Barb Caffrey's Blog

I figured I’d take a different tactic this week, and talk about something that will make me smile. Or maybe it’ll make you smile, too…who knows?

Anyway, Mom’s dog, Brat, has taken to getting her food out of the can the hard way. (Picture about a ten-pound dog full of mischief for this.) Rather than wait for my Mom or for me to get the food out, Brat goes straight for the can, then throws it with her mouth as far as she can. (This isn’t very far, granted.) She does this until there’s enough food loosened in the can so she can get on with the act of eating.

I can’t help it; I smile every time she does this.

There are other things that make me smile, too. Rainbows, sometimes. Cat pictures. (Who doesn’t love cat pictures?) A funny turn of phrase in the manuscript(s) I’m editing. (Right now I have two, and both have some great comedic moments.) Re-reading my favorite passages in various books also makes me smile, as I get more and more out of them as time goes by.

At any rate, I wanted to ask you what makes you smile, because this world has seemed cold and bleak lately. We’ve got the War in Ukraine to worry about (#StandWithUkraine), we still have the never-ending Covid pandemic, gas prices are going through the roof (partly due to the War, partly because the oil companies use any excuse possible to run up the price), it’s cold and dreary outdoors (with the occasional sunny day mixed in for variety)…

Anyway.

Other things that have made me smile recently are thinking about road trips, wondering if the Milwaukee Brewers will ever get back to baseball (this is after I start figuratively throwing things, as I do not understand the owners and their machinations in locking out the players), listening to Milwaukee Bucks games, sunsets, Lake Michigan in all its various moods, and ice cream.

There’s more than that, too, but that’s just to get you all started on thinking about what makes you smile.

Tell me about it in the comments, please, as the world needs as much smiles right now as it can get. (And yes, do #StandWithUkraine.)