I woke up feeling anxious. Worried about little things. Nothing major. Just feeling a little off.

After my morning routine of breakfast with my daughter, shower and Duolingo, I got started on making S’mores Chocolate Chip Cookies. The dough needed to chill for at least an hour, so I decided to make it early, pop it in the fridge and come back to it later.

Next, I headed to the Hazeldean Branch of the Ottawa Public Library, located in Kanata. I was looking for French-English visual dictionaries for children. The librarian (I'm sorry I didn't get her name) was incredibly helpful and positive. I left with four books.

Then it was on to the Centennial Branch of the Ottawa Public Library, located in Bells Corners. When I entered, I saw the head librarian. "It's Céline, right?" I asked her. It was indeed. Although Céline didn't recall my name (how could she when she must meet hundreds of people every month?), she remembered where and when we had met—at the Beaverbrook Branch of the Ottawa Public Library on a Sunday—and that I had written a blog post about her and my extremely positive experience on that occasion. With her help and that of a colleague, we quickly found the books I was seeking: a visual dictionary in six languages—English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and German—and another children's French-English dictionary. The children's section of the library was filled with toddlers and pre-school kids, all seemingly happy and well-behaved. I remarked on it and the woman who was about to lead the story time replied, "We have excellent caregivers and parents here."

Chris and I then drove to Bruce Pit for a walk among the trees, people and dogs, followed by a traipse around Rice Lake. There, we saw Canada Geese, Mallard Ducks, Hooded Mergansers, Red-winged Blackbirds and a possible Cormorant, along with turtles and fish. Mr. Muskrat, who hangs out near the bridge that overlooks Rice Lake, was quiet today.

I then went to get my hair cut by the fabulous Rahil. When I walked in, she said, "So, you want to go really short?" How did she know, I wondered. That's exactly what I wanted, though I hadn't told her as much. A Jenesis reader recently commented that "short hair becomes you," which was all the nudge I needed to go back to a short haircut. It will be more convenient for the summer and easier to care for should my breast reconstruction occur in the next month or two.

Once we were home again, I finished my cookies. And I prepped the ingredients for a corn and potato chowder.

My young charge arrived for one of our twice-weekly tutoring sessions. We had our best session in several walks. As he passed by my kitchen and saw 36 cookies cooling on the table, he said, "Are those for..." not finishing his sentence but clearly wondering whether he could have one. I said that I would send him home with one, as they needed time to cool.

Once he left, I scooted back to the kitchen, Thirty minutes later, I had a hot soup on the table with homemade scones (made yesterday and toasted today).

This evening, Chris, Mel and I convened in the kitchen for cookie time. We were curious to try the cookies whose marshmallows had gotten a little toastier than I usually make them. They were incredibly delicious, with that slightly charred taste of a burnt marshmallow. My "mistake" (leaving the cookies under the broiler for just a few seconds longer than I had wanted) turned out to be a happy surprise.

My day proves what I often say, "It's OK to feel down when things don't go right, because happy always comes back."