1) Deanna Raybourn’s Lady Julia Grey books – a series of Victorian mysteries that feature one of my favorite first-person narrators in a long time. My friend Michelle suggested we read the first one, Silent in the Grave, for our book club; as soon as I finished it this weekend, I went out and bought (and read) the second book. If you like historical mysteries with a liberal dash of romantic tension, I highly recommend this series!

2) So You Think You Can Dance. This is the first season I’ve watched, and I’m enthralled by the talent of all the dancers. I’ve always wanted to be a dancer, but never taken any classes – maybe that’s something for the list of adventures? For now, though, I’m living vicariously through these contestants.

3) The new Great Big Sea album, Safe Upon The Shore. GBS has been one of my all-time favorite bands since 2002 (my discovery story, if you’re so inclined), and the new CD doesn’t disappoint. It has all the Celtic-tinged folk rock they’re famous for, with a little dash of Southern flavor that came from recording their album in New Orleans. They’ll be here for the Irish Fair next month, and I can’t wait to see how the new songs sound live!

4) Yoga, for finally helping the stiff neck I’ve been sporting since sleeping in a hotel bed at the convention. I should get off my ass and do it tonight … after SYTYCD, of course.

5) The prospect of a ton of great concerts this fall! So far, we have Cowboy Mouth, Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers, fun., Ludo, Justin Townes Earle, 30 Seconds To Mars, Great Big Sea (again) … and the fall tours are just beginning to be announced! This, my friends, is where all of my disposable cash goes, in case you were wondering.

If you feel like it, tell me what’s making you happy in the comments!

First, I wrote a small guest post for 37 Days; she is putting together a free ebook in honor of her daughter’s high school graduation, and invited readers to submit short pieces of advice for her daughter and anyone else about to embark on adulthood. I overcame my usual reservations about my own writing and submitted something, and lo and behold, she posted it this week! Consider this: the best days of your life will sneak up on you. I’ve never written for someone else’s blog before – I barely write enough for my own! – so it was a little thrill to see my writing posted on a blog seen by so many people.

Then, today, I came around to contemplate what I should blog about, and saw that Gwen Bell had mentioned my very first post on Twitter! Yet another blogger I admire greatly acknowledged me and my writing, which is kind of amazing. So … I’ve spent the last 9 weeks on The Artist’s Way; I think I can recognize synchronicity when I see it.

So, if you’re surfing over here because of one of those two ladies, hello! I’m thrilled that people might be reading, and I will try to produce a little more content for you! For now, though, it’s off to Wednesday night crafting, as I’m still participating in 30 Days of Creativity, and whatever costuming/jewelry making/knitting that goes on tonight will certainly count!