I am grateful for:

1. Chris and her talent shared in the lifesighs emails
2. Garrett’s always kind and supportive emails and his beyond patience with his house
3. A friend who composed a prayer and sent it
4.  the forecasted promise of rain that brings hope
5. people who can write a sentence like this: “those few precious days when the profusion of blooms paints  pastel pink clouds onto Spring’s bright blue skies”
6. …and this one “layered with chiffon-sheer notes of rose”
7. Tennie-tiny baby croissants
8. The girl at the hat counter who gently told me that hats, while fun and pretty, are not a permanent solution for camouflaging the creeping vine of gray reminders
9. The work of Christian Homes and Marilyn who chaired the fundraiser

 The offending action can’t be undone, so forgiveness is the only way to release us from its dominance. ~Edward Grinnan

I am grateful for~~

1. The birds found the water in the bird bath
2. Chris was back after her surgery
3. Helpers who arrived on time
4. Chocolate cake
5. Everyone working happily together (no drama)
6. A new friend
7. Tedra, who slipped a surprise present in my purse
8. the Smiles of many
9. The gray hairs. There it is. In print.  I can no longer operate in the delusion that they are errant cream cheese frosting or misguided mayo or chaotic powdered sugar. I must be thankful for them before I decide what to do with them. And so it begins

 Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. ~Samuel Ullman

I am grateful for~

An early morning walk
Today being after a day like yesterday
Georganne’s upcoming poetry reading on the radio
A working air conditioner
Firefighters with the resilience and strength to keep fighting the grassfires
A little package from Bali
Watching my daughter go to work (she has work! Yay!)
Silvia
Buying into the illusion one more day that a clean house=bliss

 “Truth isn’t always beauty, but the hunger for it is.” ~Nadine Gordimer

I am grateful today for:

1. Finding that grace is a safe place to land
2. The sound system in the coffee place is new and it focuses on the bass: a soothing and comforting bedrock
3. A bird calling at night (I don’t know why I thought they went to sleep too)
4. Creating my blog’s first printable: I feel a little like a kid picking a dandelion bouquet and holding it up
5. This big smile
6. The walking club of survivors, all older than me, like a walking school
7. Showing up
8. Crepes on thrift store china
9. Tiffany’s elegant resilience


Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
~Ithaka

Today, I am grateful for~
1.)  God’s enveloping care
2.)  Ruby  
3.)  In awe of the power of the sky~~actually saw huge clouds roll acroos formerly clear sky while walking
4.)  a new job for Tedra and she just glows!
5.)  green tea lemonade
6.)  my dad’s doctor still make housecalls!
7.)  understanding that “it” is really not that hard
8.)  listening for and hearing dad’s breathing change from shallow to deep and resting
9.)  inspiration boards

Today I am grateful for:

1. my dad’s enduring spirit
2. the nurses who are taking such good care of him
3. the doctor who wisely admitted him when his asthma and bronchitis would not respond to meds
4. Zonker, who for 10 years faithfully, without fanfare, comes to take care of the outside stuff here for me
5. Sissy and Abbie, who said “we are bringing food over, it is just a matter of when you want it.”
6. new neighbors next door who will take care of the house that needs love
7. Amanda Oaks from Kind Over Matter, http://www.kindovermatter.com  & her nurturing  e-course “Be Gentle Be Love”
8. Belle here at WLG for courageously beginning something new.
9. tea and licorice

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life…. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. ~Melody Beattie