Yes, there is good news

[fbhjr]

The company I've been consulting for since October gave me a Christmas bonus today.
While not a huge amount of money, I hadn't expected anything. I haven't even heard of consultants getting bonuses. It was a very nice, unexpected, surprise.
The head of the division, in addition to giving me the bonus, reviewed my project today. He told me it was going well and he was happy with the progress. And, he moved up the review 45 minutes so I wouldn't have to stay late for it on Friday.

The company I consulted for just before starting with this one also called me today. They left me a voice mail saying they'd had some trouble and needed my help. I was worried about what the "trouble" was when I called back.
"I gave you the wrong angle for the design," their company owner told me. "I'll pay you to come in for a few hours tomorrow and fix what I did wrong."
OK, not what I expected. Granted working on a Saturday morning isn't the best thing in the world, but getting paid for it is pretty good.

One of the banks my wife had to deal with over the past few days has been very nice and helpful as well. For at least the folks in our area, the TD Bank in Shrewsbury is everything their ads say it would be.