I just realized that we haven't left the property in 48 hours. How luxurious is that? Quite. Not sure I'm quite ready to break this little run of home time.
A whole weekend at home a bit unusual for us--there's typically something or other that will compel us out of our weekend cocoon. But this weekend I packed a bit of work home, and dedicated quite a bit of today toward getting my home office in better shape for me to actually want to spend time there. I have a problem when things get a little too piled up and stacked up--I just don't want to spend time in that kind of space. So clearing away always makes me feel so much more eager to sit down and get some work done. That, and I stole (I mean, borrowed) Seth's castoff monitor that he left behind, so now I have an extra (and much larger) screen, which is bonus for this aging lady's eyes!
I suppose with that lead up, you'd expect that I'd be here saying it was a kick-ass productive weekend. Um. Sort of? Definitely got a few things done, and made some really yummy end-of-summer meals filled with fresh-from-the-garden produce. And, I did get my office pretty tidy, so yeah, I guess. But there was also some delicious relaxation, and some telly binging too. I finished off The Tunnel, which I enjoyed pretty well, though I found the end a little unsatisfying. It begged a more climactic and twisty end, I thought. Ah well. Still enjoyable.
I'm grateful for all the joys of autumn. For everything between now and January 1, I am almost giddy with anticipation.
I'm grateful for the peace and quiet of our home, for the space to fiddle with hobbies and for our garden and chickens and room for doggies to roam.
I'm grateful for my thoughtful husband, who always considers us, and me, before him.
I'm grateful for music. For getting songs stuck in my head, and humming and singing along.
I am most grateful for the bounty that is so evident around us, every day. Right now the garden pretty much gets up and walks inside for dinner. Well, wouldn't that be lovely? It feels so close, really--tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, kale, squashes, okra... so delightful.
We continue to have stunning sunsets. I never fail to stop and stare, slack-jawed, at our beautiful surroundings.
And having a farmstand to fill in the vegetable gaps (not many right now), and pretty flowers to boot is a fabulous bonus.
I saved up a few inspirations for my week, and of course I have to share.
From my Instagram wanderings...
For laughter, following Apple's iPhone announcements this week...
Seems like we were just here, right, counting our blessings? Certainly feels so, and not in a bad way, just in a zoom-zoom way. What is up with time? Feels like someone has their finger on the FF button on the VCR remote. Or, rather, the DVR remote. Silly old me.
Meanwhile, this renewed weekly pause in the speed continuum is a helpful thing. It brings me great joy to sit here as the sun starts heading down, earlier and earlier each night, and think about the things that went right this week, and even in the things that didn't, what there is to be grateful for.
Tomorrow is husband's birthday. Of course I'm grateful for that, for the day of his birth and all the twists and turns in his life that brought him to Walla Walla, and me to Walla Walla (much less twisty turny), and our eventual togethering. There's a great deal to be grateful for, right there. But I'm also grateful that not only is he a thoughtful partner, he's a loving step-dad. Doesn't get much better than that.
Today we took a little break from work and played together, did some errands and had a late lunch and generally took it a bit easier. Delightful and entirely too rare, which is probably why I felt extra-grateful for our time together.
Home tonight, and looking out across the third batch of alfalfa this summer. It pretty much grows right in front of your eyes, and it's not hard at all to be grateful for our green-and-gold setting. The wheat across the street was harvested this week, and the stark shadows brought about by the angles of the cutting are just fascinating to me. All across the landscape between here and the hills just out of town it is alternating green and gold and brown, the usual August patchwork.
This week I am grateful for chickens that produce eggs, even if they are wee and still somewhat infrequent.
I'm grateful that the skunk who visited twice last week did not return this week.
I'm grateful that I still believe there's a larger plan to the daily national nonsense that really feels crazymaking some days. Believing in a higher purpose helps calm me down--though I do at times have a hard time remembering that at 2:30 a.m. when I wake with a bunch of what-ifs and holy craps running through my head. Gotta remember to breathe. Critical, that breath.
I'm grateful for technology that allows me to step away from work but still keep tabs on stuff. Though, of course, I wonder if it wouldn't all just keep motoring along even if I didn't do the tab thing. But it's good to know it's there if I need it.
I'm grateful for sharing. In these days of constant social sharing, I suppose that might seem like an odd thing to be grateful for, but I have to tell you: I have the BEST friends. I don't have friends who argue and post weird and wild controversial things (most days). I have friends who post encouraging words, thoughtful words, inspiring words. I am so blessed. (I did do a wee bit 'o paring down of friends recently, and a smidge of hiding too, so it's not that the "other" kind aren't out there, I just choose carefully the energy I'm going to expose myself to.
To make a long (see paragraph above) story short, one of my aunts shared a lovely excerpt from a Madelaine L'Engle book recently that I loved. It's a quote from the author Ellis Peters, I guess, and goes something like, "He prayed as he breathed, forming no words and making no specific requests, only holding in his heart, like broken birds in cupped hands, all those people who were in stress or grief." Isn't that a comforting and uplifting thought, that you could live your life in such a prayerful way as to hold in your hands the stress and grief for others? And that someone might do that for you?
I'm so grateful for rest, for the 24 hours ahead of me and the peace and quiet it will bring. Well, other than the birthday celebration. Rest, make cake, more rest, wrap presents, eat cake, more rest, opening presents, more cake. Sounds like a winning combination to me!
Always, I'm grateful for color. This week--or was it last? I think it might have been last week--a dear friend gave me 100 Pantone postcards. My heart fairly leaped with possibilities--a beautiful box filled with 100 beautiful cards surely must exist for a beautiful cause. What words will be written on those cards? I've been pondering, of course. Surely they must be words of thanks. Yay for dear friends and yay for 100 postcards of color. And not just any color. Pantone color.
I'm grateful for health. I don't take that for granted, especially on weeks when the sleep is a little shy. I know what lack of sleep does to the immune system, and I don't like it, not one little bit. Which also makes me grateful for sleep, and for the righteous sleep I know I will have tonight!
Wishing you a righteous sleep, whenever you read this. And a peaceful and joyous weekend.
I have come to spend too much time in contracts, apparently. I couldn't decide for a minute whether adding to my grateful list is an addendum or an amendment. Oh dear. Of course, it's an addendum--I'm not changing anything I said yesterday, just adding to it.
Things I forgot to mention:
I'm grateful for people who don't take the easy way out. Don't get me wrong, sometimes easy is the best choice. But often, it's not and people turn away. When I see coworkers or friends or family taking the path of least resistance, I am inspired and grateful.
I'm very grateful for health. I certainly don't take it for granted, though I've not been the best at taking care of myself lately. But I pay attention to my immunity and try for good sleep, and if anything feels too far off kilter, I make adjustments.
I'm grateful for a semi-thick skin. There's probably a more gracious way to say that, but I don't tend to take a lot of things personally. As soon as I say that, something will transpire that cuts me to the quick, I'm sure. But in general, most days, I'm able to see that people act because of their own inner workings, not because of something I've done. Which is not to say I can't be offended--hardly.
Figs! I'm always grateful when fig season rolls around, and this year I've already gotten a half-dozen off one of my trees. The other two are in full leaf and have grown SO much, but no fruit. Curious. Grateful for the few, and also so glad that local grocers have gotten the fig memo too. Nothing beats homegrown, but I'll take supplemental figs any day.
I'm grateful that my kid shares his world with me. We've watched a number of videos by a guy he likes who creates video essays around gaming, web culture, and social politics, and I find them very interesting. Not something I would naturally seek out, even though I probably should--the way gamers see the world and consume content is going to become more and more mainstream as they grow up and get jobs and influence culture.
I'm grateful that my husband shares his world with me too. Saturdays are our catch up time, for conversation outside of work, to talk about what we're reading, watching, and thinking about. In between naps, I love our conversations.
And these two. Grateful for them too. They read the blog last night and were gravely disappointed that Tess was the only one who made it in with a picture. They have been petitioning me all day. Ha. No. But I do love these sweeties, and they are a big part of my relaxation on the weekend.
I'm grateful that there's air conditioning in my world right now. I'm someone who usually has a cardigan along for layering, and that's still the case, even when it's 100 degrees. And I do love the heat. But wow, it's warm out there right now. Savoring a cool inside, and ice cream doesn't hurt, either.
I'm grateful that the political conventions are over. I will be glad when November has come and gone too, and I'm sure the next few months are going to be filled with some degree of unease, but the specific circus that surround the RNC and DNC are so completely not my cup of tea.
Last, the sunsets. These are on my list a lot in the summer, and now that harvest has started (well, it's been going on for some time, but I came home to it happening across the street last night), the sunsets are extra rosy with dust. Love them. So grateful for these wide open spaces I call home.
OK, now I feel like my gratitude is complete. Last night's offerings were just too short. Thanks for bearing with me.
Summer has arrived! I know, I know, technically summer has been around for a month already, but in my world, summer equals warmth, which we haven't really been wallowing in yet this year. Finally, the warmth feels like it's building; nothing too drastic yet, but slowly, every day a bit warmer. It's delightful, even though it has now caused the rest of the apricots to plunk down to the ground at a rate I can't quite keep up with, no matter how many I give away.
Last night I was doing my nightly rounds while texting with a friend about our mutual need to ignore the current news, puttering with the dogs and chickens, checking the yard, and before I knew it, the sun had gone down. I hadn't really paid attention to the sunset--I was on the other side of the house, I think, when it really went down--and it was super dusky, warm and quiet. It was just so delightful to stand there and feel the night roll in. I stood there, in the middle of the back yard, and thought about the stuff that really matters, to me, and how I need to spend more time reflecting on those things, rather than letting my life get eaten up with less important matters. After a few minutes, it occurred to me that there should be a moon, shouldn't there? Where was it? Then I started thinking about the Pale Blue Dot video and pulled up YouTube up on my phone. I mean, I'm waiting for the moon, so why not go look at a space video with Carl Sagan's voice? I found the one below, which I don't think I've watched before; or if I have, it's been awhile. It's a longer version than just the main quote that gets shared a lot. It always resonates, but last night it super-resonated, what with all the weighty stuff of the world currently.
When the video was over I looked at the horizon and saw the glow. The moon! It was coming! Finally. I texted Seth to come and watch it, and he sweetly obliged his mom and came and watched, chatting as the glow-dial turned all the way up until the moon peeked over the Blues. I couldn't help take a couple of pictures, to try and capture this lovely night. (Of course they don't even remotely do it justice.)
I haven't told one of the stories that brought me back to Friday nights and my list, but I've meant to. There were a few of these interactions over my inactive year (or two) that reminded me of why I'd started doing it, and the value of not just being grateful, but of the act of noting gratitude as a ritual. I was at the spring musical at the local high school--something I did only once in Seth's whole high school experience, so not really my natural habitat. But friends had raved about The Little Mermaid, so I corralled another mom of a recent grad into going with me. We sat in the back (we're similar that way, I knew I was asking a like-minded date!), and beside two sisters and a mom I know. Lovely ladies, you know who you are, and your words of encouragement about missing the devotional feel of this Friday night ritual meant more than you probably realize. Thank you.
Week before last was a rough one, locally, as many lost a dear person, and the gathering that followed the loss brought my dear friend Kate to town. Of course that means gathering, and eating, and laughing and crying and sharing. Of course. Thank you, friends, for the time and space to be together. And thanks for giving me an opportunity to crack open a much-loved but not-enough-used cookbook, and bake up a delightful cake. I will need to make this again, definitely.
This week, I am grateful for:
Hugs from Seth. Those hugs are awesome.
Apricots. Even though I sometimes curse how full the tree has been this year, I am so grateful for the bounty. And basil. And the tomatoes that are coming on, and kale, and zucchini and even the precious few okra we've had so far.
Our pups. Such sweet loves. They know exactly what we're up to in the mornings. They know when I'm getting ready to go, and they come upstairs to get more loving from husband before I put them outside. And of course, General *must* bark when I kiss husband goodbye. He just cannot deal with that affection. He is a funny buddy.
Our view. Being able to watch the sunrise and moonrise from the yard is not something I take for granted. If you follow me on Instagram you know that I'm rather captivated by my surroundings, and find the view very tolerable, indeed. I am stopped short by this landscape, almost daily. :)
Water. Not to be taken for granted, at all, in this world with limited resources. To be able to water my garden and bathe and drink and all the things we *do* take for granted.
Friendship. From my best-husband-friend to my girlfriends old and new, I am blessed beyond what I deserve.
The instant gratification of purchasing an airline ticket on a day when I needed something to look forward to.
The ability, and desire, to be real with people. When I observe un/non-realness (or as a normal person would write = inauthentic), the first thing I think is, why? The world is so much better when people are really who they are. And as I type that, I can think of a few exceptions. (Heh.) Maybe it would be better to say, "In general, it is better when people are really who they are."
Laughter. Always a plus, in any day.
Doesn't it feel like week before last, it was ALL Pokemon? And this week? Crickets.
Last, a few words to remember:
"Just for today, I will be unafraid. Especially I will not be afraid to notice what is beautiful, and to believe that as I give to the world, so the world will give to me." -Kenneth L. Holmes
There is simply nothing quite like the Friday night that precedes a long weekend. I'm practically giddy with the idea of that mythical extra day between Sunday and Monday being a reality. Short week next week? Don't mind if I do.
But for all my giddiness, this was a pretty good week. One of the teams I work with set some records in the workplace (boo-ya!) and beat some deadlines--one quite resoundingly. That felt good. And in general, there's a summer happiness in the air. Seth is enjoying his work at Walmart, cashiering it up at all hours of the day and night--he had one shift end at 11 p.m. this week, and another start at 7 a.m. (though luckily not the morning after the 11 p.m.!). I bet you can't guess which one he liked better. Heh.
I spent a couple of summer evenings in the yard this week and fell back in love--not just with the peacefulness of the setting, but the work itself, and how good it feels to be out there with my hands in the dirt. There is a special magic to those end-of-day hours in our valley, where the light hits everything just so, and it's not so hot you can't breathe. Though, honestly, I'm not sure we've gotten over 100 yet--I should say yet again, we did have that odd first weekend in June hot spell. I can do 85, 90, even 95, quite easily. But working outside in 100 degree weather takes a particular grit that I'm not currently embodying.
One of the things that has always made yard time go more quickly for me is when I have a book dialed up on my iPhone and I am interested in knowing what's going to happen next. Right now I have Eligible playing, and it's a rather delightful listen. It's a "modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice" and is every bit as filled with the witticisms and annoyances (Mrs. Bennett, anyone?) as the original. I have also recently listened to Anna Quindlen's Miller's Valley, as well as My Kitchen Year by Ruth Reichl, Happily Ali After by Ali Wentworth, and Padma Lakshmi's Love, Loss and What We Ate.
My biggest misstep there (in terms of what's good to listen to rather than read) was the Ruth Reichl. I didn't really read much about the book other than to know it was her telling of the year after Gourmet shuttered, and I knew she'd had a rough go of it. But I just skimmed past the whole "136 recipes that saved my life," and listening to someone read recipe ingredients doesn't really do much for me--except put me to sleep. So in a way, it's been a good book to fall back to sleep to on those nights I wake up with to-do lists bouncing around my head.
The Ali Wentworth I got because I just love Ali Wentworth. I do that with celebrities and their books, it's one of my People-magazine-reading personality shortcomings. I most enjoyed Ali when she had a web series called Head Case that was only 12 minutes per episode. I found it hilarious. Anyway, the book is fine, and mildly funny. Also not bad for falling asleep to. That's my bar--can I work in the yard to it? If not, how about fall asleep to it?
This week, as always, I am ever so grateful for friends. Had the joy of meeting up with this dear one tonight and getting our toes painted. As is Sara's effervescent way, she made friends with a pup in the salon who was dressed (yes, that's a dress--and a bonnet) up and smelling fine. And by fine, I mean hair products. Who knew? My poor pups are lucky to get brushed. Product? That's for poodle pups, apparently. But catching up with Sara, sharing stories and laughing--that's always a good time. And, because she won't tell you this, I have to: she's a good wife. I know few women who are as supportive of their husbands as she is.
This week I am grateful for color. Oh, color. You knew that would come galloping back to the grateful list sooner rather than later, right? See this project below? Swoon, baby. Swoon. I must make this. Now. Going yarn shopping. This. Weekend. As I say when I wear that scarf, or those gloves, or these shoes: how can you have a bad day around color like that? (Seth said something to me recently about my favorite color being rainbow, and at first for some reason I objected. He just looked at me, like, "Really, Mom?" I just saw this post as I was looking back for links, and laughed. He's right.)
I am grateful for the berries. Always with blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries. If there's a "berries" on the end of it, I'm all in.
The apricots are ripe. I'm grateful to have an apricot tree.
I'm grateful for shows like Orange is the New Black, even though they make me sad.
I'm grateful for my thoughtful husband.
And so grateful for my sunshine boy. I will say this every Friday night this summer, I bet: having him home is a gift. Now, when he woke me with a mini-crisis at midnight Wednesday night, did I feel that gift in my heart? No, I did not. But come Thursday morning, well, maybe Thursday afternoon, the gift was back.
Picked another fig (teeny tiny, miniature--but oh the flavor!) off the one fig tree that HAS figs. Grateful to be actually growing figs!
I'm grateful for laughter. I do love a good laugh.
I'm grateful for sleep, which has been better of late. (Well, except for that one night where I ate a bunch of watermelon before bed. Skip that night. OTHER than that night.)
I'm grateful for my pups. Such love.
I'll end as I began, with gratitude for this weekend. I have big plans to do nothing part of the time, and something the rest. It's a little more formed than that in my brain--but not much! Looking forward to seeing what joys the weekend holds, and wishing you the same joy.
Oh lovely weekend, welcome. My arms have been wide open, waiting to welcome you, since at least Wednesday. Thanks for finally showing up!
It's been a wild and wooly week, as my mom used to say. Lots of unusual things popping up to be handled--nothing too unusual, but perhaps it was the volume? Buckets instead of cupfuls, or to have a happier metaphor: a giant rainbow cake of awesome "things that need to be handled." No cupcakes around here, oh no. Whopping layers of cake. Yum.
Meanwhile, the grateful. Such a glorious time of year around here. Long, long days, with lots of light to wake me early, and keep me awake on the other end too. Very grateful for the blinds we have in our bedroom that help keep the light out--this week it had to keep out that strawberry moon business too, from Monday night. Seth and I were out for a bit of exercise when the moon rose, and it was lovely to see it rise in that harvesty way that is mammoth and warm.
And early in the mornings too, when I'm out with the dogs and the chickens, I'm struck by how green and beautiful everything is. We haven't ramped back up the HOT weather yet, just lolling around in the low 80s. Very hammock weather. I walk past our hammock. That's about how hammocky my week was. (Insert wink emoji here.) (I really want to wake up one day in a post-emoji world, but then I think to myself, how on earth would I add an extra "touch" to my texts?! Amiright, Ma?!)
Having Seth home is such a gift. There's really no other word for it. Just knowing he's here, even when he's not in the room with us, makes me smile. He started his new job this week, as a WalMart cashier. I saw him in action tonight as I got a few supplies. He was intent on his scanning responsibilities, and I kept the proper Mom distance. There's a rule that family and friends have to avoid their relative worker, so I behaved, even though I was sort of tempted and if caught would have pulled out my ID--look, different last names, we're not related. You can see I thought through this a little bit. Such a silly mom. Such a silly, grateful mom.
Seth and I are on track to eat a record amount of watermelon this summer. If there isn't a watermelon currently cut up and being eaten, there are leftovers in the fridge, or another one on the counter ready to cut, or both. Of course it's a little early for truly local melons, but we have been enjoying some real gems who have taken a trip north to our bellies. The other food item we are quite ahead of the game on is pesto. The one thing I got planted early is basil, and it is beautiful, bushy and fragrant. I love keeping it trimmed of its blossoms, and having the lovely scent on my hands for awhile after. Happy summer days! So grateful for produce, especially the local farms.
For this week especially, my grateful list includes (but is not limited to!):
Sweet husband and his thoughtful ways.
Our haven of a home, where I can tuck away for a day of rest and come out the other side energized.
Friends who drive hours to come to town for lunch and a visit and a laugh. Who can cut through nonsense in zero time and get to the heart of whatever really needs discussing.
Our pups and their unconditional love. Nothing like the greeting those three give us all at the end of the day. Is it about food? Possibly--especially for General. But those border collies, boy do they embody the "love is love is love is love is love is love" philosophy.
Cold brew coffee. The perfect summer drink. Easy to make, oh-so-easy to drink.
Early morning energy.
Instagram.
Coworkers who put in extra when needed, without being asked. (It's the "without being asked" that's especially awesome.)
Berries. All. The. Berries.
Summer rain. The smell, the feel in the air, the lovely morning after.
Dear Gratitude,
Thanks for being with me all these years. Even when you are quiet, you're still around, and I appreciate that you're not always chirping away at me. Sometimes I just want to sit with you for a bit, and you always let me. I really don't know what I'd do without you.
Your pal, Sherilee
I am not opposed to the selfie, goodness knows I have flipped the lens around on the phone more than a time or two to capture a good hair day or an acne-free moment! But in approaching the word self, I felt pulled toward something else.
Thinking on those words, how they relate to self, and how they relate to gratitude, made me so grateful for this month, for this challenge, and for what gratitude can accomplish. I've mentioned it before, but the circle of gratitude never fails, it really doesn't.
"Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings." -William Arthur
I saw a few posts in social media this month that put down the idea of a 30-day challenge, of a month where thankfulness is celebrated. The general theme of the complaints seemed to be that we should be grateful every day, not just one month or one day out of the year. I couldn't agree more. But what surprised me was the lack of general goodwill that seemed to surround the notion of allowing others the space to speak their gratitude in whatever way is meaningful to them. I mean, look away if others speaking their thankfulness is somehow annoying, you know?
This was the first year I've participated in a gratitude challenge. In past years I have seen posts trot by via social media and had slightly negative thoughts about the concept myself--how trite, how forced, how shallow. Somehow, this year, with my lack of real time and energy around blogging, the idea of a photo challenge through Instagram seemed doable. And the act of looking at the chosen word and thinking about it--sometimes in advance, sometimes extremely last-minute--became an exercise in daily gratitude that I appreciated.
The trend toward gratitude as a marketable notion, something to be embraced by the masses, is bound to give even the most grateful of us a bit of a hollow feeling--something along the lines of an art masterpiece being slapped onto every fridge magnet, coffee mug, and over-the-sofa posters: one-size-fits-all gratitude, if you will. It's what happens when an idea becomes universal, or close to it. But I am willing to take that down side for all the positives I witness from the spread of gratitude. And, for the small amount of negative noise around the rituals of Thanksgiving and thankfulness, there was much more voice given to the benefits of gratitude. .
This TED talk is worth the 14 minutes to consider living a grateful life. Many of his thoughts resonate with what I've found to be true about happiness following gratitude, not spawning it.
I don't have to struggle (most days) to achieve gratitude. I'm not saying that because everything is sunshine and rainbows and unicorns in my life. I recognize my blessings, daily. But more to the point, I recognize that my attitude has a lot more to do with how I'm feeling on any given day than the actual circumstances do. There are times when I feel like I should apologize for having this approach, as if the fact that many people struggle to find happiness is somehow my burden (I should cheer them up?), that I need to chill with the gratitude, just to fit in better. Can't do it.
I've had a few situations lately that have shown me how embedded gratitude is in my life, and I couldn't be happier about that. There's an "other shoe dropping" feeling that clutches at my heart as I write that sentence, knowing that tomorrow the Universe could throw myself or a dear loved one a giant curveball that shakes up my idea of gratitude completely. I guess, in acknowledging this, I'm saying that's OK. It's going to be what it's going to be; the only thing I can pick is how I respond.
I wish you gratitude. Daily. Weekly. Monthly. Yearlong, joyful, solid and unshakeable gratitude. Me, I'll be back on Friday night. ;)
I couldn't possibly have only one photo to represent taste, as varied and seasonal as my tastes are! I looked back through some of my favorite food shots of the year and picked the ones that speak to me right now. As the summer is sadly past, I will begin craving fresh and summery foods in 10... 9... 8... sigh. I am grateful for the love of fresh and healthful food (with a side of cheese, of course!).
Day 24: Comfort
Nov. 24 is our anniversary and I took and posted this picture before I really clued in on the word for the day: Comfort. While usually I would think warmth or carbohydrates, on this particular day, this particular picture spoke comfort to me. I am very grateful for the comfort that husband and I provide to each other, and am so blessed by our eight years together.
Day 25: Family
I am very grateful for the family I was born into, and the many things that each family member has brought into my life. This photo from the '70s brings me joy and a smile every time I see it, and given that it's on my desk at work, I get to see it and smile quite often!
Day 26: Routine
Morning rituals mean a great deal to me, and get me up and going! My cuppa is a big part of that ritual, whether coffee or tea (on rare occasions I have been known to give up coffee for a bit, go figure), and my mugs are also very important in the routine too. I'm grateful for routines and the structure and familiarity they bring to my mornings.
Day 27: Creativity
Whenever I feel a little dry in the creativity department, all I need to do is pick up a food or craft magazine, or open up Pinterest, and my creativity wheels start turning. I'm grateful for creativity ebbs and flows, and for the return of ideas after a dry spell. It makes me appreciate it all the more.
Day 28: Sky
Thanksgiving morning on Bainbridge Island. Beautiful and foggy, almost mystical. I'm grateful for skies that aren't always blue and filled with sunshine, and I'm grateful for Thanksgiving with family.
Day 29: Movement
Well, this one might be a little tongue in cheese, but it's in keeping with the kind of holiday we've had, which is very very relaxing. Ahhh. Mei Mei on my lap, and this was about all the movement I needed today. I am very grateful for the ability to unwind, for the fireplace and the company and the peace and quiet. Bliss.
I hope that wherever you are, your grateful list is long and your hearth is warm. Ours certainly is!
When I first thought of this word for this day, coffee came to mind! If there's a tradition in my life, that might be it! But then I read the definition of tradition, and it talked about passing down, usually from one generation to another, and well, coffee is not that. Coffee is more of a ritual, if I'm playing by the rules.
But John Deere? That's a tradition. It was the tractor of choice for my Grandpa Goerlitz, it is what my father drives on his property, and (as luck would have it) it's the farm vehicle of choice for my husband too. I love it.
Who knew a tractor choice could elicit such nostalgia?
This collage box represents our wedding day, from the quotes that we had around the room, the invitation, place cards, photo, flower petals, ribbon and even the jeweled clasp/button I wore on my dress. It was a lovely day but what is really lovely are the eight years since, and the love that has grown stronger during that time. I couldn't ask for a better partner to be celebrating eight years with, later this month.
It's Friday night. And as I say, quite often, I haven't looked forward to a Friday this much since last Friday! I'm positively giddy with the prospect of sleeping in tomorrow morning.
This week was Seth's birthday, the young man turned 17 and we had a lovely time together. He woke up very happy at the prospect of this milestone. Somehow 17 seemed to him a much bigger deal than 16. I think the car and the job have something to do with it, and he's really stepped up in his overall responsibility level. We're quite proud of him.
Seth and his cousins last Thanksgiving. They've each grown about a foot since then!
I'm grateful for the sunshine, which appeared today and seems to be on tap for the whole weekend. That delights me so very much, as there are some vast swaths of yard that need a bit of tidying before the fall weather tips into winter weather. I can sense the audiobooks being queued up for hours of listening/weeding pleasure!
The garden is winding down. I went out this afternoon and pulled up some pepper plants and harvested a few of the more mature butternut squashes. There's a rumor of frost tonight so I wanted to be a bit prepared. While I miss the burgeoning harvests of August, I am grateful to still have ample kale and a variety of squashes. Sure wish a few more tomatoes would ripen though... that's a bit of a pipe dream, I'm sure.
Anticipating the month of October makes me grateful. For family (visits!) and friends (visits! birthday celebrations!) and the boy (his birthday party too!). I'm looking forward to it all. And after October there's November, with Thanksgiving and our anniversary, and then there's Christmas... you get my drift. Lots of celebrations coming our way, and I will be grateful for each one.
And there's the season itself. Autumn. I have been the usual amount of grumpy (just a little) about the darkness, but in general I am happy happy about the change in the air quality (crisp and sharp, great to breathe in in big gulps as I head out in the morning to work), the change in the light as it filters through the trees, the cloud formations as they move so quickly through, one storm after another ... Autumn is lovely.
I'm also grateful that September is over. I enjoyed the blogging challenge, and am glad that both Jen and I had the stamina to eek it out every day. There were a couple of days when I thought, "Really? Really? Not feeling it. Let's take a break." But in the end, it all worked out, more or less and neither of us had to eat crow, or whatever it was that we agreed the not-blogger would have to suffer if 100% posting wasn't achieved.
I'm grateful for friends who walk their talk. I was shown a beautiful example this week of grace in the face of loss and disappointment, and I was inspired.
And rather than posting the NSFW Pooh quotes that Jen sends me sometimes--they are hilarious, but entirely inappropriate for the blog--I will leave you with this lovely thought:
Wishing you love, joy and tenderness! Yes, sing it.
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