I couldn’t resist my new, bright yellow “Smile!” socks. I love their cheerfulness and this is a good time to wear them, even though nobody sees them but me. At least I get to share them here. I also ordered two pairs of spring socks, one with daisies.

I am happy to have these socks, even though I’m sticking with blue pants and shirts. I have no interest in spending a lot of time or money on fashion.

A lot of us are getting weary of this virus and all that entails, so the challenge is not for me to whine and complain and get pissy, but to find ways to add color, light, and meaning to my life.

I embrace this challenge and will work hard to meet it. I’m a fan of Grandma Moses, who took up painting in her 90’s. Life is what you make of it every day.

This afternoon, I’m off to get my new car. A big change for us, after day of very civil negotiating, I’m down to $300 a month for three years. It’s a lease.

I make it a point to treat car salespeople with respect, it’s a difficult job and they really have little room in which to maneuver. I’ve found that if I treat people with respect, they will return the favor.

Still, it is a good time to buy or lease a car. It’s a buyer’s market for sure.

The car is an evolutionary and environmentally significant step for me. It is a hybrid, is smaller than the cars I am used to driving, it will get about 41 miles to the gallon. We’re going solar in a month, and there are no more plastic bottles in my life.