Gratitude #30

Love, love love meeting deadlines! I am such an achievement slut!

So , even though I may not be grateful at the time when I am given tight deadlines, I really, really am in the long run. Days like today are so satisfying. Here it is, the end of a workday - I wrote two features, edited several more, met every deadline, even the tough last minute ones - and I feel soooo good.

I know, that's weird. I'm supposed to be retired! Ha!

This is what retirement looks like: being grateful for work you love to do and for the satisfaction that brings. Keeping on, keeping on folks.

And now, I feel like I have really earned the right to put up my feet and open a good book and read until dinner time and then read some more and then got to bed and drift into the sleep of the righteous. Yup - damn straight - righteous it is!

Gratitude #29

Once a month, every month - from now until I die, I get a cheque from the government. I find this kind of mind boggling.

Oh, I know I paid into the Canada Pension Plan ever year of my very long working life, but still, when the end of the month comes, it feels like Christmas. Not only do I get my CPP but also the Old Age Security, which I have earned merely by virtue of being 65.

So I just want to say a huge thank-you to Canada. Hurrah!

Now, don't get me wrong - I'm not saying you could actually live on the combined total. Well, I suppose you could if you gave up your car, lived in a small room and took at least one meal a day at the soup kitchen, but it really does help a lot. In my life it makes a big difference. It allows me to turn down work I don't want to do. It gives me far more freedom and that includes more vacation time. So it's wonderful.

However, dear government of Canada, be warned. I am grateful - yes I am - but I still plan on banging my pots and pans and standing in solidarity with Quebec students and everyone else who wants to free this wonderful country from the totalitarian grip of the Harper Tories. Because, you see, I am also grateful for the freedoms this country promises and I have every intention of defending them.

Gratitude #28

I think it's time (way past time) to give profound thanks to all those incredibly courageous people who are keeping the flame of freedom and democracy burning bright.

In Canada, right now, it is burning hottest and brightest in Montreal where the students - and so many thousands who support them, are banging pots and pans and marching and protesting horrible injustices and the beginnings of what can only be called a police state.

I am grateful to the Occupy Movement and I'm grateful that it is alive and evolving.

There are people who hold the freedoms granted us in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as sacred and who are on guard for all of us. The majority of us may not be marching or making a whole lot of noise, but I know with utter certainty that when the times comes for us to be heard we will be very loud indeed.

On another note (but similar) I just finished reading The Hunger Games trilogy - if you have read it and think how horrible it is in that made-up future that people send their children into an arena where they kill each other, then I suggest you open your eyes.

This is not the future - it is happening right now and has been forever - or what do you think war is?

Gratitude #27

I am grateful for ordinary Sundays - a day just like today.

I walked Abby by the Nanaimo River in warm morning sunshine and went to the farmer's market where I was almost overwhelmed with the richness of choice of luscious local produce. I bought eggs for Abby and for me: kale, mixed greens, winter lettuce, tomatoes, yellow peppers and a heavy loaf of 100 percent rye bread.

Back home I watered the garden and then read until lunch. I adore reading the newspaper over lunch - then a nap and then, a yummy new brand of organic free trade dark chocolate.

A walk with Abby to Boat Harbour took most of the afternoon and now I'm reading again - the last book of The Hunger Games trilogy.

So that is an ordinary Sunday. Nothing exciting - nothing momentous - nothing really worth reporting. But it's a lovely day - a day of resting and idling the time away.

I love days like today.

Gratitude # 26

My gratitude is for this day.

How can a day be more perfect? Hiking 20 kilometers through some of the most beautiful scenery on earth - continual views of the river - climbing to the rim of the canyon - the rushing river always close - the sun shining down - meadows, ancient trees, tall ferns - happy dogs and people. Yup - it was perfect.

I'll just let the pictures speak.

Gratitude #26

I love Valhalla Pure. It embodies everything that's good about retail. First, it has real quality outdoor clothing and gear. It specializes and it does that really well. Most of all I love Valhalla Pure for its customer service.

Today I walked into the store with my Merrell hiking boots that I bought in February. I wore them in the rain for three hours on Monday and they proved themselves to be seriously not waterproof as advertised. My feet got so soaked I could almost wring out my socks when I got home. Happily, I was wearing Smartwool socks so my feet were warm even though they were wet.

At any rate, I took the boots back. Merrell honoured their one-year guarantee and Valhalla gave me a new pair of boots on the spot.

I always have a good experience in this store. Unlike those "big box" sports stores, the employees in this one are actual outdoor people who know the clothing and gear and the activities you engage in and offer real help and genuinely good advice.

Valhalla Pure isn't the only terrific store like this. I know quite a few that I love - but Valhalla certainly is a shining example. What could have been a hassle (returning a product I no longer had a receipt for) was a simple, enjoyable experience. Heck, they didn't even ask me for my receipt.

So - kudos! And thank you.

Gratitude #25

I'm so grateful that I'm reasonably flexible. Not Cirque du Soleil style flexible - not even really good yoga flexible - but just flexible enough that when an interviewee stands me up AGAIN (sorry for shouting) I don't actually get stressed any more. I do something else.

As it turns out this standing-up thing actually turned out quite well today. Instead of taking Abby for her long afternoon walk, I did it this morning so that I could shift this morning's appointment to this afternoon. And no sooner did Abby and I get back, than it started to rain. So everything clearly worked out very well. I got to watch American Idol and I got to not water my seeds because - hurrah - it rained.

At this point I feel I should mention that I am also grateful for the rain - it saves me from lugging around a 50-foot long zillion pound hose and that's gotta be a good thing.

Gratitude #24

I am grateful to the man or woman who invented the sports bra - more particularly - the Icebreaker sports bra. It's the first time in my life I haven't had to constantly yank at my bra to keep it from creeping up. In fact, it's so comfortable that I forget I'm wearing it - once I've got it on.

There's the rub, of course, getting it on. It was this past February at Valhalla Pure's annual winter sale that I decided to try on the Icebreaker bra. Took it into the dressing room and noticed it had no back closure. No front closure either. Simple - just slip it over your head. I proceeded to do that.

Have you seen the YouTube video for American's Got Talent where the dancer/contortionist dislocates his shoulders on purpose? That's what I tried to do to get into the bra. First I hunched my shoulders up as high around my ears as I could. The bra at this point had slipped down my arms far enough to effectively pin them to the side of my head so that my hands - which I needed to yank the bra down to chest level - acted more like dolphin flippers rather than human hands with opposable thumbs.

So I shimmied and twisted and writhed vigorously (thank god I learned to dance in the sixties) until it finally began to slide down into position. A few last yanks - then grabbing each boob and pulling it up inside the bra - and there we had it. Perfect.

Now sports bras don't do anything for you cleavage-wise. So if you're looking for that flattering, alluring, chesty look, this is not the product for you. It tends so squash your boobs into one amorphous blob - but it's magnificently comfortable. Yup - this is for me, I decided.

So I took it off so that I could take it to the cash register to pay for it. But there was the rub. I know I got it on - how do I get it off? I crossed my arms and tried to reach behind me to pull it off. Not a chance. First I wiggled and yanked until I kind of had it bunched up under my armpits. Then I bent over (thank god I can still touch my toes) and struggled mightily until one finger made tentative contact with some fabric at my back. Slowly, painfully, I wiggled and grasped and pulled - tried once again without success to dislocated my shoulders - until it began to edge up, taking a fair amount of scraped skin with it. Panting from my exertions, I whipped it off over my head a good fifteen minutes later.

I wanted to buy it but how could I own something that I could possibly never get on or, for that matter, get off again? I know that Icebreaker Merino is non-stinky but surely if I am forced to wear it for six months or more day in and day out it's going to reek eventually.

I hung it back on the rack but unwilling to give up I went to Frontrunners to try on different brands of sports bras. Maybe Icebreaker was specifically manufactured for contortionists - a different brand would be better.

I spent a good half hour at Frontrunners trying on three other brands. Yes, that took thirty minutes because the agony of on and off was pretty much the same with each one. By bra number three it was getting a tiny bit better. So I bit the bullet and bought Icebreaker because none fit better.

I've been wearing these sports bras since February. It gets better. Now it only takes 10 minutes to get it off and I only give myself whiplash every other day. Still, once it's on, it's fantastic!

Gratitude #23

Another reason to be grateful for the rain is the opportunity it lends to get soaked almost to the skin. I don't care how much Goretex you own, if you're out hiking in a downpour for three hours, the rain is going to find a way to get in.

I had a fleeting thought this morning that went something like this: "Meh! I'ts raining. I could stay home. I could stay home and just, you know, um - sit."

Right. By 8.30 I was on the trail at the Westwood Ridges with a strangely subdued dog trotting placidly at my heels. We did the full-on circuit. The true pleasure of the hike came about half an hour before getting back to the car park. It was at that point that rain had somehow gotten under my cap (how did it do that??!!) and plastered my hair to my scalp. I had stepped in so many puddles that my toes were making a squishing sound inside my shoes. My hands were dripping on my trekking poles and by the cold, damp feeling that permeated all over, I was pretty sure that my 100 percent waterproof jacket and pants were proving to be slightly less so.

Sitting down in the car was both a pleasure (yay! We're done!) and a pain. (Cold wet stuff sticking to me here!)

But here's the really, really good part. Got home - hosed the trail mud off Abby, wrapped her in a warm towel and then went to work on myself. Peeled of every single layer - yes, even the underwear. And then got into warm, dry clothing. Ah - the bliss!!!

Lunch - fabulous! - A nap under the eiderdown quilt - glorious!

Step two of the pleasure of hiking in the rain comes soon - as soon as I come in from taking Abby for a quick afternoon outing - a hot bubble bath!!!!

In other words, hiking in the rain is a bit like hitting your head against a brick wall. It feels so good when it stops.

Gratitude #22

I am grateful for having so many things to be grateful for.

Really!

Here I am sitting in front of my computer, thinking, "Huh - what gratitude should I write about today because, after all, I seem to be on a roll here, and my mind almost flipped out with an overabundance of choice. I could write about another morning at the farmer's market or perhaps odify fresh baked bread, of which there is a plentitude at the market - from two artisan bakeries no less.

I could write about small organic farms or about the local entertainment that is always so foot-jigging happy on these Sunday mornings. Or I could write about the slight sprinkles of rain that are so perfect for all our newly planted seeds.

I could write about wildflowers or trails through big old trees or about the fact that both my back and shoulder seem to be improving.

So many blessings.

So I'll leave it at that - blessed for blessings. Oh - and I'm going to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel today. Can hardly wait. Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy etc. etc. - I have a feeling it's going to be brilliant.

Gratitude #21

I have often said that Maple Mountain near Crofton is the prettiest place to hike south of Strathcona Park on Vancouver Island.

I'm happy to repeat that statement again and again. I know of few other places where mountains and ocean come together so harmoniously and where both are so easily accessible.

This morning Abby and I hiked the yellow and blue trails - a beautiful four-hour circuit. The sun shone, the breeze stirred the air gently, the birds sang their hearts out and it was as perfect a day on the trail as you can imagine.

How lucky am I that this experience is a 40-minute drive from my home?

Abby and I had a welcome nap when we got back and now I think it's time to go out and make a bit more vitamin D - the big hay field, the vegetable garden - both are beckoning.

Gratitude #20

Long weekends! Do I need to say more?

Of course I adore long weekends. And today, mine starts now at shortly after 1.30 p.m. I had another feature to write but that has shifted to next week and so I am free, free, free!

So there - another reason why I will probably never stop working. All my long weekend excitement would completely disappear.

Plans - I have so many plans. A day of hiking tomorrow on Maple Mountain. Putting seeds into the ground: carrots, chard, kale. Setting up my bean poles for the next warm weekend. The Cedar Farmer's Market on Sunday. A half day of hiking on the Westwood Ridges on Monday. Rain or shine it's going to be glorious! And to start things off, I think I shall take a walk right now with Abby - perhaps Hemer Park.

Ah yes - the May long weekend: the official start of summer. It just feels so darn good!

Gratitude #19

There are people who have a genuine desire to help others. Some of them take that desire, get rigorous training and then use that training to help heal.

I was fortunate to spend an hour with someone like that yesterday. My shoulder was still rather bad and my lower back was acting up. That kind of pain tends to drag down the spirits. I don't ever really let it get me to the point of being grumpy but it's just not geared toward upping my mood.

I went to the VI pain clinic where they practice rolfing and other integrative therapies. The body work I experienced was of the "hurts so good" kind.

I'm honestly not sure if it made all that much of a difference. I think I'd need more than one session. However, what was very informative was the series of photos he took of my stance and posture before and after treatment. It didn't take a genius to see where my body was badly out of alignment. He made one comment that really hit home - it starts with how you stand. If you're standing wrong then your legs aren't aligned straight and your hips go out and on and on.

I thought about that on the drive home and thought about it some more today and realized that in puberty I made a conscious decision to walk with my toes pointed out so that my weight rested on the outsides of my feet. (which would explain why that's where I get callouses).

And that appears to be the problem. Today I made a conscious decision to turn my toes in slightly, which in my case means lining my feet up straight, and distributing the weight evenly. I have a suspicion this is going to make a difference. I certainly feel more balanced and grounded.

We shall see.

Gratitude #18

Here's to local farmers! And to their small farms!

Today I paid a visit to Cedar Poultry Farm. They raise chickens - about 150 at a time. If you want to know about free range, just drop by - you'll see them running around in the fields with nary a fence post in sight.

They also grow garlic and cauliflower and various other vegetables. My appreciation for this particular farm is for Abby's food. I get my eggs from them for Abby's breakfast and today I picked up an entire freezer full of chicken necks and backs (at no charge). I have enough food to last her a couple of months. And then, as Betty says, there's always lots more.

In the next couple of days Patty and I are really get our hands in the ground to complete our own very small farm (or extremely large kitchen garden, depending on how you look at it). Paul brought the tractor in the morning and the ground has been roto-tilled twice. Gorgeous rick dark earth with lots of old horse manure and compost added.

I can hardly wait to plant my kale, chard, carrots, herbs, beans, etc.

And what we don't grow, we get from the local farmers - tomatoes, peppers, etc.

I am blessed to live in a part of the world where small local farmsteads are appreciated and encouraged and where people support them.

Gratitude # 17

Someone once said, "Every day above ground is a good day."

I'll drink to that - although in my case "drink" is a glass of water. I know - so boring.

Leaving that aside, aside, what I'm trying to say is that I am deeply, profoundly grateful to be alive. Every breath is a miracle. I feel fortunate that there are many times when I become fully aware of how stupendously fortunate I am to be breathing, walking, talking, living in this beautiful world.

This moment - right here and now - is a miracle. Oh sure, the easy bits of wonderment I can point to are the technology of this computer, the Internet - bloody blogging for all that - amazing!

Even more amazing, however, is what I see outside my window: towering fir trees, a green green field - so green it almost hurts the eyes. I have blue skies and sunshine and birdsong - all of it - all of it mind boggling.

I am alive.

Gratitude #17

There are flies in the house!

And that's a good thing!

No, I haven't lost my mind. It's just that when my house has flies and wasps buzzing around it means that summer is really here. In other words, it's warm enough to leave the door open and that's like an invitation to anything with wings. I've even had to capture a swallow and put it back outside.

Abby loves having the door open. She is a sun dog - a tanning dog - a soak-up-the-vitamin D dog. The deck faces due south and let me tell you, it get's hot! No matter - Abby is out there smiling a big ear-to-ear grin.

I love the breeze wafting through my little apartment. I love the way everything slows down in the heat. If wasps come in, they just tend to glue themselves to the windows and they're easy to grab and put back outside. As for the flies - the annoying buzzing and crazy zigging and zagging is the price I pay for summer. A very small price indeed.

Gratitude #16

I am grateful for local farmer's markets - all of them, but especially my own local Cedar Farmer's Market. Today was opening day and it was so spectacular it almost made me cry. There's just something about big, festive happy crowds that makes me cry.

All the vendors were there and I even took advantage or the pain clinic to get a 10 minute chair massage for my shoulder. It helped!

Today I bought a brick - that's what the bakery calls its 100 percent rye bread and yes, it does look and feel like a brick and I'm sure it's going to be really tasty. I bought tons of young mixed greens - dinner! I bought local eggs and greenhouse tomatoes that look amazing! Lunch today: sliced brick with avocado and tomato - yessss.

Any old ordinary opening day would have been just fine but today it happens to be warm and there isn't a single cloud in that cerulean sky.

Do days get any better than this?

I think not.

Gratitude #15

Today I want to write about something called "grit." I am eternally grateful that I inherited a certain amount of it from my father.

My dad had true grit. More than once in his life he was told he would never walk again. His reply to that pronouncement was "Just watch me."

And he did walk again - both times. I was privy only to the second when he lay on a hospital gurney covered in blood with every bone in his feet and legs smashed - not broken, mind you - smashed to smithereens. Those bones could not be set. He had just fallen from the top of the dome of the Ontario Legislature building to the marble floor below - feet first. He was skilled in gold leaf application and the scaffolding he was working from collapsed. When I rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night to visit him, his concern was more for my well being than for his own pain.

I could tell countless stories about his grit - how he always rose past pain or circumstances. At any rate, my own story is a minor kerfluffle in comparison. For the past couple of nights I haven't slept well because I did something to my shoulder. It hurts like hell and I keep trying for positions that east the pain. It's bad enough that it creeps up my neck and even gives me a darn headache.

But I went hiking this morning anyway and I'm so glad I did (this, I think, is where the grit comes in. I will not let a mere shoulder sideline me). The day could not have been more beautiful. The views from the ridges were wonderful. The dogs had a great time. I call it three hours of pure bliss. And now that I've spent some time in the garden and the back forty as well, I feel that I deserve to put my feet (and shoulder) up for the rest of the day. I've got a good book to read - what more can I ask for?

Thanks, dad, for passing on some of your grit.

Gratitude #14

I have a love/hate relationship with the concept of patience. That said, I'm grateful that I seem to be developing a greater capacity for patience of late.

The hate part of this relationship stems from my believe that only sissies sit around and wait of things to come their way. The "right" thing to do is to go out there, go after what you want come hell, high water or taxes, and grab on to the prize with both hands. Waiting just means that the rest of the pack is sprinting past you.

On the other hand I have long appreciated the benefits of patience in the line-up to board the ferry, when waiting for a light to change, trying to get across the border on a busy weekend and standing in line - any line from grocery store checkouts to the rock concert turnstile.

Today I am finding myself feeling surprisingly patient about all the calls that have not been returned and about the interview that was supposed to happen at nine this morning but whose subject has gone AWOL.

I didn't even have to take a deep breath. I didn't have to calm myself down. What I have come to realize is that once I have done everything in my power to make happen what I want, then patience is a great virtue indeed.

I've done my bit, dear Universe - your turn...

Gratitude #13

I admit I'm just a bit of a technology nerd - not a full fledged one, mind you. I have no desire to take apart my computer and discover how it works. (I also admit, however, that I've seen the insides of computers more than once and putting one together doesn't seem all that difficult a challenge.)

I love simple, elegantly designed technology that does what it's supposed to do. Hence the many, many hair tearing moments I had back in the day before Microsoft put out the Windows O/S.

And then more hair tearing moments with all the different versions of Windows including Vista, which I am currently using. It's a wonder I have any hair left.

And yet one of the things I love about technology is that sometimes it isn't all that easy and I have to learn and I have to be clever about how I learn and how I work out how to do what I want to do. Anything that makes me stretch my brain is a good thing.

Now that I have the iPad and have figured out how to migrate photos etc. and have not yet figured out why I can't configure my mail (need help from Shaw I think) I am once again at the crossroads of trying to decide about my next computer. Let's face it, a next one is in my future. Apple? HP? Really, I am not a heavy graphics user. I word process, I do accounting (minimal) and I play with photos and sometimes videos. The Apple is very expensive but wouldn't it be lovely to have all my devices talk to each other effortlessly?

On the other hand, Windows 8 should prove to be quite fabulous.

Not only do I love technology, I also love having to chew over it, make decisions about it and research it. You'd almost think I had an analytical bone in my body.

Gratitude #12

I love love love my new iPad.

I adore it!

I bow to it - worship it and, in other words, I like it a lot.

I set out yesterday to buy an e-reader. I had done my research and was pretty sure that I was going to purchase a Kobo. It seemed to answer all my needs - nice, easy reading surface, portability and access to the books I wanted at a good price.

First stop: Staples where I could compare the Kobo and Kindle side by side. In a hands-on test the Kindle came out on top but the truth is I didn't like either all that much. Their buttons were clunky, the speed was slow. Maybe the iPhone had spoiled me but I was used to more elegant devices.

Second stop: Chapters where I thought I could get even more of an insider's view of the device. Besides, I still was set on the Kobo because it wasn't that much slower or more awkward than the Kindle and its books were cheaper.

As an aside - the people who helped me at both stores were terrific! Great service and very good product knowledge.

Well, I was still convinced it was going to be the Kobo but, because it was twenty dollars cheaper at Staples, I drove back to that store. The same sales clerk was there. "I'll take the Kobo," I said. Great he said - could he just finish helping the other customer and he'd be right with me? While I waited I moved over to the display of tablets and, just for fun, played with the iPad. Needless to say, I was a goner almost instantly. The iBooks app was so intuitive and so responsive. At last - I was reading a book on an electronic device and the feel was just like a real book - something the other devices promised but, to my mind, didn't deliver on. And then there was the added bonus of the iPad's ability to do everything else. I can watch movies on it; I can listen to music, I can surf the net, play games, send email and, best of all, I can buy books from any book store anywhere - no limitations!

The extra cost? I think it's worth it.

Score another one for Apple.

Ease of setup when I got home? Nothing to it.

I love this tablet.

And I love knowing that I made the right choice.

Gratitude #11

I am grateful for sunshine - possibly more people on the West Coast feel that way because we do without it for so much of the year.

But yesterday it burst through the clouds and today is a day washed in sunlight.

I love the way sun feels on my skin and how its warmth penetrates my clothing. When the sun begins to work its magic it sends shivers right through me. I have had occasion to feel like slug when I have sat in the heat of the sun. Sun calms, soothes, heals - I can almost hear the Vitamin D factory cranking up.

The sun is our most vital ball of energy. It's hard to believe that we are destroying the earth to get at fossil fuels to give us energy when all the energy we could ever possibly want is free and its pouring down from the sky.

Sun - what a blessing - no wonder ancient people worshipped sun gods.

I love working in the garden under the heat of the sun. And that is what I am going to do right now. The blueberries need weeding - and that's as good an excuse as any to get out in the sunshine.

Gratitude #10

Today is all about an ode to Maple Mountain.

I has said it often and I'll tell anyone who asks me, I think the prettiest hike south of Strathcona Park on Vancouver Island is Maple Mountain.

Abby and I set out at 9 a.m. and got back at about 3 p.m. - a nice day hike. It's easy to make it shorter or longer. Today I took one of my favourite routes: the blue trail which falls and rises for quite a way through beautiful fir and arbutus forest.

Does Abby like hiking?

Just look at that smile.

Eventually the trail opens up with staggering views to Salt Spring Island and Maple Bay.

The blue trail then continues on to join the pink trail - a very steep ascent to the top of Maple Mountain - with lots of views and a beautiful fairy-tale forest to take your breath away - when the climb isn't doing that job.

At the top, after a lunch break on a sunny moss-covered rock, we descended on the opposite side. This is likely the longest way down but in a way this is good because it isn't as steep and the trail is also quite different, passing through forest generously interspersed with sun dappled glades.

A beautiful day - the kind of day when every cell of my body is glad to be alive - ecstatic to be on this planet, in this time and this place. A day of blessings and feeling blessed. A day of a million gratitudes.

Gratitude #9

Today I celebrate the art of walking - well actually - hiking. Just imagine - I can hike!

I am capable of putting one foot in front of the other for hours at a time - with something heavy strapped to my back - going uphill, climbing over rocks and tree roots and sometimes even more challenging obstacles - cliffs, fallen trees, etc. etc.

I often take this everyday skill for granted - but most often I don't. I know I am fortunate that I can do this and that I love doing it. My ability to walk takes me to places and things I could never see otherwise - glades of dappled sun in the middle of a forest, hidden waterfalls, magnificent old trees, patches of wildflowers - I love it all. I love the far-away views of snow capped mountains and the ever present ocean.

Today we did a simple hike at the Extension Ridges - simple but beautiful. Tomorrow Abby and I will do an all-day hike on Maple Mountain - something a bit more challenging, but definitely one of the prettiest hikes south of Strathcona Park.

Gratitude #8

I am truly grateful for Fridays.

I have always loved Fridays and I never intend to stop. Even when I've loved my work, which has been almost always, I still have loved Fridays.

Friday is like an exclamation point at the end of a sentence. It leads into a new paragraph - two days of utter untrammeled freedom to do anything I please before a new paragraph and sentence begins on Monday.

Friday let's me wrap up loose ends and make sure that next week is scheduled in such an orderly manner that I don't have to think about it for the next two days.

Even in the old days when I often worked seven days a week - and almost as many nights - Fridays were wonderful because work wound down. When I worked on weekends, I could do it in my PJ's and no one would complain.

Today is an especially yummy Friday because yesterday was so busy with so many involved and complicated stories. By 5.30 p.m. I was done and felt so proud of myself. Got my achievement needs met big time.

So today everything is about relaxing, winding down, pulling all the loose ends together and making sure next weed is organized. I love it! And in my plentitude of spare time, I shall further investigate an e-reader. I sense that I will be making that purchase very soon.

Gratitude #7

Let's talk card games. Really! I mean, who's the genius who invented the deck of fifty-two cards?

Answerbag says the following: "Historians believe playing cards were invented in China where paper was invented as well. Some version of the standard English 52-card deck was later introduced into Europe via the Islamic empire. It was after this that the human figures of the court--kings, queens and their attendants--appeared on the cards."


Well, let me just say I huge thank-you to the Chinese man who woke up one morning, looked at some extra-thick paper he'd just created and said, "Yo! Cards!"


And then I bow down to the Muslim who said, "Cards! Yes - 52 of them!"


Last and very very far from least, I am eternally grateful for the brilliant person who got bored with playing that simple game called Whist and made it way way way more complicated and named it Bridge.


Yes - Bridge. In my humble (some would say arrogant) opinion, it's the greatest game on this planet. Yes - better than chess. 


I play bridge online almost every day for about 30 minutes. And there are times I play it live, like today. In about an hour I'll be off to the annual bridge tournament in aid of The Haven Society. It's always a good idea to help a worthy cause - so much nicer when you're having fun while you're doing it.


And by the way, this is not kitchen bridge, which is fine and fun and all that. But it's nothing compared to duplicate bridge. Now that's a game I adore - online, live - no matter. Just bring it on.

Gratitude #6

I love Tuesdays. First: the obvious reason - Tuesday is not Monday.

But then there are the more important reasons. Tuesday is the release date for new music and movies on iTunes. So exciting. I always, always expect a movie to be released that I'm dying to see. True, most of the time this isn't the case, but the anticipation never dilutes - it's a bit like getting the mail. I always expect happy surprises.

Tuesday is also the day I get to see Monday night's The Voice episode. True, that pleasure will be over in another week but still - I relish it while I can.

Tuesday is also the day before hump day and that also makes it a good day.

Last but not least, Tuesday brings Tuesday's edition of the newspaper (big revelation) and Tuesday's edition is always better than Monday's.

So hello Tuesday! I'm grateful that you decided to come around again.