Tag: gratitude sunday (Page 13 of 15)

Sunday’s a good day to remember what we’ve been grateful for over the past week, don’t you think? I’m joining Taryn over at Wooly Moss Roots in her Gratitude Sunday tradition, and here’s my list:

– A lull in my moneymaking work, coming at just the right time.

– Feeling more stable after a very rocky, up-and-down week filled with fears and hopes for the future.

– Having the time for plentiful reading, thinking, and journaling. While I was working full time, I used to ache so deeply for time to do these things. I now have that time. And after feeling like a trapped animal for most of my life, doing things I hated against my heart’s desires, this is a major triumph! Creating, slowly, the life one dreams of is so…satisfying (and scary and liberating and many other things too, but very very satisfying). I’m enjoying every second of this freedom…

– First garden tomato! (Finally!!) A “Pink Beauty” heirloom, and really delicious!

– Having my latest batch of kombucha turn out perfectly!

– Getting up early and reading outside in my “stair garden” on these incredible summer mornings. The stairs outside our door are the only (somewhat) private outdoor space we have. I have a huge need for private outdoor space, and what my heart yearns for and what we have are so vastly and laughably different, but at least I have those stairs! In an apartment building, I’d have nothing!

– So grateful that at my parents’ house, there is private outdoor space!!!

– My trial loaf of “artisan bread” baked in my dutch oven turned out amazingly well!

– Purging belongings which I no longer connect with and no longer need. It’s a long process, and one I’ve done over and over…each time letting go of a little more. I wish it were quicker and easier, but it’s a job filled with lots of emotion and difficult decisions. However, my desire to pare down is strong, and seeing the giveaway box fill with things gives me inspiration to keep going. Thinking about the new life I’m about to give my things helps ease any feelings of loss!

– The most perfect summer night last night, I’ll never forget it.

– Going on a picnic with my parents last night to the local botanic gardens, and eating my mom’s amazing dinner (Northwoods grilled chicken, grilled vegetables, salad, my ‘artisan bread,’ and fresh papaya and strawberries for dessert!!). The place we were going to sit had just finished up with a wedding reception, and my dad asked if we could sit there. The bartender said sure, and so we put our own table cloth on one of the tables and ate amidst the most beautiful setting! Like our own private reception on the most perfect summer’s night. What a treat!

– Last night at 10:30, sitting out in the stair garden in the balmy night, with candles.

– That I have the money to buy the things I want from the store. This week I bought… organic butter lettuce, milk, hearts of palm, kombucha (my homemade batch wasn’t quite ready yet), organic blackberries, plums, and nectarines, and two fun treats after this challenging week — raspberry sorbet, and dulce de leche from Argentina (which I guess I didn’t get enough of while we were there!).

– The past couple of days, having enough energy to do what I wanted to do. I have such a new appreciation for this!

– A nice day at home today, doing domestic things like making kale chips and cookies, doing laundry, addressing piles in the living room, and just hanging out with my Hubby.

– The new window air conditioning unit our landlord installed in our apartment!!! It’s so luxurious to have air conditioning.

– Support from loved ones!!!!

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What blessings have you appreciated throughout your week? Leave a comment!

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Sunday’s a good day to remember what we’ve been grateful for over the past week, don’t you think? I’m joining Taryn over at Wooly Moss Roots in her Gratitude Sunday tradition, and here’s my list:

– Feeling so glad that this 7-year marker of Sonja’s death was the easiest one yet. Feeling the scar fading and smoothing over. Remembering the sweetness of our friendship without being clouded by pain and grief.

– Housesitting for a night at my parents’ house. Sitting outside on the grass next to my vegetable garden at 6:30 on this quiet Sunday morning. Feeling the cool, fresh newness of the morning…and just being outside in a private yard.

Feeling a very deep soul need to have that experience be a part of each and every day…feeling such an intense, ever-increasing desire to make that happen by getting our own land and finally doing this dream of ours. But I also feel a deep sadness that doing our dream will mean uprooting and letting go of and moving away from the house I grew up in, letting go of my beloved gardens, and of the comforting and familiar neighborhood surroundings. I feel so groundless at the moment…both needing to stay and needing to go. It’s a feeling that just kinda makes me want to cry.

It also reminds me of the quote by Anais Nin, “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

Just waiting for some clarity on this issue. It’s one that’s been front and center this past week especially, and I’ve been feeling quite down about it.

(Know anyone who’s selling their acreage?? Maybe with a house on it…some fruit trees…room for gardens……..EDIT: And somewhere near the ocean!!) 😉

– Getting through this week. In addition to the above, it’s been a really difficult week physically since I’ve been feeling very poorly. Hoping for a change & some clarity with that issue as well.

– And phew, after all THAT… just remembering to raise my vibration, get out of the doldrums, and see the JOY instead of the fear! Remembering that it will all work out, and that usually the fear of the change is so much worse than the change itself. And also, remembering that my life is charmed. It always has been, why would it suddenly cease to be so? Everything will work out, in ways more magical than I can imagine.

– Remembering, too, to take small steps. Small changes, spread over time. As a baby, I walked before I crawled…and now, still, I forget to pace myself, and then end up getting really overwhelmed. I have to, uh, not do that.

…and here are some other gratitudes from my week…

– Marveling at my garden’s busy, busy airspace, full of beneficial bugs doing their beneficial thing!

– Being home. Glorious home.

– Sitting outside in my “stair garden” in the mornings and reading my Mother Earth News.

– Hearing the first crickets and cicadas of summer.

– Eating watermelon with my 81-year-old neighbor Margaret on her back porch, in yesterday’s perfect summer evening. Relaxing and talking till it got dark.

– My Hubby. His courage to stand up and fight against something that’s not right. His courage to rock the boat when no one else will. And also hoping the stress of that will ease up for him…

– Visiting with my mom and dad tonight; hearing about their little getaway…and being so grateful to have them close by.

– Hanging out with my cat this weekend! We share a very special bond…

– Knowing that the most important thing in life is the people. Everything else is pretty much just details.

Baby celery from my garden

Hawk moth -- so artsy!

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What are you grateful for this week? Leave a comment!

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Sunday’s a good day to remember what we’ve been grateful for over the past week, don’t you think? I’m joining Taryn over at Wooly Moss Roots in her Gratitude Sunday tradition, and here’s my list:

– Taking a long, hot bath on Wednesday morning! What a feeling of freedom to be home, taking a bath on a cool, misty, cloudy  morning, when I would have been stressing out in my cubicle if I hadn’t taken action and quit my job! I don’t think I’ll ever get over how grateful I am for that!

– Heaps more rain this past week! I really love the rain and the freshness and cooler weather that comes along with it.

– I’m so grateful for my Hubby. Life in general has gotten weird, has it not?!, and there’s deep, major change going on with the Earth and with humanity. We’ve been feeling it, and individually have been having our own acute struggles lately that have been very challenging and discouraging and depressing. His, with things going on at work & being treated incredibly badly…and mine, with my health and how I’ve been feeling physically. But we both have a vision for our future that we’re looking toward and working toward, and we know this low time is temporary, and we know that we have each other. I’m so grateful to have F. to traipse through life with!

– Puttering around outside at our entryway…transplanting stuff, sweeping, arranging, and making up things to do so that I can stay outside longer in the soft, fresh, humid morning air!

– Sitting outside on our step with a cup of tea, relaxing completely and reading a magazine…having gotten my moneymaking work done for the day. Actually I did this a couple times this week. Blissful!

– Making time for relaxation.

– Breakfast one morning of a pastured egg over-easy with homemade garden pesto (frozen from last year), steamed homegrown beet greens with pasture butter, and Russian Caravan tea. So delicious and nourishing.

– Placing my order from Mountain Rose Herbs and eagerly awaiting its arrival hopefully this coming week. I ordered a couple new teas I’ve been wanting to try!

– Tying up some loose ends around the house…completing small, pesky tasks I’ve been wanting to do for a long time…I even washed the salt and pepper shakers! Ahh it’s those little things… 😉 And look I even took a picture of them while giving Hubby’s camera another try. Aren’t they cute? My mom bought them for herself in the 1960s for her first apartment!!

– Getting good garden work done today (laid lots of mulch — rotting straw & last year’s autumn leaves), despite the 95-degree humid heat. I wish I loved the heat as much as my mom does…

– Grateful that Colorado’s heat isn’t usually humid like this!

– Today, remembering 7 years ago the last hours spent with my very dearest friend & soul sister, Sonja, before she departed Earth the next day. Remembering how much fun we had on that day together, so carefree. She’s been absent from life so long now that the 16 years we were joined at the hip now seem like just a dream. Like it never really happened at all. She’s nothing but a memory now. And so today, remembering what we were doing 7 years ago, at various points throughout the day, actually helps me remember that it was all real. And that feels good. It also is a very sad anniversary too. But I’m grateful that another year has passed that has put me further and further away from the searing grief I felt for so long after she died.

– Grateful that we did meet each other (at age 3, in preschool!) and got to spend 16 wonderful, fun-filled childhood & teenage years together. So, so, SO grateful for that!!!!

Sonja

Me (L) & Sonja (R)

– Splurging on a piece of tiramisu at Whole Foods tonight, in honor of Sonja n’ me. When we learned to drive, we’d go to Whole Foods and sit in their café and gab forever over pieces of cake! Heehee…

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What are you grateful for this week? Leave a comment!

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Sunday’s a good day to remember what we’ve been grateful for over the past week, don’t you think? I’m joining Taryn over at Wooly Moss Roots in her Gratitude Sunday tradition, and here’s my list:

– Not rushing through this week; just having time to do what needed to be done, and to do what I wanted to do.

– A much quieter, more relaxing week this week.

– My COBRA health insurance that I *almost* let go of when I quit my job, since it’s $400 a month. So grateful I followed a persistent hunch to hold onto it, rather than my logical mind’s rationalizations to get rid of it.

– Earplugs. Essential for urban living!

– Meeting my sweet Hubby for lunch with a couple of his coworkers, and going out to an excellent Vietnamese place to eat Pho soup (which I’d never had before). This place was so good, and the food was so light and fresh which is what my body loves best. I snarfed. And snarfed. I’ll have to take a picture of the Pho for you next time!

– That was such a good day, the day I met F. for lunch. I was feeling so good and energetic, I was so happy to be home and not at work, enjoying summertime. Just a really great day. 🙂

– Taking the time to sit down and draw a mandala. I haven’t done one in a long time and I felt so uplifted afterward. It was like playing!

– Resolving to do more things that bring me joy. Lately I’ve had some very dark moments where life seems more of a struggle than it’s worth, and I realize that the best way to remedy that feeling is to be sure I’m doing enough FUN and JOYFUL stuff. There’s so much to do in life, just to keep things going along smoothly, that I sometimes don’t carve out enough time to do something purely for the joy of it. Doing fun, joyful things keeps me motivated to ‘keep doing life’ and get through the difficult parts.

– Fresh, organic, in-season fruit! I LOVE fruit. And I’ve enjoyed eating breakfasts like the one below — fresh fruit salad with a couple dollops of sheep’s milk yogurt, and my daily nettle-mint-lemongrass tea.

– Still eating lots of beautiful garden lettuce from the fridge.

– Sweet, supportive words from my mom.

– Friday night movie in our living room. Ratatouille — very entertaining!

– Fresh mint iced tea.

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What are you grateful for this week? Leave a comment!

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