1. Family good health results, Praise God!
2. Yummy juicing..apples, strawberries, grapes
3. Oh Oh, GPa spilled juice on the carpet..good news is that it wasn’t on the computer..carpet can be cleaned! :)
4. Hearing about Dubai…wow!
5. NFL…Go Green Bay Packers!
6. Traveling hundreds of miles of really remote roads…
7. …dirt roads that are impassable when it rains…
8. …people who live in those areas and love it…
9. …interesting stories they have to tell about life on the ranches…
10. …brought to mind appreciation of the pioneers who survived the desolation over 100 years ago…what spirit!

1. Doing a gratitude list even when it’s like feeling around in the dark
2. Knowing what triggers me (even if the knowledge doesn’t stop the trigger from happening)
3. Support systems, even when it feels like I’m just bothering them
4. The most supportive and uplifting card coming in the mail, in the midst of the most soul-crushing day. It was like being at the end of my rope and discovering someone gave me just enough to tie a knot and hold on.
5. Knowing that sometimes, it’s okay to let go of the rope. Who needs to climb all those ropes, anyway?
6. Taking one little step towards changing a difficult situation
7. The way this gratitude list is already making me feel a little less like a failure
8. Information and resources online for everything we need
9. Asking the Universe for what I need and getting nibbles on my line
10. ““Remember, to acknowledge our needs is not to be demanding. All human needs are the expression of life’s energy flowing through us. Needs are the very thing that connect us to life itself. When we become aware of our needs and the needs of others and long to meet those needs, we are honoring the sacredness of life.”” – Judith Hanson Lasater, “What We Say Matters” (Thanks to Gwen Bell’s Letter.ly for this quote.)

The beautiful day today!

Beautiful blue skys, a cooling breeze and the sounds of nature.

Shopping and having lunch with my daughter.

Being proud of myself for being tobacco and nicotine free after 35 years.  7 weeks and going strong!

Breathing deeply, being able to smell more sensitively.

Friends who give you delicious vegetables from their gardens.

Movies that make you think.

Saying nice things to yourself.

For waking up today!

For my family and all the love we share.

For my job and my coworkers.

The smell of Cinnamon.

Smiles and laughter.

Love

Today I am grateful,

1. For the colors, the tension, and the sentiment in this picture
2. For what I don’t know that God knows
3. That I did not get a job I thought would be “it” and finding out made me sad but not frenzied
4. For BigWaveDave who said, “God has you right where He wants you.”
5. That God gives me grace when I am petulant
6. For the possibility that maybe debt ceilings can be raised for people, not just governments? :)
7. For Frozen Yogurt
8. For Ruby, who does not care about the things I worry about; she just loves to chase the laser-pointer light
9. I am learning from Ruby

You can’t turn back the clock. But you can wind it up again. ~Life is Good

1. God

2. My older brother Andrew who turned 50 yesterday

3. He has three children 5 and under, including a newborn

4. He has always insisted on his own way, that may be changing

5. He got as far away as possible, well maybe not as possible, but another continent

6. We built roadways together with blocks, Matchbox cars and elaborate scenarios, but these would have to be taken down when Mrs. Johnson came to clean the house, bless her

7. He made our “TV shows” better with his irreverence and knowledge of the world

8. Spoke French for us in Paris

9. A beloved uncle

10. Introduced me to wonderful poets such as Cid Corman and Louis Zukofsky and musicians such as George Brassens (he translated for me on one car ride home,) not to mention Charlie Parker and Miles Davis

11.  “Mothers of America, let your kids go to the movies!” And so we did.  Lots of times, sometimes, when we were teenagers I would be told, get in the car, and off we went

12. The phone calls when I was hospitalized

13. On the wedding day, I got to the church and realized I’d forgotten the rings (you should have seen the withering look Cassie gave me.) However, Andrew was there by my side saying “this [marriage] is a good thing,” and he helped me through a humiliating situation. (He didn’t know he was supposed to give a toast; I remember all of us with our glasses downstairs and Cassie saying “All right Andrew, this is your moment.”  Don’t remember what he said but I know it was just great.)

14. Compassion for each other and acceptance of one another

15. I could go on and on

I love you, three simple words, but so powerful.  The next time someone gets on your last nerve, just say in your head, I love you.   Saying those three words also brings gratitude with them.

so today each time I see someone or I think of God, I am saying I love you.

1. Madeleine Peryoux
2. Her cover of Dance Me to the End of Love
3. When I first heard her, I could’ve swore she was Billie Holiday reincarnated
4. I love absolutely everything Billie Holiday sang
5. Peryoux’s straightforward approach to her music- she didn’t want to put out a second album right away, so she didn’t
6. She covered Elliot Smith’s Between the Bars too, which is divine
7. An evening with my writing and jazz
8. When a song or artist just grabs you and won’t let go
9. The hilarity of trying to write about music
10. “Music happens to be an art form that transcends language.” -Herbie Hancock

1. A welcome lovely email!
2. GPa went in the mountains and had to use his chain saw to remove logs from the road in order to get through
3. Slicing vegies and sliced the tip of a finger..realized how we need all of our fingers!…ouch…
4. Reorganized the refrigerator
5. Bright blue & white tablecloth with blue and white basket of flowers
6. Fun at another neighborhood lake party…
7. …swimming, fishing, boating…
8. …malmute husky and our schnauzer making friends
9. Lovely lilt of “y’all” from a gal from Memphis
10. Early morning cool walks

Today I am grateful for

1. Running through sprinklers…I loved this as a child and still love it!
2. A brief respite of rain
3. The excitement of rain’s promise and the smell of the rain just before and after
4. Treadmill time went by quickly
5. 3 solid minutes of running on the treadmill (if you are a taunt-tummied friend, please don’t smirk)
6. Ice water
7. Clean Sheets
8. Naps
9. S’mores Cookie Bars (the reason for #4 & #5)



What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others. ~Pericles