appreciation

DianaK

Appreciations 4.91

Today was a day filled with good things to appreciate.

First of all I woke up after a night of much, much more better sleep than I’d been having lately. Still a little short on the hours, but SO much more better quality. Hooray!

Next I had a really satisfying, fun, fascinating meeting with the ever-squooshable John Linn. I have the best job! Srsly.

Then, after getting some of my own work done, I got to meet with a sweet 13-year old girl beginning jewelry designer who “shopped” at my bead “store.” It was so much fun to watch her exclaim over the beads I so lovingly selected during my years as a designer, and watching her pick out her favorites. She was so excited to be able to pick out real crystals and pearls. 😀 Her mom was super sweet, too, and it was such a lovely, wonderful way to send some of my beads on their way!

This evening I caught up on planning things with friends, and now I get to look forward to coffee shop meetings, a trip to MIA, and other future fun stuff. Pretty awesome day. ❤

DianaK

Appreciations 4.90

Coffee coffee coffee coffee coffee. Some days I appreciate it more than others. 😉

Somehow getting through 7 errands after work – that’s a LOT of stuff to cross off my to-do list. Yay!

Smile
Photo by Nina from Australia (Smile at a stranger)

The fun of making every errand fun. It’s amazing how just being curious about how a cashier’s day is going can spark a nifty little grin- or giggle- inspiring conversation. Random smiles at fellow shoppers and standers-in-line work pretty well, too. Sure makes doing errands more fun!

 

DianaK

Appreciations 4.87

Fish updates from Katie. Mamas and new addition to the family, Percy, all doing well. It is weirdly fun to get pics of the fish throughout the day. 😉

Productive rehearsal with the choir. I still have a few bits to memorize (of the songs in English, of course! Hahaha!) but am in pretty good shape. Still adjusting a little to how my body responds to the standing and singing, but it sure is worth it! ❤

Maxine's chickens maxine's chickens 2

Chickens! Maxine (who graciously let us take over her house for today’s rehearsal) let them out when there were just a few of us left. It was so fun to watch them moving around the yard. They didn’t seem too interested in being pet, though. I like all the little sounds they make!

DianaK

Appreciations 4.86

A perfectly perfect Saturday! Getting little taskies done, like clearing out my office supply drawer! I know I don’t need 10 pairs of scissors, 30 or 40 highlighters and dry erase markers, and 3,000 extra pens. And guess what — Katie and Cina needed exactly that many of those things! 😉

After getting little taskies and some work done I headed out with the kids to my folks’ annual church bazaar. So fun to catch up with those friendly people!

Then a brilliant and wonderful dinner with Sarah and Ida. Sarah made the most delicious lentil pasta with crazy-good spinach-garlic-something delicious sauce. Yum! And what a blissful evening of catching up, playing with Ida, and cuddling with cats. ❤ Even Reggie came over to say hi and be petted — a first for me! I know enough to be deeply, deeply honored. 🙂

DianaK

Appreciations 4.85

Hahaha – I love that both Pam and I appreciated blustery and Winnie the Pooh yesterday! Fun. 😀

IMG_3622Color contrasts! I loved watching the albino squirrel scamper across the road today – a bright spot of white against the browns and grays of the fallen leaves. I also love the sumac leaves, still so vibrantly red against the same background! 🙂

Audio books. Since I’m looking at screens and reading so much of every day, It’s a treat to lean back and listen to stories with my eyes closed.

The hundreds of ideas for things to do that are always bumping around inside my head. So many things sound appealing!

DianaK

Appreciations 4.84

Hats and scarves and gloves, oh my! What a blustery day. I like things that make me feel cozy on blustery days. I also like that they remind me of Winnie the Pooh, which makes me grin and start making up hummy songs about stuff. 🙂

Making progress on an awesome secret project I’m doing for a friend. Fun to do, fun to plan, fun to think about completing. Fun fun fun fun fun! 😀

Toby, the centipede-hunting wonder cat!

DianaK

Appreciations 4.83

Pretty pre-storm weather. I’m glad Sammy and I got our long walk in before the storm blew in!

Listening to the thunder and rain. Feels odd in November, but I like the sounds no matter when they happen. 🙂 Last year we had several inches of snow!

The funny contrast of hanging out with a dog all day and cats all evening. I kept thinking today that dogs should purr, too. When I told Sammy that, he just wiggled his eyebrows at me. I don’t know what that means in dog-talk! 😛

Warm sweaters and blankets and scarves, oh my. I like feeling cozy when it starts to get cold outside!

DianaK

Appreciations 4.82

Another beautiful day for walks with Sammy. Today we hung out at his house instead of mine. He seemed much more content. I’m pretty sure my cats liked it better, too… 😉

All the sensations of being outside today: the sight of beautiful blue skies and skeleton trees, leaves twisting through the air; the smell of dry leaves and someone’s last barbeque of the year; the warmth of the sun in contrast with the brisk wind; the sounds of leaves rustling as we waded through them. Mmmmm.

Seeing the kitties both on my bed at the same time when I got home. This never happens! Maybe they are at long last reaching an understanding!

Learning to let go of things, despite my genetic predisposition to stubbornness. I love the idea of #100happydays and it was fun to add it in to my appreciation practice for awhile (well, 23 days), but since its goal is to help develop a gratitude practice (which I THINK I might just have down after 3+ years…) and since I often forget to take photos, I’m going to let it go. See all that growing and changing I’m doing?!? 😉

DianaK

Appreciations 4.81

SammyFirst day of Sammy daycare week. What a sweet little pup. 🙂 It’s hard to believe it’s been more than 2 years since we said goodbye to Gracie. Kinda nice to have a dog around again. ❤

Gorgeous weather. Perfect for walking Sammy. 😀

Looking forward to another fun night of singing with the Earthtones. Yay!