57 Zen Moments of Happiness

Today, our sweet 16 year old Persian Lt. Mango left this world to move onto his next life. This post is dedicated to his roast-chicken eating memory. 
May 11, 1995 - September 20, 2011


T h i n g s  t h a t  m a k e  m e  h a p p y . . .

1.       Apples that are tangy, crisp and slightly sweet.

2.       Sitting still and breathing

3.       Manuel from Fawlty Towers


Mr Fawlty, Mr. Fawlty...come quick
4.       Rubbing Mango's ear

Ears to Mango
5.       Skyping with our daughters for an hour and their 
cats Nani and Olive. I particularly like when their 
cat's noses rub against the screen.  


Cat Skyping 

6.       Seeing Halle Berry’s photograph

Hello Halle

7.       The smell of rosemary-laced chicken cooking in the oven

8.       Ella Fitzgerald scat singing

9.       Things written on the street that makes you crazy or laugh

Are You Loco or Something?
10.   People who don’t set the table the way I do- like 
they put the fork on the right.

11.   Days that are packed with absolutely nothing to do

12.   Vacuuming when I am trying to think about something

13.   Realizing that I will never remember the words to any song- and it’s okay

14.   Remembering when Fanny was 6 and put on my suit, cap and grabbed my briefcase.


Suited for Improv
15.   Watching Ra El eat a raw kale salad 

16.   Finding a penny when I am walking and thanking my grandfather
Thank you Pop
17.   Getting an email from my friend Jamie who will remind me of something we did 45 years ago that I forgot.

18.   Sneezing

19.   Sitting on my screened-in porch with Mango

20.   Walking in the morning and enjoying the moment

21.   Listening to my wife talk about orbs in photographs

22.    Thinly sliced Parmigiana Regiano cheese and Prosecco

23.   Not watching Fox News

24.   Smelling my photo albums my grandfather made about me

25.   Pure vanilla extract, cardamom and nutmeg

26.   Getting to use the word bucolic in a sentence and 
remembering why

27.   Knowing that dolphins are attracted to light and love


Swimming with Ra El
28.   Any wine made with Nebbiolo grapes like Gattinara
Yes please
29.   My mother’s candy drawer and her freezer filled with 
Haagen Dazs coffee ice cream


Bea's Candy Drawer

30.   Giraffes

Sticking their neck out
31.   Hiking in a quiet woods or mountain range

32.   A shady tree to read under at any beach in Hawaii

33.   The funny things Fanny texts to me like,
 “I swept the floor and found  
enough bugs to start a kickball team”.

34.   Mozart's opera The Magic Flute

35.   Rubbing fresh herbs through my fingers and taking in their perfume

36.   Watching Sarah relax

Sarah Chill Time 
37.   My wife’s handwriting even though I often have trouble reading it

38.   Marketing efforts that are clear and to the point


Taking the cake 


39.   Rye bread that is toasted and buttered

40.   My brother’s obsession with Bruce Springsteen


Is Bruce a Mitch fan too? You bet!
41.   Always carrying this moment in my heart and having
a photo to remember it


Getting ready to go to Wrightsville Beach around  August 1992
42.   The sound my phone makes when I get a text from my daughter

43.   Our family whistle we have always used to call our cats

44.   Snow falling when I am home and having everything I need to make vegetable soup from scratch


45. Knowing Fanny was born under the sign of beer

Fanny's Chill Time 
46.   Growing my beard and then shaving it off

Hair today, gone tomorrow 
47.   Memories of my Grandma Fannie’s sour cream coffee cake with the crunchy brown sugar topping

48.   Bad puns that actually make my family laugh

49.   Forgiving people who make mistakes

50.   Making stuffed cabbage

The making of stuff cabbage - - - A short video 

51.   Watching the joy my sister Diane and brother-in-law Jerry have as grandparents
 Big Jer, Di Di, Henry & Juliet

52.   Slowly drinking my coffee in the morning so I can appreciate the flavor

53.   Not owning a swimming pool

54.   The aroma from a zest of a lemon on my fingers

55.   Telling people that my 84 year old mother uses email, reads my blogs, posts to Facebook and has a Kindle

56.  Finding signs that remind me that change is inevitable


Ch, Ch, Changes


57.   The color yellow
I'm just wild about yellow
Farewell Lt. Mango. I will always love you and you will always be one of my favorite things from this lifetime. 


Meow.




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