This is Our Happy Place!
Difficulty ● ● ◐ ○ ○
Puzzle Notes
Dear Subscribers,
"Music can change the world because it can change people"
~Bono
Greetings friends!
Whenever I feel sad, I turn to music for a boost. One sure-fire mood enhancer is Pharrell Williams's "Happy." With over a billion Youtube views (of which 100,739 are mine), the "Happy" video makes me stand up and dance across the room. Pretty soon I'm envisioning my own part in the video ("thanks, Pharrell -- I'd love to be in your video!"), dancing, twirling and clapping along in my happy place -- the clay tennis courts at 95th Street, on the banks of the Hudson River. There I am, tennis racket in hand, skip-dancing to the beat, like a room without a roof.
"Happy" has a special place in my heart, as it was the song that kept me intermittently, and perhaps artificially, "happy" during the stressful years when my mother was very ill. After visits with her at the hospital, I'd grab the bus home to NYC, put on the earphones and play "Happy" on repeat. It didn't change the circumstances of the profound sadnesses in my life then ... but for a few minutes, I "felt" happy. And that kept me going for the next few minutes. Sometimes life is best lived a few minutes at a time.
I imagine that you have favorite songs that simply make you feel good. Here's to the music that brings us comfort during sad times, and enhances our joy during good times!
Welcome to Week 517 of Crossword Nation. We invite you to solve "This is Our Happy Place!" as this week's diversion.
May the days ahead be filled with good music and all that nourishes your soul. Thank you kindly for subscribing. Until next time, I remain ...
Cruciverbally yours,
Liz
Solvers of The New Yorker puzzles: Check out my latest crossword (a challenging diversion, per the editors) in The New Yorker!
Mini Crossword Aficionados: For a quick solve, please try the Daily Mini Crossword in the L. A. Times. It's free! Simply bookmark and visit daily for a new puzzle.
Recovering Lost Puzzles: If, for some reason, our weekly puzzle email doesn't appear in your mailbox on Monday evenings, no worries -- you can always "re-send" the puzzle to yourself.
But first ....
1. Please check the Spam folder. Sometimes the Crossword Nation emails are redirected to Spam folders. This can happen after a software or system update. If it's not in the Spam folder, then try Step 2.
2. Visit the Subscriber Portal and Re-send the Puzzle To Your Mailbox. You can always send the latest puzzle (or any puzzle from our archive) to yourself. Visit here:
https://xwnation.puzzleanywhere.com/enable-account/
Choose the "Resend Puzzle" link at the bottom right of the page. From there, you can choose which puzzle to send to your mailbox!
Important message for solvers who subscribed prior to September 2020: If your Crossword Nation subscription was on auto-renewal through Rumination Software, please cancel it via your PayPal account. Our puzzles are no longer sold through Rumination Software. We expect that Rumination cancelled those auto-renewals from their end. But to be safe -- please discontinue such auto-renewals from your end.
If you enjoy our 'indie' Crossword Nation puzzles, please give them a positive rating on Amy Reynaldo's blog, Diary of a Crossword Fiend. Your ratings help keep our little puzzle shop independent and strong!
Ade Koiki blogs our puzzle every Tuesday. Simply page through Amy's blog to find the Tuesday blog posts. http://crosswordfiend.com/
Happy solving and be well!
Liz Gorski