In case you mistakenly thought we’re all goodness & light here in The Dungeon—remember, we’re Heidi & Mistress Heidi…sometimes nice :may223 , sometimes naughty :may23 —I thought I’d share something that we do on my HappyBookers Yahoo Loop:  Moan & Groan Mondays

Yes, I know we’re supposed to “think positive” & “keep smiling,” but once in a while you just need to vent…even if it’s only about the little annoyances in life. :may12

So if you have anything that’s rubbing you the wrong way, feel free to do a bit of Moaning & Groaning here with the rest of us.

For me, I’ll GROAN about the blister I got from a new pair of sneakers.  Of course, when I say “new,” I actually mean I got them at Goodwill, hoping they’d be decent (but not nice or expensive) shoes to use when I mow the yard.  Nothing fancy, but with a good amount of tread on the bottom.  Well, they felt fine in the store & when I first put them on at home.  But by the time I finished mowing the grass—on the riding mower, no less!—I had an ouchy on my heel & my little toe was throbbing.  So back to Goodwill they go.

And I’ll MOAN over the fact that my poor little HappyBookers Yahoo Group has been so quiet lately. :may38   I fear listservs may be on their way out, replaced by the more & more popular social media sites—which is fine; I will do my best to be flexible & adapt.  But I do wish HappyBookers was busier & more popular, with more members of the chatty sort.

Let me know what you think, by the way.  If you’re a HappyBooker, do you like your time on the loop or do you think it might be a waste of time?  And how do you feel about author loops in general? :may20

Allrighty—your turn!  What do you feel the need to Moan & Groan about this week?  Feel free to list more than just one of each, too.  Some weeks, I’ve got lots & lots to M&G about; some weeks I can barely think of a thing, so I know you guys will probably be the same. :may24

Happy Sunday!

How are you this week?  Do you have lots of good stuff you’re ready to share with your fellow Darlings of The Dungeon? :may14

As usual, I’ll start… :may15

I AM HAPPY that I got my yard mowed this week.  Man, that was a lot of work.  And it was kind of unintentional.  Frankly, I’d have been happy waiting until June, July, maybe even September before mowing for the first time.  And usually I wait until the neighbors have mowed two or three times before I finally drag myself out & deal with my foot-high grass.

This time, however, I decided to just go out & see if the mower would start.  Sometimes after a long winter, the battery is dead, so I figured if it was, I would charge it & get it ready for…whenever.  But the battery wasn’t dead & the engine started right up.  So I was already there, the mower was running, & I thought, What the heck.

Yeah, what the heck.  I got it done, but it took forever & I’m feelin’ it today, let me tell you. :may33

Oh, & I AM HAPPY (perhaps wickedly so :may23 ) that I actually got my yard mowed & lookin’ fine before the neighbors got to theirs.  Heh, heh, heh.  Betcha they all make a point of getting outside & mowing their own lawns now; when they see my yard mowed, they get nervous & think, “Oh, man, I better get out there if Heidi’s yard is done!”

And I AM HAPPY that the birds who come to my yard are so happy!  They’ve been eating me out of house & home this year, going through seed blocks, loose food, & suet blocks like crazy—I think because it’s been so cold & there’s no natural food out there for them yet.  But I’m happy to feed them if they’re hungry, especially since they make such great entertainment for The Kittehs. :may3

But the thing that makes me happiest is the number of “new” birds I’ve seen that have never been regulars at my feeders before.  Typically, I see Chickadees, Titmouses, Cardinals, Grackles, Blackbirds, Sparrows, Finches, Blue Jays, etc.  So far this Spring, though, I’ve also seen a Black-Crested Titmouse (just one!), Grosbeaks, Woodpeckers, a Flicker (again, just one!), & Oriels.  I’m most excited about the Oriel(s).  I don’t think I’ve ever seen one so up-close before & they’re such a bright, beautiful orange!

That’s an awful lot of happy, so now it’s your turn…

What are you happy about, thankful for, or just plain smiling over this week?  If you’re willing to share, we’re all ears! :may11

I honestly don’t know which is worse—the man or the room. :may39