Still here

I'm sure the world has wondered where I've been. I've been right here, Being Happy, but decided not to blog for awhile. The world kept spinning! amazing!

My last post was about Spring, which was wonderful last year. We also had Summer, which was also lovely and very Not Hot. While we enjoyed a cool summer, the garden did not, and mostly flopped. No blog-worthy photos to share. Fall came, and as expected, so did the heat. We had a blast though, riding our new Townie 21Ds around, and discovered the joy of bike trails. We combined weekends away to watch college soccer with beach bike rides, and earned the respect of our kids and their friends. We're the cool parents with the bikes in the back of the van!


As soccer season ended, some health issues combined with wacky wet weather, and alas, our bike expeditions mostly ended. We've had a few rides to the beach, and are looking forward to getting back to some longer rides soon.

Thankfulness thoughts:

• the beautiful Christmas tree we bought a couple of years ago - I never thought I would enjoy anything "artificial" so much
• a Christmas season full of grown daughters in and out, with friends and boyfriends and roommates and general chaos; it was lovely
• the absolute luxury of choosing a setting for a simple pair of earrings; a gift from my love. The ability to choose was a wonderful part of the gift.
• jigsaw puzzles
  
• the changing colors of the leaves this winter; at least a month of beauty
• making a full pot of coffee, knowing there are girls home to drink it with me
• an abundance of yarn, scored at a couple of sales for an unbelievable price. All I can knit for at least a year!
• Joy & Strength by Mary Wilder Tileston
• Sunday night simple suppers with good friends
  

Spring, I think

Spring in our part of the world is my absolute favorite time of the year. The freesias are in full blast bloom, even dying off in the sunniest part of the yard. The first roses are blooming, and the others are full of buds. The unending shades of green are everywhere....even the enormous sycamore in the front parkway has signs of green. The odd part is the weather flips from a lovely 70 degrees, up to near 90 and Santa-Ana-windy, and now it's dropping to the low 60's this week with a cold storm on the way. I've been gardening like crazy, loving being outside -- even dragged out the watercolors the other day, just to sit in the sun and look at the amazing shades of light around me. And the daylilies...their yellow sunshine is so lovely.

I've missed my gratitude journaling the last month. The perfectionist in me doesn't want to admit that I might have to post on a Tuesday. ;-)

• the daylilies around the drive-through ATM; sometimes I snap a photo out the window of the car to try to capture them. They fascinate me.
• the freesias that return every spring with their amazing scent as I walk by
• a five-day weekend, with time to rest
• a breakfast-and-bookstore date with my husband on Saturday
• dinner tonight with an old friend - it's lovely to have friends who knew you 20 years ago
• Amazon's used books
• my new Earthboxes; what an brilliant invention
• watercolors and my favorite W&N Series 7 brush
• Peace roses, usually the first to bloom
• MLS soccer season has started, and college basketball is almost over! (yes I'm thankful for that)
• all three daughters have had a growing/testing/stretching time lately and I am so proud of all of them
• E's new apartment
• H's maturity, hard work and faith while figuring out her next year of school
• M's missions trip to Mexico and her hard work for her upcoming trip to Africa
• long chats with my mom and step-mom
• a weekend away with my husband, planned around his love of trains, that was a good getaway for both of us
• God's timing; His care is impeccable
  

Something to write home about

I don't have much to say. So there.

• Eucalypus trees in silhouette; always one of my favorite things
• farmers' markets
• football & knitting with friends
• catch-up talk with daughters and friends
• new makeup
• aisle seats
• my Dymo LabelWriter
• Berry-flavored sparkling water
• a new blank book
• an old, well-thumbed and read, book
• Google ;-)
• walking in winter sun
  

Still so very thankful

I don't update this often, mostly because I write it as an exercise for myself and I'm not sure anyone else has ever read it. ;-) But I find that perfectionistic part of me really doesn't want to post something publicly unless I am sure it is wonderful, witty, or at least entertaining. And usually what I want to say isn't.

I am thinking regularly about all the little gifts in my life, the ones that I want to record here, and the meaning of the "1000 Gifts" Gratitude Community. Sometimes I smile at a small gift, thanking God for showing me the squirrel running up the orange tree or my husband pointing to the small bird singing loudly to the world. Sometimes I bluster my way through my day, not paying attention to anything but my to-do list and the rumble in my head. I hope to change the ratio of those days.

• the icemaker we waited many years to plumb and the sound of the cubes plunking out at all hours
• text messages, especially from the girls
• soup
• audiobooks
• a friend who says "yippee-do" in gladness to be together
• an office with a window
• the new-to-us cherry cabinet that a friend wanted us to have
• built-in nightlights
• the little bird who sings in the front yard
• hot water
• my new clunky shoes that are so so good for my feet
• friends who are glad to see me even when I am at my crankiest
• my husband cleaning the litter box without being asked or reminded
  

Practicing Gratitude

I've been thinking about gratitude a lot this last week. Although I am hugely aware and thankful for the "big" things -- healthy husband and children, comfortable home, etc. -- I've been thinking about the small things that make up my days. A lot of them are annoying if I let them be, and I often do. But posting a list gives pause. A good thing.

A lot of my little things are worldly and trifling. It's okay, I can still be thankful for them.

• ginger
• unpacking the Christmas candle I have had for over 30 years, and sniffing the aroma that takes me back to those days
• a rainy holiday and no need to go out
• a precious visit with all three daughters
• M's animated description of her new semester's classes
• H taking my hand when we were walking together the other day
• E's hard work to create a family dinner party under fairly stressful conditions; she succeeded amazingly well
• almond butter
• Trader Joe's
• museums (yes, really)
• electricity
• our daughters' friends - they have good judgment

A Year of Gratitude

I am fairly contemplative, but rarely set New Year's resolutions. I usually arrive at the New Year out of breath and ready to sleep for 36 hours straight after the December rush. The kids are home, we are spending time with friends and family, and suddenly, it's January 4. Oh well.

But I would like to start this year with a concentration on Gratitude -- marking and developing a constant awareness of God's blessings and gifts and grace. So I'm joining the Gratitude Community, and will work on listing here my 1000 Gifts.



Here goes, in random-thoughts order .... it's so hard to put aside the need to be perfect even in this.

• a loving husband who keeps me honest with myself
• the chance to raise three daughters who are so amazing
• the thousands of photographs of those girls that I'm sorting through and scanning
• sunshine in January
• a bit of land to grow things
• picking tomatoes and oranges in January
• lovely yarn
• one foot surgery behind me, one to go
• medical insurance
• handmade socks
• my new lavender candle
• a husband who will always get the cricket/spider/lizard/whatever out of the house
• a "Eugene de Beauharnais" rose that blooms nine months of the year and smells like I hope heaven smells
• daughters who invite me to watch movies and knit with them
• clean sheets
• a freezer in the garage, filled with food
  
• coffee
• good black tea
• coffee heath-bar crunch ice cream (the best of the best)
• a Mac, any Mac, but the MacBook Pro is really a joy to use
• Photoshop
• my camera
• canning
• my shower, which is everything I ever wanted in a shower
• forgiveness

there! that's a start.