February 15th: Pablo Picasso said, Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up. Well I’m trying to re-acquaint myself with the artist inside and today I was very successful. My mom and I spent the day making art with shaving foam. It’s a very messy[…]
February 14th: I’m grateful for a husband who, after 30 years of marriage, still remembers me on Valentine’s Day. For the last 10 years he’s surprised me with pajamas from Victoria’s Secret. I know lingerie is more romantic, but I love pajamas. My first and favorite pair of pajama bottoms[…]
February 13th: I’m celebrating my first milestone; completion of month one in my Year of Gratitude project. I’ve posted every day except one, and only in a few cases did I resort to just a sentence or two. What have I learned so far? I can show up when I put my[…]
February 12th: A storm cleared out yesterday leaving in its place a warm, sunny, spring-like day. The Pear trees are in full white bloom; the hills, usually a fire concern, are covered in a lush emerald green carpet; the trickle of water in the normally bone dry creek twinkles in the sun. A perfect day for[…]
February 10th: Today I am grateful for the thoughtfulness of my sister-in-law. Yesterday, out of the blue, she sent photos and a nice email regarding an Apple tree that we had planted in her yard last October. Two trees were actually planted, one in honor of my Dad and one[…]
February 9th: I’m a bit adrift this week. The displacement caused by the fumigation of termites in my house is the likely culprit. Or a side effect of binge watching Gilmore Girls on sleepless nights; my brain suffers from the constant chatter of all the show’s female characters talking as[…]
February 7th: This year’s creative expression is writing. In addition to my daily gratitude writing I’m participating with a group of friends in a 52 weeks of journaling project. Every Sunday a new prompt is posted and we respond in any form we wish — writing, art work, photos, etc.[…]
February 4th: I have always wanted to do more. Be more involved in my community, be more involved in our democracy, do more to contribute to the well being of others. It’s been this idea in my head for as long as I can remember — almost another life that I’ve[…]
February 3rd: Sometimes gratitude is a very intentional exercise of turning a negative into a positive. Sometimes gratitude is turning inward and reflecting on the basics, the things in our life we take for granted or do without any recognition of their importance. Nothing screams “write about me” today so[…]
February 2nd: Don’t laugh, but I’ve been studying numerology. It’s part of a self-directed initiative to expand my horizons and it’s the information in this course that I’m actually thankful for today. Numbers 1-9 each have personality types associated with them making numerology not much different than the personality types[…]
February 1st: There’s no better pick-me-up than helping someone else and today I needed just that. A sympathy letter composed today to my recently widowed best friend is the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to write. Afterwards I felt as if I’d been punched in the stomach, winded by the grief of also[…]
January 31st: I’m grateful for the opportunity to use my developing art skills to make someone a personalized gift. I’m setting it free tomorrow. I hope she likes it!
January 30th: One year ago my husband and I took my Dad and stepmother to McDonald’s. In my world this was a significant event. Dad’s broken hip, followed by an unsuccessful pin and a desire to faithfully research options resulted in 7 months of extremely limited mobility and a desire not[…]
January 29th: Gratitude is being overshadowed by anxiety and concern over current events. I’m struggling to find something I’m grateful for today. But after returning home from a nice family dinner with my cousin’s family I realize that I have something to be very grateful for. My husband and cousin[…]
January 28: This is the time of year for Mourning Cloak butterflies and today there are two flying around my yard. Butterflies are one of my simple joys so I am always grateful for them. They remind me to stop and enjoy the life that surrounds me. They bring a smile[…]
January 27th: I have a group of friends with a desire to be held accountable for their 2017 goals, a desire to be here on this day in 2018 and say “I made this happen for myself”. Goals are big when you’re young — get an education, find a job that is rewarding[…]
January 26th: Our large pool barren backyard is both a playground and natural food source for raccoons, in fact I’m not sure which did greater damage to our yard last year, water restrictions or raccoons. While we don’t encourage them by leaving food out, we do accept their presence. The grass[…]
January 24th: Today I am grateful for cameras and my love of photography. My memory has never been first-rate. It’s a frustrating trait, a trait I attribute to multi-tasking and difficulty living in the present moment, a trait that prevents me from being a viable Trivial Pursuit or Jeopardy contender. There[…]
January 22nd: Parking lot manners leave much to be desired these days. There’s nothing more frustrating then not once, but twice going through the cycle of looking in your rear view mirror, then over your right shoulder and over your left shoulder only to find someone right behind you as soon as you[…]
January 21st: Many of my friends here and in other parts of the U.S. are attending the Women’s March today, an event whose mission is to promote our rights and honor the diverseness on which our nation is founded. Many of these women are from my generation and have never before[…]
January 19th: This morning I visited a gravesite that I have not been to in 41 years, a gravesite of a dear friend that I lost when we were both teenagers. I was there to visit his mother, Bobbie. Bobbie extended a hand of friendship to me, a teenage girl, at a[…]
January 18th: I am thankful for the man I married 30 years ago today and for the life we share. My husband has an uncanny knack for finding parking spaces and greeting cards and today’s card sums it up perfectly — On the road of life it’s not where you go[…]
January 16th: Most mornings I read a random page from Julia Cameron’s Prayers to the Great Creator. It’s uncanny how many of the selections speak to what’s on my mind. The desire to have a relatable voice and write about it every day for a year puts this blog project – A Year of[…]
January 14th: I give thanks today to those who planted the blogging seed, to the universe for its synchronous presentation of this idea, and to myself for paying attention. To my friend and sister whose idea it was for my online women’s group to embark on a 52 week journaling[…]
January 13th: Today I am thankful for rain. Rain is rare here and it has rained most of this week. Our plants, suffering from a year of water restrictions, are thirsty. Rain had made them new and fresh. Rain has washed away the grime of daily living. Rain has sweetened[…]