Just a little preface to this post. You’re not going to find anything that even vaguely resembles what you might read in the headlines or hear on the news these days. My motive is simple stories and encouraging words. No politics, no controversy, no mean stuff. This is Simply B keeping it light and simple. Finding the good. It’s there to be found.

Last week was just stellar. Seriously!

Saturday was spent in the Booth Memorial Stadium on the University of Kansas in Lawrence. Why, you ask? Well, our grandchildren’s high school marching band was competing in the annual KBA competition. Senior Nick on the trumpet, Sophomore Tessa on the mellophone. Son in law Luke as the band director and our daughter Leanna next to us in the stands. The preliminary performance was at 10:15am. Results would come at 4p. Only 12 bands would make it to finals, and we were so overjoyed that our band made it into that field of 12. They performed excellently against very stiff competition. It was so awesome to see their excitement at making finals and performing well.

Then Sunday we watched our granddaughter’s soccer game in Kansas City. It was a beautiful day to watch soccer and watching her play brings us joy.

After the soccer game we hooked up our fifth wheel and headed back to my “happy place”, Marion Reservoir, to spend the rest of the week until Friday.

Do these photos scream “Good Times” to you? It was very windy, the temperatures swung from hot to chilly, there was rain. In photo #1, I’m cozy and warm inside our RV eating breakfast and watching the water fowl on the beautiful lake. Good times. Photo #2 shows extremely heavy rain. If you look closely at photo 1 you’ll see the lake is really low on water. We’ve been in severe drought conditions for months in Kansas. So, yes photo 2 is absolutely GOOD TIMES!! Photo #3 shows white gulls hovering and diving for food. Dark black clouds make it easier to see them. That particular day was pleasant to be outside because the temperatures were freakishly warm. So of course: GOOD TIMES!!

Monday and Tuesday of that week were filled with reading a book for me. I’d had the book on my Kindle for a couple years but had never gotten into it past the first chapter. The comfortable solitude of the lake created perfect conditions for me to quickly become absorbed in the story. “Nightingale” by Kristin Hannah, in case you’re wondering the title. Great read. Tissues required. I finished it right before Wednesday began. Tuesday at 11:59pm to be precise.

We did take a walk on the Willow Walk Trail one day when the wind had died down some. Check out the loveliness of fall colors here in south central Kansas. Walks like these are totally therapeutic for this old chick. Comfort and joy. And smiles. And of course, these are a very small sampling of the many pictures we took on this walk.

My sister and her hubby joined us on Wednesday. Until they moved here from California three years ago, I could only dream of camping with them often at our “happy place”. Such a joy to have that opportunity now.

If you know us at all, you know we played cards. It’s what we do. Recently we rediscovered the game of double Pinochle. So that was our game of choice for our next three days of camping. Do you play pinochle? It’s an old game that requires you to hold 20 cards in your hand. Not for the faint of heart or, more accurately, not for the arthritic of hand. For the record, my sister and I were the losers in almost every game. Until the very last game on Friday before we packed up and left. On that day, for the first time in my long long life I finally had a double run!! Does that make your heart pound hard and your breathing rate increase? Likely not. But if you know, you know. It’s a big deal, the most points possible in pinochle. I haven’t stopped joyfully smiling. My heart rate is back to normal though.

All camping trips come to an end, and we actually left one day early because of a freeze warning and rainy forecast with slim possibility of snow. In October. Unheard of. Did that steal my joy? Not at all.

Back at home, I did one of my very favorite things to do in the Fall. I broke out our fluffy warm comforter to sleep under. It’s like a gentle full body hug. So relaxing and wonderful. Total comfort.

And I never pull out that comforter without thinking about a long ago memory of another comforter. Back in the 1970’s after my dad passed away, my mom would often talk about how much she would love to have a comforter for her bed. Money was really tight for her. A down comforter would be a luxury beyond her means. Just paying the utilities was a stretch.

One Christmas I thought that her daughters should go together and buy her one. That was my thought, anyway. The price was high and when I floated the idea between my two other wage-earning sisters, it was vetoed. There was another comforter at JC Penneys, a “down alternative” comforter. It lacked the luxurious fluff of the authentic down, but the price was less. $30.00. That was actually not inexpensive back in the 70’s. But my sisters and I scraped up enough money to make the purchase. I was a little disappointed that it really didn’t compare at all to the authentic down comforter. Was my mom disappointed that it wasn’t her “dream” down comforter? Not at all. She loved it.

It’s mine now. We use it in our RV. My daughters treasure their memories of sleepovers with Grandma under that comforter. I treasure sleeping under it in our RV bed on cool nights, knowing that it once covered my sweet mama. Just thinking about that is kind of like a gentle warm hug from Mom. Comfort with a side of joy.

Do you have any sentimental items of a similar simple nature? My dad’s old felt hat, my mom’s comforter. A few other things. Just “things”. No monetary inheritance but they left a legacy of love that endures. Precious inheritance, in my opinion.

So, to summarize: 1. Time with family. 2. Camping. 3. Reading a good book. 4. Walking on a lovely trail with my hubby. 5. Playing cards. 6. Sleeping under a comforter. Comfort and joy…..so simple.