Overall, life is good.

Here are a few things that made me happy today:

• Seeing how cute Penny looked standing on the front passenger seat with her front legs on the window sill as the police officer assured me, through the half-open passenger window, that the 55 mile per hour sign did indeed apply to me.
• Not getting a ticket from the police officer mentioned above, despite the fact that I admitted driving 70 miles per hour.
• Seeing herds of wild horses grazing on surprisingly green high desert grass.
• Getting a Mexican ice cream pop when I stopped for gas.
• Seeing giant windmills in a row, spinning in unison against a blue sky.
• Driving a long distance, despite having a cold, and arriving at my destination — a place I love but haven’t been to in a long time — with enough time to settle in for the night.