Little pleasures

Completing a tricky project, getting a check or landing a new commission all make you feel great. But there’s still a lot of joy from lesser things.

I’m talking about very small pleasures that happen when you least expect them, making you smile out loud (that’s a thing, right?). For no reason other than to collect several to use here later, I began jotting some down a few weeks ago. I would never have missed them if they never happened – but they all brightened my day.

• I went to a Big Box store yesterday to get several gallons of paint and they had all-new shopping carts. Brand new, never used, no wobbly wheels and rolled smooth as silk.

• Meanwhile, although I was going to buy it anyway, the particular paint I needed happened to be on sale. A twofer of pleasant surprises in one shopping trip.

• While mounting ceiling shop lights I fumbled and dropped a screw. Not only did it not hit the floor, it landed atop my stepladder, bounced and settled perfectly upright on the head. Cool.

• Sally decided to move stuff around in our storage room (again), moving something I needed (again). Checking alternate locations I found it on the first try. That’ll never repeat.

• I mismarked a workpiece that was the wrong size, of course, when cut. By sheer luck, it was the exact size I needed for a different component.

• Doing something entirely unrelated to its use, I chanced upon one of my favorite, and oldest, screwdrivers. I thought I’d lost it during our move.

• Finally, I’ve had no luck finding just the right live-edge slab for a table project. While rummaging through some old, filthy furniture at a barn sale, there was an even filthier 4'-foot long slab of 2-1/4"-thick cherry leaning against a milk can. It wasn’t even for sale, but the guy gave it to me for five bucks.