11.29.09

1. Yorkshire tea on a damp chilly morning.
2. A gift of a free 2 GB SD card from Alex.
3. Licorice tea in the damp chilly afternoon.
4. Thirty newly organized blank sign photos!
5. A generally more organized and usable/useful computer.
6. Car Talk.
7. Clementines.
8. Brussels sprouts.
9. Max keeping me company while I worked on the computer in the studio.
10. Traction for my neck.

11.28.09

1. Acupuncture.
2. Taking the scenic route to Franconia Sculpture Park for a fabulous daytrip with Alex and Morgan.
3. A perfect day, more like Halloween than Thanksgiving season: 45 degrees and sunny.
4. A yummy turkey and havarti sandwich. Animal protein!
5. Pie and a few sips of mulled wine.
6. Running into Raina, who has really beautiful eyes.
7. The piece I liked best: "Reclamation" by Melanie Van Houten: http://franconia.org/artistpages/melanie/melanie.html
8. I built a fire in my firepit all by myself for the first time.
9. Delicious gingery stir fry.
10. Realizing I don't really enjoy Luis Buñuel's work that much anymore, but that Walker Percy's "The Moviegoer" still rings true.

11.27.09

1. Infinitely kind words from JoAnn.
2. The short silky fur behind my cat's ears.
3. Afternoon sunlight coming through my studio window.
4. Warm weather in late November.
5. Crossing a couple huge to-dos off my too-long list.
6. The idea that I need to get rid of my to-do list.
7. A Belgian beer from Canada.
8. Cranberries. My current favorite fruit.
9. Thanksgiving leftover dinner with Lynette, Tom and Barry.
10. A good after-dinner talk with Lynette.

11.26.09

1. Sleeping late Thanksgiving morning.
2. Being lazy most of the day, in my pajamas.
3. A walk in Powderhorn Park a bit before sunset. The view from the hill toward the Midtown Exchange and downtown beyond it is so gorgeous.
4. Potluck dinner at Daniel's house. He is a lovely person and gracious host.
5. Seeing Brent from way-back-when at Gus Lucky's.
6. JoAnn and Morgan and their friends Paul and Kristin.
7. My cool housemate Alex.
8. So much delicious food! That amazing flan...
9. My cranberry-orange-caramelized ginger relish came out super yummy.
10. A pink stripey sunrise at 7 AM. I fed Max and went back to sleep for two hours.

11.25.09

1. Woke up ridiculously early but stayed in bed reading, and finally starting to comprehend, "The Myth of Sisyphus," which has been on my bedside table barely touched for a month.
2. It made me remember my History of Philosophy survey class in Sevilla (which I nearly failed--not a good one to do at 8 AM in a night owl city, or in a foreign language). The good part was remembering how amused I used to be every time the professor talked about "Espinoza." The initial S is practically impossible for Spanish speakers to pronounce.
3. An incredibly friendly and sweet developmentally-disabled guy who loaded my groceries into the car at Lunds.
4. Indulging in shopping at Lunds in the AM to avoid pre-Thanksgiving insanity in the PM at Cub.
5. I gave my little old lady client Millie a hug goodbye and she seemed really touched and grateful.
6. Rescheduling a couple Bettys clients has gone smoothly. I was worried about inconveniencing them.
7. I ran into my old photo buddy Robin at the Y and had a great, quick chat. We agreed to go hear some music or look at a photo show together sometime.
8. Saw lots of familiar faces at the Y and said hey to a couple people. That made me think, "Wow, I really know a lot of people from around here" and feel less lonely.
9. Read an excellent old copy of the Utne Reader while I was on the treadmill.
10. A cold Sierra Nevada after work and the Y.

11.24.09

1. Oatmeal with dried apricots and currants.
2. My Bettys client's funny sweet kids.
3. My cool boss Anna.
4. Great meeting with Cara.
5. Need I say it again? Warm weather.
6. Two (!!!) Thanksgiving dinner invites.
7. Reading in bed: "A Closer Look," antebellum NOLA photos, generously given to my by a photo curator at Historic New Orleans Collection.
8. Getting a handle on my schedule and finances last night.
9. Licorice tea and ginger thins at 10 PM.
10. A bit of serenity for a change.

11.23.09

1. I actually enjoyed cleaning at the the B.C.'s house.
2. DBT was excellent.
3. I think Alex is going to join me for a trip to Franconia Saturday.
4. I sort of don't give a shit about Thanksgiving.
5. I finished the recommendation letter for my step-godmother's great nephew for Georgetown. No, I've never met him.
6. Eight hours of sleep.
7. Opposite to emotion action.
8. 50s again! I *heart* unseasonably warm weather. Pretty much always.
9. Oatmeal.
10. A culinary three in one: yet more leftover lasagna, honeycrisp apples and Yorkshire tea. Not all together, necessarily.

11.22.09

1. Scrambled eggs and Yukon gold potatoes plus a scone out of the freezer for a filling brunch.
2. More 50-something weather in late November. Balmy.
3. Which meant I finally finished my end-of-season yardwork! with
4. friendly assistance from Alex. OK, it's required as part of his tenancy, but he was especially helpful and pleasant about it.
5. And, he donated some carrots so I could
6. make soup from leftover veggies, from scratch, without a recipe. A first.
7. An offer from my neighbors Cian and Grady to borrow their chainsaw to cut firewood.
8. Inexpensive yet delicious: Alessi pesto.
9. Spinach. This list is very foody today.
10. Getting all caught up on bookkeeping so I can do my MinnesotaCare application SOON. An amazing program.

11.21.09

1. Pumpkin flax seed granola and a perfectly ripe banana.
2. Acupuncture.
3. Yoga workshop with Tara Cindy Sherman on cultivating compassion and forgiveness for oneself.
4. Walking around Lake of the Isles at sunset.
5. A custard-colored gullwing Mercedes that drove by me on that walk.
6. A friendly black cat that came up and rubbed my leg after I sneaked over to watch it stalking unknown prey in the tall grass by the lake.
7. The warming house is out and makes me look forward to ice skating, though I prefer to do it at Powderhorn.
8. A Surly Furious and a tamale at Common Roots for a sort of happy hour late lunch.
9. Minestrone soup and spelt-cheese scones for dinner at Mike and Cynthia's house.
10. From Tugboats to Polar Bears: Short Films by Matt McCormick. It's on Netflix. I rented it for the graffiti film, but they're all interesting.

What this blog is all about

In October 2009 I started making a list every morning of "Ten Good Things" I had noticed the previous day as an exercise in increasing my awareness of, and gratitude for, what was indeed GOOD about my life, during a particularly challenging time.

Mostly I sent it to my then-boyfriend by email, or texted it to him, or tucked a piece of paper in his pocket. Once I whispered it in his ear in bed in the morning.

Soon I started sending it to random friends. Then it occurred to me that I could post the lists here as well.

I think it is a good practice for changing my outlook and patterns of thought. I hope you enjoy the lists and feel free to comment.