Gratitude, Day 30: Home

I am thankful that we have a warm, dry, comfortable place to live-- especially on such a chilly, wet night!

Gratitude, Day 29: Pleasant Surprises

This box full of candy came all the way from Sweden for Donald's birthday. (Any guesses what his favorite candy might be? (g))

Gratitude, Day 28: Privacy

It's not always completely convenient, but living off the main road has its good points!  I appreciate the quiet and the privacy.

Gratitude, Day 27: My Best Friend

Also, my husband:  Donald.  :o)

Gratitude, Day 26: Something New

I'm thankful for something new that provides a little extra excitement on a cloudy afternoon-- in this case, a new board game (that we got for Donald's birthday).

(The game is Saint Petersburg, by the way, for my fellow board game geeks. ;o))

Gratitude, Day 25: Family

On Thanksgiving, I'm especially grateful to have family and friends with whom to celebrate (and be silly ;o)).

Gratitude, Day 24: Trees

For their beauty, the shelter and warmth they provide, and the music of wind in their leaves.

Gratitude, Day 23: A Clean Kitchen Sink

I'm always grateful to see the clean bottom of the kitchen sink-- especially when I've been letting the dishes stack up for a while.

(Oh yeah, and that whole indoor plumbing, constant easy access to hot and cold running water thing is pretty nifty, too, even if we only think about it on those rare occasions when it's not working properly.)

Gratitude, Day 22: Macro Lens

I ♥ our macro lens.

Gratitude, Day 21: Chance Encounters

...with (non-dangerous-to-something-my-size) wild animals, that is.  I'm not quite so much a fan of chance encounters with old acquaintances in the grocery store.  (Why do those always seem to happen when you forgot to brush your hair, are wearing something you just threw on in a rush, etc.?)

Related:  Also grateful for the beauty and gracefulness of the creatures in the world around me.

(I've been a bad photo-blogger.  Diligently taking my photos, yes, but rarely getting around to posting them in a timely fashion.)

Gratitude, Day 20: Wilderness Next Door

I'm thankful for the wilderness(y) area around our home.

Just enough wilderness to ensure that there's always something interesting to take photos of.

Just enough wilderness to make me feel more connected with the natural world than I think would be possible in the concrete jungle.

Gratitude, Day 19: Afternoon Sunlight

I appreciate golden sunlight slanting through the blinds. It looks so warm and inviting on a November afternoon. Evening darkness seems to come too soon this time of year, but in just another week or so, Christmas lights will be twinkling!

Gratitude, Day 18: My Kitchen Companion

Molly the Spaniel-dog loves helping out in the kitchen during meal-prep. This is with the understanding that "helping" constitutes stationing herself wherever she thinks scraps of food are most likely to fall. Molly has an uncanny ability to be always standing either right where you need to be or directly in your path to get there. She's very gifted in that way. ;o) Fortunately, she's also a sweet girl.

Gratitude, Day 17: Our Cozy Bed

At the end of a long day, there's no cozy comfort quite like sinking into a soft, warm bed!

Gratitude, Day 16: The Moon

A lantern in the sky-- a friendly, familiar face to light us on our way (well, some of the time, at least).

Gratitude, Day 15: Our Freezer & Microwave

I love the convenience of reaching into our freezer, grabbing something I cooked and froze a few weeks ago (Santa Fe stew, in this case), and popping it into the microwave to defrost. And with that, most of a home-cooked meal is taken care of!

Thank you, trusty freezer and microwave!

Gratitude, Day 14: Crochet

I'm so happy I finally learned how to crochet with (relative) confidence, because it is now one of my favorite pastimes.

I'm grateful for weekend afternoons of guilt-free crochet time.

Gratitude, Day 13: Pleasantly Warm Days

I spend most of the summer wishing it could be cooler outside. It isn't until autumn-- winter, even-- that I truly appreciate warm days.

(However, there's a world of difference between one of our typical humid August days and the glorious just-warm-enough beauty we enjoyed today.)

Gratitude, Day 12: Candy

While not absolutely necessary, a little candy sure does make life sweeter.

(I try to believe that these are healthier than plain M&Ms, because they have peanuts in them, but I'm not sure I've quite convinced myself.)

Gratitude, Day 11: The Right Tools

The right tools for the job-- they really do make all the difference in the world! When I need to cut out 144 squares of fabric, I appreciate my rotary cutter and self-healing mat.

Gratitude, Day 10: Enough to Eat

It's easy to forget that for many around the world, unsatisfied hunger and a lack of nutritious food are daily problems. I am grateful that my family and loved ones all have enough to eat.

(Although perhaps "porcupine meatballs" aren't the most photogenic of dishes... (g))

Gratitude, Day 9: Afternoon Walks

...down to the pond, along paths through the pines.

This time of year it's especially pleasant-- cool air, touches of autumn color here and there, leaves crunching underfoot, and all sorts of interesting, earthy smells.

Gratitude, Day 8: Seasonal Color

We don't get a lot of it down here, but what we do have is very much appreciated.

Gratitude, Day 7: Someone to Play Games With

I appreciate being married to someone who enjoys playing board games (and card games, too, for that matter). It's a rare weekend that we don't make time for at least one game. Yesterday we played Jambo; this afternoon it was Scrabble (and he won, even though English is his second language).

Gratitude, Day 6: Scratching Things Off Lists

This morning, Donald kindly cut down some small trees that had either died or volunteered where they weren't wanted. Meanwhile, I burned some garden debris, including trimmings from our sago palm.

There are still plenty of gardening tasks on my to-do list for autumn and winter, but it's a start, and boy, it sure feels good to be scratching things off that list, for a change!

(Also, I like bonfires, so I'm grateful that we've finally had enough rain recently that I feel safe making one.)

Gratitude, Day 5: A Good Book

These are a handful of my favorite books-- some of my old friends that I turn to again and again (whether to indulge in the whole novel or to savor simply the "best bits").

A good book definitely inspires me with gratitude.

Gratitude, Day 4: Abstract Photography

...Because it's so much fun (and a nice break from regular, straightforward photography)!

Gratitude, Day 3: Raindrops

The soothing, sleepy patter of rain on the roof-- the blurring of the world outside (and the temporary fading away of its noises and worries)-- the darkening sky making the lamplight that much cozier-- the knowledge that my thirsty plants are getting a good, long drink at last...

I appreciate a day of autumn showers.

Gratitude, Day 2: Liberty & Freedom

(I'm sure this will be a common theme for the 2nd of November.)

I'm thankful to live in a time and place where I am allowed to cast a ballot. Not all people living around the world today (women, especially) are so fortunate. It's too easy to take the right for granted.

Gratitude, Day 1: Laughing Dogs

Today, the multi-talented Lisa of Polka Dot Cottage invited me to join a new group she's started on Flickr.  It's called "A Month of Gratitude", and the idea is to post-- every day for the month of November-- photos of "the sweet things in life - those little things (or big things!) for which you feel a sense of gratefulness".  (I'm going to try to take and post a photo every day of the month, on the day for which it's intended.  Let's see if I can do this without cheating.  (g))

Sounds like fun!  It's also a good way to get into the proper mood for Thanksgiving... and it gives me a good first project to break in this new photography-focused blog.

(If you think it sounds like fun, too, please click the link above and head on over to Flickr to check out the photos that have been posted so far!  Everyone is welcome to join!)

Here's my first photo of the month. (I know. My billionth photo of Trixie. Not exactly flexing my creative muscles here, am I? I didn't read about the group until this afternoon, so I didn't have much daylight left to think about it, but I'll try to challenge myself a little more in the upcoming weeks.)

Not only do our two dogs bring us much laughter, sometimes it's not so hard to believe they're joining in with their own chuckle!

Thanks for the giggles, Trixie (and Molly, not pictured)!