i am grateful for... (22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31)

okay, so i haven't been posting every day recently.  it's not that i've been any busier than normal, i've honestly just been a normal amount of busy.  so i have no excuses. 

 

it's a little pitiful that i only made it 21 out of 31 days.  it makes me look a little ungrateful.  it seems like there are only 21 things to be grateful for; but that's not true.  there are many,  many more things i am grateful for, and since starting this little project, i've caught myself several times a day thinking "i am grateful for that".

 

here are some examples that haven't made it into post form yet...

 

today, during the hurricane, rowdy has been watching leaves, branches, and rain drops wisp past him at the new sliding door onto the deck.  i am grateful for rowdy's curiosity, for his concern, and his cute little concerned-sounding meow.  i am grateful for the deck.  and i am grateful today, for still having our electricity on while so many others are already without it.

 

a week or two ago i was driving home from weighing in at my meeting in Hyannis when i saw a white truck pulled over on the side of the road where the Barnstable Youth Ranch horses hang out eating lots of grass, and there was a man stood outside the car.  he stopped to look at all the horses.  it was really sweet and comforting.  this man took the time to stop and admire the big animals.  animals that so many people,  myself included, otherwise simply drive past without giving them very much consideration at all.  we take them for granted.  i was grateful to that man for making me pay better attention and respect to those horses.  i think i will notice them more fondly now forever because of him.

 

our toilet is still broken, and has been for over a week already.  today, as i was sat backwards on it, trying to fix it and failing because i don't have the right tools yet, i thought how lucky we are to have two full bathrooms in our house.  i am so grateful for the multitude of things we have and have at our disposal.  i am so lucky.  i could list so many tools and trinkets i am grateful for: my oven (even though the dial doesn't turn down, only up), the microwave (although i only use it once every blue moon for heating, i use it all the time as a kitchen timer), the kettle (lovely, lovely kettle, for which i do have a back up just in case of a tea emergency), my special orange macaron spatula, my laptop (which is all mine), the two tiled pillows i bought at walmart for $9 each, the big ugly bar of green soap someone got me from France (that i never use because it's ugly colored, but i still like having products of France in the bathroom), all the cat scratching posts, hand rails on the stairs, my gorgeous washing machine, the deck!  there are so many more... it would be like a grocery list of all of our possessions.  you would likely stop reading.

 

i am grateful for alli, and the way she meeps when you try to pick her up.  for jack, and the way he snores when he's in deep sleep.  for rowdy, as mentioned above. 

 

for ryan, for new reasons every day, i am so grateful.

 

for my mom.  my dad.  my artistic little brother, and my resourceful little sister.  her helpful husband.  for tumblr.com (how you fuel my imagination), for my plumber neighbor, for leslie and linda and tina at gustare for having little parties all the time. 

 

i am grateful for chocolate.

 

i am grateful for birth control.

 

i am grateful for Tetley's tea.

 

i am grateful for Jason Deehr.

 

i am grateful for poster board.

 

i am grateful for tracy who goes to one of my weight watchers meetings - and the new journal she gave me which I plan to start writing in on Thursday.

 

i am grateful for my ability to see.  to hear.  to taste.  to touch.  to speak.  to write.  to read.  to understand.

 

i wish i could speak French.  so i am grateful for the tools available to me should i get serious about learning.

 

i am grateful for my strength and confidence.  

 

i am grateful that my experiments in baking usually turn out pretty good. 

 

i am grateful for having tried this experiment.  i think next month i will try to write more poems.  but i have two days to decide if i want to commit to a poem a day yet.

 

thank you; fore, i am grateful for you too.  and also for semi colons.   

how to harvest a cranberry bog

step one: flood the bog

step two: help the berries loose from the bushes by churning the flooded bog with an air boat thing

 

 

 

step three: collect the berries with floating nets

 

step four: feed the berries into a big truck

 

step five: use the big truck to wash the berries

step six: let Jack inspect the results

 

and bonus step seven: leave the bog flooded for a while so the ducks can eat all the frogs left in the bog.

i am grateful for... (21/31)

running.  that i can run.  if you've ever run, then you understand.  it's a beautiful alone time. time for my body to work. time for my mind to wander and wonder. and a time for my emotions to recalibrate and level out.

i am grateful for my brother (20/31)

saturday, my brother mike came over and we developed a comic book idea together.  he's going to draw it.  because he's an artist.  he's also funny and cool.  i am really proud of him.  it's not quite grateful.  well, not as straight-forward as all the rest.  but i am grateful that he asked for my creative help.  grateful that he thinks i'm worthy ^_^

today i am grateful for... (19/31)

technology.  because of the internet and my laptop and my cell phone, i can listen to bbc radio 1 all around the house while i do laundry and bake bread.  that's a rather wonderful thing, is it not?

 

friday morning

we are called together
the hour is dawn
the clouds are many
and we are so few

we, birds.  we, children.
we, aliens. we.

i am grateful for (18/31)

pasta.  in particlar the pasta ryan is boiling for me right now, because i don't feel well.  my husband is great. 

i am grateful for ... (17/31)

i have narrow ear canals.  i am not grateful for that.  what i am grateful, however, is the fact that there are solutions sold at most grocery stores and pharmacies that i can pour in my ear and it helps me clean them and, therefore, hear better.  and without any pain.  i am grateful for ear cleaning solutions.

i am grateful for ... (16/31)

the fact that their making a marvel shield tv show and that agent coulson will be in it - and not dead any more.  thank you.

i am grateful for... (15/31)

today, after my normal thursday morning work, i dropped off six big bags of food to the Falmouth Service Center food pantry.  weight watchers members collected food at two meetings and i got to take it to the pantry for them.

 

there were a few older people collecting food from the pantry.  but there were also some women my age, and some of them with one or two kids each.  i was really happy to see that the food is going to young families who are obviously struggling to make ends meet.  and i am grateful for the fact that Ryan and i can afford to eat.  that we can buy all the food we want.  in fact we could do with less if we had to. 

 

i am grateful for slippers (14/31)

yesterday (sunday) i got to wear my slippers around the house all day.  it was cool out, and we had no where we needed to go.  it was a good way for my feet to spend the day.

 

i am grateful for good bras (13/31)

tmi?

the bog up close

check out those cranberries!

the bog

 

and our house!

today i am grateful for Jack (12/31)

i mean... just look at him!

how could anyone not be grateful for a cat with a belly that white and pink and fluffy, who purrs ALL the time, and has the most adorable tail/paw action?

^___^

adventuring

with adipose figures ♥

i am grateful for chris (11/31)

my brother-in-law and friend.  for he is generous enough to lend us his skills as a car doctor over and over and over and over without asking for anything in return.  i owe him at least three cars.  and i hope to repay him in macarons.  THANK YOU CHRIS!!!

the shape and colors of things

in the woods out back.

color and life around the bog...

 

 

 

i am grateful for ... (10/31)

the way leaves swarm in protest against the cars that drive too quickly past.

i am thankful for jumper cables (9/31)

because my car is not very good at being a car.  i told ryan, it's more like kirby the elf who would rather be a dentist than make toys.  my car would rather be a porch or a sofa than a thing with wheels that moves.

i am grateful for bluejays (8/31)

i saw a bluejay this morning, amidst the grey and damp.  it made me appreciate the full spectrum of life, of color, of emotions, and possibilities.  it made me feel good that i could identify it easily.  the bluejay gives us all this gift.  it sacrificed camouflage to make me feel smarter (okay, maybe not, but it felt that way in the instant i saw the bird).  and it made me smile at the audacity of a bird so bright, in a surrounding so dull.  thank you bluejay, for brightening my mind, heart, and day.

routine

we wake up to rain
the sound of it drowning out
the drip of the coffee machine
set on a timer.

his hair is dishevelled
the sweat from a humid night
dried and stained our skin
begging to be shed.

cats swarmed my feet
alerted by the sound
of cans of food
being opened and emptied.

i dropped him off
outside the front door of his office
with a departure kiss
to last all day.

the smell of sweat,
the taste of coffee,
the warmth of purring cats,
the sensation of a dry kiss

last all day
until our routine together
continues into the night
and next day.

i am grateful for sunday morning lie ins (7/31)

most sunday mornings, ryan and i get to sleep in.  no alarm clocks.  kitties snuggling and cuddling.  simple happy.

i am grateful for my mom (6/31)

i am grateful for my mom every day.  she is my inspiration, my drive, my motivation, my cheerleader.  she is always proud of me for whatever i accomplish.  and i, in return, am forever grateful for all that she has given me and done for me.  i love her so much.  as cliche as it sounds, she is the best mom anyone could ever ask for, ever.

 

i ♥ my mom

 

Happy Birthday, Linda

yesterday was Linda's brithday.  we threw a little surprise party in the back room at Gustare Mashpee for her.

 

naturally, i was put in charge of desserts for a secret gathering of yummy foods and happy people.  i made some chocolate cupcakes, filled them with dulce de leche and salted them (yum), but i also made a new thing.  a fun thing.  a yum thing... this thing...

 

 a galette.  which i discovered via foodgawker.  my excellent instruction came from www.melissahartfiel.com, though i changed the fruit from blackberries to figs and added a little Gustare balsamic vinegar in there to sweeten things up even more.

 

my galette was good hot, good cold, good reheated. 

so Linda had a happy birthday party, and i made a successful new thing!  i think i might attempt an appley one for thanksgiving.  ^___^

i am grateful for sunny days (5/31)

although i spent an awful lot of today in doors, it was stellar to have all the windows and the screen door to the deck open.  the house feels fresh and cool.  and the time i did spend outside was the most pleasant it's been in ages.  i didn't run today, but so far all of my baking has come out of the oven in splendid form thanks to the weather.

 

the sun lifts my spirit.  and i am looking forward to mall beautiful fall days.  hopefully i can convince some friends to hike with me over the next couple of weekends.

 

so sunny days, yay.

i am grateful for quiet nights in (4/31)

yesterday i was in a rather grumpy mood.  but liz was due to come over to catch up on doctor who.  her being her cheered me up, even though we didn't all get to have dinner at the same time.  her, ryan and i sat for hours together drinking hot tea while watching all of season 7 so far.

 

tonight, i made bread and lasagna for the boys.  matt e. came over to watch the newest episode of red dwarf.  even though my mood was better today anyway, both nights have been relaxed and cheerful.

 

it's especially nice to have good television, yummy food, and kind friends around you when it's getting cooler and the weather is grey.

 

i am grateful for rowdy (3/31)

i have had two nightmares within the last week, both featuring my baby kitty Rowdy.  they were nightmares because he was bleeding.  i am grateful that he is alright.  i think he, out of all the pets i've ever had, loves me the most of all of them.  maybe he needs me the most, but it feels like love. 

 

he tucks me in at night if ryan stays up after i get in bed.  he jumps up and cuddles on my pillow.  he waits for me to fall asleep.  in the morning he meows for breakfast.  sometimes when i get home in the afternoon, he meows hellos at me.  we have conversations in the bathroom every time i take a shower.

 

i really love him.  his little ways, although some times naughty, make me laugh and smile.

 

he's my baby.  and i'm grateful for feeling so well loved by him.

i am grateful for my weight watchers family (2/31)

four years ago this month, i joined weight watchers.

 

since then, i lost 30 pounds.  i got a job.  and i have made so many beautiful friends.

 

everyone has been open and warm towards me.  every member and staff person has made me feel welcome, comfortable, and accomplished.  i hope i do the same for some of the members i see week to week.

 

extra special gratefulness towards my mom, my ww mom Barb, Jackie, Pat, and today, Darragh (for our nice long walk and talk).

i am thankful for ryan (1/31)

i am thankful for Ryan, my husband.
he is patient with my faults.
when i am sad, he lifts me up.
when i am angry, he calms me down.
when i am happy, he is there with me.
he helps me grow.
i learn from him.
and he never gets upset with me when i steal the covers at night.

31 things i'm grateful for

this october i am going to take a moment every day to appreciate something in my life.  i know thanksgiving isn't until next month, but it's never too early to start saying thanks.