30 Days of Gratitude - Day 10 - Work

I came back from a meeting this afternoon to find three dogs waiting for me. I know it wasn't for love (except maybe for Jojo), it was for treats, and the two inside the office were actually probably trapped and afraid to try to get by Jojo, but it did make a nice welcome. She doesn't ever do anything except growl, but she is the old grumpy lady of the office (like me!), and she is very intimidating, apparently.

I'm very grateful for work, for the fact that both Bob and I have good, well-paying jobs that we enjoy. It's a terrible time to be out of a job, and to be looking for work, so I'm very thankful that we have jobs to go to. And obviously, mine has the added bonus of dogs!

It also comes with the bonus of working with friends--people I actually like to spend time with, many of whom have been my friends for over a decade--and of doing work that I love. Not everyone gets that advantage, and it's one that I'm very grateful for.

Photo: 9/10 - Work. Waiting for me.

30 Days of Gratitude - Day 9 - Reading

I read an entire book today, not in one sitting, but in three or four. I read for awhile in the morning, then got dressed and went to the grocery store, came home and read some more, had dinner, read through the evening until I went to sleep. The book doesn't really matter (although it was "The Survivor," by Greg Hurwitz), just the fact that I was able to spend so much time reading, and how enjoyable it was.

I had this book on my Amazon wish list, but it just came out, and was a little expensive ($12.99), so when I heard it was coming out, I got on the hold list at the library, and my number came up this weekend.

I don't get a lot of books from the library any more, since I prefer to read on the iPad--it's more comfortable, I can read in the dark with minimal light, etc., but I still do love the library. I enjoy going there on the weekends and browsing through the new books, and I love being able to reserve books that I want to read, but may not want to buy.

I'm grateful both for the library, and for the abundance of wonderful books that are available for me to read, in whatever format.

Photo: 9/9 - Lunch. (I forgot to take a photo of my lunch, so this is a picture of the view outside my office window. I'll do "lunch" later.)

30 Days of Gratitude - Day 8 - Warm

Every night when I come home, when it's 100 degrees outside and the air conditioning is keeping the house cool, I am thankful. I am thankful for clean running water to take long showers or relaxing baths, to cook with, to drink. I am thankful for electricity to power the lamps and televisions and computers and all the various things we have to make our lives easier and more comfortable, and for the natural gas that heats the water.

When the weather is a bit cooler, like it is now, I am grateful to be able to open the windows and feel the cool night air. It makes Dinah a little bit nervous, I think--there was a little bird sitting on the windowsill the other morning, chattering at her, and she didn't quite know what to think. It made us remember Doña catching a bird on the balcony of our old apartment and begging to bring it in. She did get in with one bird one time, and we chased it around the apartment until Bob was able to catch it and throw it out the window.

We remind Dinah that not every kitty gets to live a life of luxury, that some cats have to stay outside, or in the garage on an old dirty blanket and eat generic cat food. I don't think she understands, but if she did, she would be grateful.

Photo: 9/8 - Warm. Dinah basking in the heat from the lamp.

30 Days of Gratitude - Day 7 - Creativity

My mother sewed, but she didn't do any needlework--her eyesight was too bad, I think. She sewed and read using a magnifier. Both of my grandmothers crocheted, and my Grandma Scott--my mother's mother--also tatted. She taught me to crochet and tat, but the tatting didn't stick. I don't think I ever actually made anything, but she made some beautiful tatted doilies.

I learned how to knit in Girl Scouts, but when I was in high school I did a lot of crocheting. That was the height of the hippie movement, I guess, and magazines like Family Circle and Woman's Day had a lot of crochet patterns. I remember making a bunch of Irish crochet purses using rug yarn. I also went through a phase of thread crochet u sing a tiny steel hook, buying intricate doily patterns and all kinds of colors of crochet thread. During that time I made a few Barbie doll outfits from thread as well. My grandmother had crocheted a whole wardrobe for my dolls, but I must have sold it at a garage sale at some point, or at least it's all gone missing.

My knitting hobby really exploded when self-striping sock yarn came out. I've always loved variegated yarn, and although I had no idea whether I would ever be able to accomplish knitting on tiny needles with such small yarn, I wanted to try. I made my first sock in 2003, and that's really all I've been knitting since then. The photo above is the one I'm currently working on. I'm not very fast, but it doesn't really matter. I'm more of a "process" knitter, i.e., I enjoy the process as much as, or more than, the actual end product.

I learned how to sew and follow a sewing pattern in Home Ec classes at school. I remember making a suit--shorts, jacket and hat--for a fashion show that we put on at the end of the year, whatever year that was.

I'm so glad that I learned to do these things, and for the creativity that pushes me to knit and sew, and make things. It's kind of amazing, really, to create something like a pair of socks out of a ball of yarn, and I'm thankful that I can do it.

Photo: 9/7 - My hobby

30 Days of Gratitude - Day 6 - Morning Caffeine

I love Oregon Chai. I've made the hot version in the winter for several years, but had never thought of trying it iced. I somehow had a Starbucks gift card, and tried theirs, and really liked it, so I did some looking, and found that Oregon Chai also offers a concentrated liquid version. I believe Starbucks uses Tazo, but I like Oregon better. It comes in one of those aseptic containers, and I mix it half-and-half with 2% milk, add some ice, and bring it to work with me.

It provides my necessary morning caffeine, it's cold, and it's hopefully healthier than Diet Coke. I buy the Original, although they also have caffeine-free, sugar-free, and less sweet versions. They also have a Peppermint version, although apparently only during the holiday season. I'll have to remember to try that this winter!

I'm grateful that I discovered this. The 32 oz. carton costs around $5.00, and I get about five or six uses out of it. The milk costs something, of course, but the total cost is a LOT less than buying one from Starbucks every morning, so it makes me feel thrifty while still having a tasty drink. I bought a Starbucks insulated reusable cup, which makes me happy, and saves throwing away a cup every day. I do use a throw-away straw rather than the permanent one, since I never feel like I can get those clean.

Photo: 9/6 - Hydrate