I believe that often happiness is a choice.  I believe in living the dream and blessings that you have rather than pining for the ones you have not.  I sometimes forget! but I believe in more fully living your life.

Friday night Debi invited family over for Toy Story 3 and pizza.  Benjamin made pizza for us to take.  Debi provided a pizza and DELICIOUS chocolate chocolate chip cookies.  Neither Andrew nor I had seen Toy Story 3 before.  Good company. Good movie.  Most all of us at least got teary-eyed.

Of course, Debi also entangled me in an evil scheme or, rather, skein.  She has some (probably expensive) furry yarn which is (we hope not) hopelessly tangled.   As in the past I have been able to straighten out some knotty problems, she handed this one to me.   I was up a bit too late working on it last night after we got home.  It's a bit addicting, strangely.   I cannot tell if I am actually making any headway.  One minute I will think I might be.  The next I will be tempted to chuck the whole thing.  But stubborness, pride, love for my daughter, the conviction that it probably is a pricey bit of "yarn" have me still at it.  Well, not at this exact moment.  But off and on through the day.  It may take a very long time (before I either succeed or give up).

This morning Benjamin, Andrew and I set up the two rain-barrels I got at Home Depot some time ago.  The instructions were sealed in a plastic bag sealed inside plastic with the diverter parts but still soaking wet, slimy and foul smelling.  nice.  I emailed the company and Home Depot.  I also found installation instructions online, although for a slightly different diverter, it turns out, which messed up our measurements in downspout cutting.  But Benjamin is Benjamin and he made it work.  (I think)

When Benjamin poured water in the gutters to test the downspout/rain-barrel connection we found that they (the gutters) leak a bit a the seams.  sigh.  I don't know if we will fix it or live with it.  I also need to work on diverting water away from the foundation instead of gushing down the spout directly at it.  another day.  Enough domestic duty for one day.  Time to play.

We spent about an hour at the Sacramento Chalk It Up Festival at Fremont Park watching some of the artists at work.  Maybe we will go back Monday to see finished art.  Or at least I will go by on the way to the BloodSource Tuesday afternoon.  It is right by there.

Finally around 2 we headed out of town for Jack London State Historic Park  - one of the 70 California State Parks slated for closure. Another treasure!  Wonderful hiking trails through beautiful woodlands, history, love story, adventure.  We arrived fairly late, in fact the House of Happy Walls Museum should have been closing, but we spend some lovely time there enjoying the beauty, the dreams, the adventures of the Londons.  We hiked to the ruins of the Wolf House - Jack and Charmian's dream house which was destroyed by fire just as it was finished and just before they moved in.  Some of the trails while not paved are wide enough and just about smooth enough for wheelchairs, but they do have steep ups and downs, so wheelchair patrons would need strong helpers. Dogs and bicycles are allowed on some of the trails.  We barely got a taste of this lovely park, but enough to know that it is a treasure.

Have I discovered one that is not?  It breaks my heart that these parks will be closed.  Which really means open to natural deterioration, but worse, vandalism, crime, and other problems like fire and accidents.  Oh, California, it is a false economy!  The potential liabilities, the loss of public education, recreation and pleasure. These park closures are going to cost us greatly in tangibles and intangibles.   I know our budget is in need of dire action, but these park closures have so much negative potential.  Besides simply being heartbreaking.

We thoroughly enjoyed our brief visit to Jack London SHP, increased our appreciation for the man and for his wife Charmian.  Park signs and Benjamin tried to teach me to recognize poison oak, but I seem to be hopeless.  I looked and looked at clearly identified plants knowing that I am very unlikely to recognize it next we meet.  Best I just stay on the trail and not touch anything.

On the way home we stopped at the 99 Cents store for our contributions to the Feed The Homeless lunches our Stake puts together periodically.

Finally home.  Home-made macaroni and cheese (I actually cooked.  Benjamin does not do ALL the cooking) Family Prayer and Scriptures.  And another Reading Club chapter of a yet to be released novel by an (as yet) unknown author whom I think has a lot of promise.  We feel quite privileged that he is allowing us the honor of reading it before he releases it.  You will want to read "All Things Being Equal."

happy day.  Happy night and good Sabbath to you.