish was brilliant as well. in this day and age with all of the amateur talent competitions in prime time and "reality" television featuring people of limited talent, it was refreshing to see performers who were just genuinely good at what they do. and theatre just lends an immediacy and an intimacy that watching netflix on the iPad just utterly lacks. long live the theatre!

100 happy days :: day 11

the flat white has recently come to denmark. it's darker, more brooding than a latte. i like it. definitely today's happy. and my new go-to drink.

100 happy days :: day 10

today's happy? this cute face, jerry (his brother is ben), returned. we hadn't seen him since the end of september. i do wonder where he was all that time. he was very happy to see me today and i was happy to see him. he's half wild, but i am allowed to reach up to the loft and rub him under his chin when he inches close enough to the edge. when it looks like i'm going to stop, he reaches out for my hand with his paw. that was our routine before he left and he resumed it today, just as if nearly six months hadn't gone by.

100 happy days :: day 9

finally. a day of sunshine and no wind. a real spring day. husband had a day off and we finally moved that row of asparagus that was way too close to the rhubarb. these are asparagus roots that we started from seed our second year here. how they're 4 years old and very substantial. we hope moving them won't have traumatized them too much and that they'll have a good season. dad had loads of asparagus in his garden and he was known for it all over town, so having a long row of healthy asparagus roots makes me feel very happy. i know that if he was able to see our project today, he was smiling.

the bees were very happy as well and the air was alive with their buzzing. there are plenty of crocus up and they were feeding greedily and cleaning out their hives. great to see that all four hives were buzzing (literally) with activity. we had a mild winter, so we expected them to be just fine, but it's nice to know it for sure.

molly loved that we were in the garden and obviously also loved the sunshine. she snoozed on a warm roof tile (it's part of a cover we put over our artichokes to keep them from being killed by the hard frosts. it was a perfect spot to relax in the sun.

today's happinesses. very simple, but somehow profound. spring is wonderful.

100 happy days :: day 8

this. batman and batman fighting over a teddy bear. definitely today's morsel of happy.

100 happy days :: day 7

frankie - we miss you so, handsome boy!

this has been circulating on facebook and when it appeared in my nytimes "what we're reading" email this week, i knew i had to go through my extensive cat photo library and put together some then & now shots. and they are also today's happy. because having cats makes me happyl

molly - our minnesota kitty

frieda - from molly's first batch of kittens

tobias - we got him from a neighbor, so i don't have photos of him as a tiny kitten. he's our most dog-like cat.

scout - from molly's second (and final, since she's now fixed) batch of kittens

100 happy days :: day 6

last night i woke up soon after falling asleep, my throat covered in those strange dry spots that feel like you've swallowed a bunch of tiny little towels and which signal the onset of a cold. a dull headache soon followed. just breathing in made the dry spots worse, so i got up and made some licorice tea. i've learned to love licorice for its soothing quality. and licorice tea is naturally sweet and doesn't even need any honey, tho' i added a spoonful for its soothing quality as well. i figured doubling up on soothing was best. i tried to go back to sleep, but husband was snoring and it proved impossible for far too long. i must have eventually fallen asleep, but when i awoke this morning, the headache was still there and so was the sore throat. all of this is making today's happinesses seem a bit hard to come by. but, even with a headache, that is usually remedied by taking a good look around me through the lens of my camera.

right now, the little bitty dining room we fixed up last autumn makes me happy. there are a few baggy bubbles in the wallpaper (we just painted, we didn't redo it) and the carpet is utter shit (but odin only knows what's under it), but still, it is a happy and comfortable space. i love our green secondhand chairs and that oh-so-80s table, which used to reside in the city hall and which we got for a song. i love the blue felt table runner and the thrifted candle holders. and the little bowl (also thrifted) filled with scraps from a quilting project that make a perfect nest and some glass easter eggs that i've had for 26 years. and a few springy bulbs in the bowl i bought years ago in nogales. photo memories in colorful frames line one wall and art and maps the others. we eat dinner here. we entertain here. we play cards and board games here. this room can be quiet and contemplative or filled with laughter and love. it is a happy room.

and then there is this cat. frieda. she expects a rather high level of service, but she's also a clown and a sweetheart and she makes me happy.

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maggie may's post on finding meaning in life was wonderful.