gratitude

I have this book whose title I can't remember about gratitude. The author's theme is about being grateful and keeping a gratitude journal. She began writing this book when she was very ill and through the illness which lasted several months realized being grateful and writing about everyday blessings lifted her out and beyond her circumstances. She felt better mentally, kept negatitivity at bay, the writing and acknowledgement of her gratitude in itself was a blessing.  

After reading the book, a few years back, I thought what a great idea and was amazed at day's end of how many blessings we each encounter throughout the course of the day. I now do this every evening after I write in my daily journal.

So, I decided that some of the blessings that I was especially grateful for receiving yesterday~ feeling beyond awful because of having a helacious cold that is shared by many of my co-workers would be a good starting point to share with you on this blog.

1. The rush of chilled morning autumn air carrying the scents of damp earth/leaves and woodsmoke greeting me when I stepped outside the glass door to the patio terrace to give the outdoor gang breakfast.

2. Leaving for work: I looked across the expanse of the front yard (as I walked toward the jeep) to Bear mountain which was enveloped in a light mist with clear sunshine illuminating the beauty of the natural landscape- took 5 to savor the moment.

3. If it's Friday it must be Starbucks. Ordered a vanilla latte grande with whipped cream/extra espresso and freshly baked banana walnut bread to go.

4. Driving over Melones lake eating my banana walnut bread, sipping my latte and loving the spectacular view. The lake looked like smooth sapphire glass, the surrounding hillsides had the look of damp hay with the bull pines and oaks spread out in muted sage greens~ rolled down the windows to inhale the fresh scent of morning air (and with this cold- that took a few moments, lol) Such a beautiful morning!

5. After Work... tooling over to my hairstylist in Murphys (she's opened a new shop in the same upscale local of Main street, just a few doors down from her old shop, but this shop has pedicure/manicure/facial stations- which look spectacular! Shoulda brought my camera to share on blog- next time).  

6. It was great to see my hairstylist and catch up with one another, to see old friends (nearby business owners) who popped in just to say hi. 

7. Being able to laugh at having my hair weaved while sneezing my head off and blowing my nose continually- 3 things that probably shouldn't be done simultaneously. It also amused the foot traffic that passed by the window. Was it the tinfoil? My sneezing? The unending supply of tissue needed and on hand (literally)? Or, Romulas, my hairstylist's dog who was sitting in my lap undercover, but who would pop her head up every so often to look at me and openly wonder what was wrong with me? All of the above....

8. When done with the weave, the cut, the sneezing~ I was offered a test drive of the new steamer in the facial room and get an upper body massage and facial while under a plush blanket, listening to relaxing water and birdsong. How very cool is that? Very.

9. Getting back into the jeep made a return call to Amanda; enjoyed our chat.

10. Leaving Murphys at dusk is magical. Twinkling icsicle lights (on houses, businesses) give a warm holdiay glow. Heading toward Angels the dark grape colored hills and black silhoutted oaks backlit by a soft peach horizon that changed to a deep raspberry as I neared San Andreas.

11. Home: Pulling in to the driveway at dust I could clearly see into the brightly lit living room and see Jeff walking through the living room to walk outdoors to greet me.

12. Jeff had rustic sliced French bread with cheese slices ready. We sat down in the dining room at the long oak table. Swapping stories about our day. The end to a lovely day of many blessings.

footnote: I forgot to mention that before dashing in for my hair appointment I stopped in at the post office, picking up mail and received the latest issue of the Paris Review.... perfect weekend reading material to hunker down with in the master bedroom while I fight off this nasty cold.