This week’s homework for my class is all about savoring. I love how it is different from appreciating! This week so far I have savored…
…driving around the lakes with my windows open on my way home from an appointment

…the silky texture and sweetness of French Silk pie

…the sounds and energy of the people around me during dinner last night

…the joy of finding a forgotten car wash gift card…and getting to use it! And then driving around in a super clean car. So fun!!

…the myriad city sounds including periodic silences when there are no planes, no fans running, a lull in the birdsong. What a funny, magical space!

Oh, and I also appreciate the Finding Nemo fish tank at the car wash!! Thanks for pointing that out, Cina. It made me so happy to see that!!

…where I have the time and space to do my Coursera homework while I drink my morning coffee

…where I can see & hear birds and planes and a parade of dogs walking their humans

…where my office mates are curious and playful

…where frogs with coins keep watch over me

…where I can show up looking like THIS and nobody minds

• Driving with windows open, feeling sweet breeze, listening to sweet birdsong.
• Little trip down Facebook Friendship Memory Lane with Sarah when we started wondering when we took our first walk together (spring 2013, in case you’re wondering) 😊. What a fun little journey! 💖
• Remembering other past appreciations like the time I counted the 32 ducks who crossed the road while I waited. Thanks, past Diana, for recording that fact. 😁
• Dinner with the Duncans. Yeah, I know it happens almost every night, but I sure do love it.
• Carrots. 🥕🥕🥕

Mounds of snow melting in a matter of days. Going from blizzard to barefoot and backyard barbecues in one week!

Gathering with wonderful women to talk about My Grandmother’s Hands. So grateful for the community and support. So excited for the Resmaa Menakem & Robin DiAngelo Experiencing the Racial Body and Mind workshop in June!

Spending time with my bright and beautiful friends. How rich my life is!

Homework! Ahahaha! I forgot how much I like doing homework tasks and checking them off. Hahahaha!

Spending the morning with the inimitable Ida. What a fashion flare!

The most amazing owl bracelet that Ida chose for me. What a precious gift!!

F L O W E R S BLOOMING!

Walking around the block barefoot… the joy of the rough pavement. The, um, shall we say “thrill” of starting along the north side of the block across we pavement…Thinking “Oh, it’s not too bad” and then, 15 feet further in thinking, “Holy heck it’s a cold as, uh, melted SNOW!) 😉

Messages from Ida as she learns about predictive texts!

Snow snow so much snow ❄️ AND sun sun melty melty sun. 🌞

Wakey wakeful night filled with ideas and wonderings 😲 AND sleepy slumbery night – out before 10 pm and sleeping hard! 😴

Wander-y, circuitous days 🤔AND hyper-focussed yowsa productive days. 😊

I am humbled and delighted by the MDFun Bingo Kickstarter success! So grateful to everyone who backed, promoted, or shared the project — AND everyone who supported me during those busy last couple weeks!!

Other things I appreciate from the past few weeks…
• Warm, sunny weather and crunchy ice.

• Flinger toys that stick to the ceiling and entertain Toby who watches hopefully for one to fall.

• Ida’s careful flagging of all the important pages in her book. 🤣

• Amazing meals with amazing people including (but not limited to!!) Lisa, Alison, Amy, Sarah, James, Mckenzie, Terri, Ellis, Katie, Cina. ❤️

• My new Irish guardian angel. Thank you, Lisa! ☺️

• Thought-provoking live shows (at Open Eye Figure Theatre) and movies (Black Panther!!).

• New games! Modern Art, Evolution (with Climate expansion!), Pandemic, Sushi Go, and Go Nuts for Donuts.

• Not-new games! Bohnanza, Carcassonne, Catan, and of course our old standby, Canasta.

• A fabulous family outing that included a stop at Sugar Sugar Candy and Anoka Ramsey Farm & Garden. New candy and baby chicks for the household all in one day!! 🍭🍭🍭🐥🐥🐥