1. – 10.   Talking to Lucy-Anne on the phone!  It was so great to catch up with her, our California girl.  Hooray!

1.  It’s so full of love to get together with family and friends!

2.  I love the hustle and bustle in the kitchen before dinner.

3.  Little snacks before dinner (couldn’t be sure of how to spell that other word — hors deouvres?)

4.  The smell in the house when you first open the front door.

5.  The pride my son Kevin takes in making sure the turkey is just right.

6.  Catching up with people  you haven’t seen in a while.

7.  Going through the buffet line — a little of this, a little of that, and a LOT of your favorites.

8.  The blessing that Dyan (my daughter-in-law) gives that always makes me cry and be so very grateful that she is in our family.

9.  My Dad, our 95 year old Patriach, his very presence and the comments he makes — the quickest wit in the family!

10.  The energy of our grandsons, Andrew and Nate, who will be smart enough not to each too much, and will be having fun adventures all day!

Hooray for Thanksgiving, and all the present and remembered blessings in our lives — especially our family and friends!

1.  I have a bookcase with plants and a fairy garden

2.  that looks right out of my big windows

3.  and where there is a bird feeder hanging!

4.  We also have a tree so birds can perch

5.  while they are dining on their safflower seed.

6.  There are juncos, tufted titmice, cardinals, chickadees, sparrows, mourning doves

7.  And once there was a red breasted grosbeak — glorious!

8.  Bird behavior is  fascinating to me

9.  so I put mirror film on the windows so birds only see their reflection

10. and I can watch them even better.  God bless the birds!

1. When I first learned to do Zentangle (see zentangle.com), I was so thrilled.

2. Then I took the Certified Zentangle Teacher’s Class and it opened up a new way of life for me.

3.  I started the Zentangle Club of N.E. Ohio after that.

4.  Getting to know other people who love Zentangle has been amazing.

5.  I enjoy teaching Zentangle to all kinds of people — all ages, too!

6.  Zentangle is a form of meditation, so it help people find a place of peace and calm.

7.  We have had two Zentangle-O-Ramas, one Zentangle Extravaganza, and many extra workshops.

8.  Right now, we have our fourth annual Zentangle Art Show up at Cuyahoga Falls Library in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio for the whole month of November.

9.  Some of our members are sending Zentangle cards of encouragement to people with traumatic brain injuries.

10.  When people do Zentangle, they know for sure that they are creative and artistic!  Hooray!

1.  3 days walking in a row

2.  after a year of repeated foot fractures, back in the groove! Hooray!

3.  it’s so fun to get my neighborhood back, on foot, not by car!  Yippee!

4.  re-finding the acorn trees for fairy gardening — I only take from the sidewalk

5. the way the light shines through the leaves

6.  walking with a friend for a bit on my route

7.  taking photographs in the cemetery — so tender!

8.  feeling invigorated

9.  the sound of the birds

10.  grooving to tunes on my iPhone

Life is good!

1.  Purple Balloon Flowers

2.  Gulliver Blue Bacopa

3.  Twister Pink Lanai

4.  Heavenly Blue Morning Glories

5.  Hot Pink Mandevilla

6.  Sunrise Rose Lantana

7.  American Rose Mega Splash Geraniums

8.  Lemon A-Peel Black-eyed Susan vines

9.  Inca Orange Marigolds

10.  White, Lavender, and Pink Torenia “Duchess Mix”

11.  Pink Magic Serenity (daisies) – deer resistant

12.  Golden Serenity (daisies) – deer resistant

13.  Revolution Mix – Gerbera Daisies

14.  Raspberry Blast – Supertunias

This list is from my saved “plant sticks”, and I am missing some, but it’s is a miracle to look at all those names and realize, once more, how fun our garden is!

1.  Those amazing Heavenly Blue Morning Glories are profusely blooming now.

2.  Three days of over 15 glorious blooms!

3.  My new pink Hibiscus plant is giving the gift of gorgeous huge blossoms.

4.  My grandson’s circle garden is the best ever this year. (they plant in our yard)

5.  The Gebera Daisies have bloomed over and over again all Summer — they used to scare me because they are so beautiful that I thought I could never get them to make it through the Summer!  So glad I was wrong!

6.  The dish fairy garden by the front steps has kept blooms popping up all this Summer.

7.  The potted fairy garden by the driveway is still so darling and inviting.  Miniature Roses hanging in there faithfully, Thyme spreading, Fern so fun, and the Hens and Chicks are being their magical selves.

8.  The fairy and gnome rock garden is more fun than ever fun this year.

9.  My precious pink and lavender daisies are surviving the deer’s appetites

10.  The Purple Balloon flowers have one last beautiful bud.

Thank you to all my flowers of Summer.  Soon it will be time for my indoor Winter garden in my kitchen window.

1.  My new hibiscus plant with pink blossoms did it’s magic yesterday.  I always looked for hibiscus plants in other people’s yards, and now I have my own!

2.  That first shower after big time oral surgery — refreshing, and signaling the end to laying on the sofa!

3.  Heavenly Blue morning glories in profusion this morning!  Glorious!

4.  Watching the speeches at the Democratic Convention.

5.  Going to a local art store and getting myself a present to open after the next oral surgeon’s appointment for my bravery through all this pain etc.  Hooray!

6.  Getting to spend time with my amazing 95 year old Dad this afternoon.

7.  Writing on 750words.com

8.  Reading other people’s gratitudes — Helen has the best quotations ever!

9.  Making plans for Wellness Week at Choices, a local community center – Sept. 17 – 21

10.  Noticing the miracles — they are always there, just paying attention is a Wow!

1.  Working in an ice cream parlor in high school.

2.  Secretarial work at various places — am I weird for loving to type?  lol

3.  Cashier at Sears

4.  Owning a store — Threadbenders’ Needlework Supplies

5.  Managing my sister’s bookstore – The Bookhound

6.  Working in an advertising agency as an office manager

7.  Working at Pickwick Books

8.  Working at Borders’ Books and Music – boy did I love those bookstore jobs!

9.  Facilitating mental health workshops, trainings, support groups, giving presentations, traveling a lot.

10.  Project Coordinator in Ohio for a WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) research study

11.  Director of Programs – WRAP and Recovery Books

12.  Having book tables at mental health conferences and doing presentations

13.  Answering emails from two mental health websites

14.  Teaching Zentangles — see zentangle.com

15.  Being a Laughter Leader at the Laughing Club of N.E. Ohio

So much gratitude for being involved in so many interesting jobs!  Thank heavens we don’t all like to do the same thing.  Thank you to all the people in various jobs who are sometimes cheerful, compassionate, efficient, fun, interesting, and amazing!

1.  Went to Mike Dooley’s World Tour III last Saturday — he’s from tut.com

2.  He sends out messages from the Universe that I get in my emails every weekday

3.  Once, when I was getting some new presentations ready for a conference and I thought my head would spin off my shoulders, I got this email from the Universe:  “It’s not that you worry, Carol, it’s that you care so much.”

4.  I used to classify myself as a worrywart, but that one sentence set me free!

5.  If you are worrying, you probably think you might not do a good job, that you might let people down —

6.  When you care, it’s because you’re trying to do a good job, that you want people to be happy, and that you are hopeful that things will work out.

7.  Wow!  Now if I start worrying, I remember that sentence and I turn into a much more relaxed and caring person!

8.  These quirky and fun messages from the Universe are the first emails I open every weekday.

9.  Mike Dooley has written lots of books which are very empowering and interesting to read.

10.  I went to his daylong workshop with my friend, Jean, and we sat right in the front row — it was a day I will never forget!