** Joy & Happiness Come From Many Places **

First of all.....Happy Birthday to my youngest son, Mark!!! I can't believe you are 22 years old!! You have brought an abundance of joy and happiness into my life!!

I would have to say that the fall foliage has reached its peak today! The colors are absolutely heart-stopping, jaw-dropping, positively scrumptious!! (That reminds me. How many of you have seen the movie," Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (?) The leading lady's character name was Truly Scrumptious! I always thought that was hilarious, but also sweet and so perfect for the film. When the opportunity arises for me to refer to something with those words, I usually must break into song!

Last night when I received the acceptance e-mail for my Thin Threads story, it couldn't have come at a better time. I had been feeling pretty "untalented" as a writer!! I had received a fairly negative critique from a writer/editor on some of my writing, then I read a contest-winning story and I thought it was SO much better than anything I've ever written, at anytime....so my acceptance news couldn't have come at a better time!!

As I was driving around this afternoon, enjoying the beauty of the trees and bushes; and not to mention having the difficult chore of keeping my eyes on the road, a thought came to me. Would I have noticed today's stunning display as much if I hadn't received the acceptance e-mail last night? I really can't say... Probably not. I certainly would have noticed the gorgeous colors, but maybe just a tad less.