Saturday

1. That my friends finally got married after all these years!
2. It didn't rain for the photographs!
3. That my reading went well....
4. Getting to eat that lovely food
5. Managing to avoid going out after the wedding!
   

A Catch Up

Somedays this week I have not been feeling very grateful.... And then I have been tired and grumpy and PMSy... but here are some random ones fromt he week...

1. The Magpies getting most of the food!
2. A beautiful sunset (which I missed) reflected in the clouds behind work
3. A walk at night with Little Dog, seeing all the lights of the nearby towns arrayed around me
4. Getting my secret santa present through! (it's sooo cute!)
5. Billy Connoly's Route 66 book. I missed the series but I love his travelogues...
6. Baths with Lush things (and Billy)
7. Jilted Elf shower jelly - lovely scent and glittery bits!
8. My bed! I love my bed sooooo much!
9. The pink foil paperchains
   
10. Cheap pastries shared
11. Missing the rain either side of my lunch break and during....
12. KFC at the beach
13. <3 Joe Brown
    

Friday

1. Pretty skies as I left work.... little hints of pink
2. My new purple cardy is here! And I like it very much and it is indeed a bargain!
3. It's Friday! Yay!
4. Letting in the Boss who had lost his card....
5. Getting a list of stuff from my conspiracy friend...
   

Thursday

1. Deciding not to write anything about Wednesday!
2. Having already done the shopping the night before....
3. Hanging off a curtain (on the side of a lorry) in the wind... Was acting like a sail.... Something oddly lovely about it... I love the wind...
4. Getting a beautiful cardy half price! Love a bargain!
5. Knowing there is a nice bar of chocolate waiting for me downstairs....
   

Tuesday

1. That I have made up my hours....
2. That I no have no stitches
3. That D is alright (ish)
4. My house is nice and warm as the temperature drops
5. For good music introduced by friends
   

1. The sound of his voice as we discuss food
2. Being pounced on
3. Cuddly snuggly dogs
4. The thought of going to bed
5. Knowing that good deeds go unforgotten, embarassingly so, even after so many years
   

Sunday

1. The amazing view from our balcony and being stood on it as the sun first crept over the ridge to kiss me.
2. Seeing the seals in the sea
3. Coming home to so much love
4. My lovely bed, so much to be said for being back home!
5. Sleep.
   

Saturday

1. Everything about Saturday was amazing..... acuzzing with my mates and having girl chat in the sauna
2. Finding out that someone quite liked me ten years ago and knowing my friends silence saved me from a dodgy relationship!
3. So much good food - too much good food to even mention!
4. Allowing a friend to win a prize
5. Vindication of my crafting skills
   

Friday

1. Beautiful wintery sky, with that beautiful grey which has so much light behind it - in places! And all the tints of blue and pink and purple...
2. Getting out of work while there was still light...
3. Catching F playing on the xbox because I got home early....
4. Yogurt covered honeycomb
5. Remembering to buy a bread roll to feed the birds today.... Even the magpies got plenty!
   

Thursday

1. That I got to come home
2. That I saw so very many magpies having a meeting earlier - 14 minimum!
3. For friends who lend me nice things to play with
4. That my stitches were looking nice and healthy when my dressing was changed.
5. That tomorrow is Friday

Can you tell I had a bad day and am feeling grumpy?

Wednesday

1. For dairy free chocolate
2. For good friends who are always pleased to see me
3. That my stitches didn't hurt and I had no need to take pain killers
4. That I spotted the poor little wet magpie by my car before I ate all my food
5. That my home comes with a supply of hugs on tap - both furry and non-furry
   

Tuesday

1. That F could take me to the hospital.
2. That F was not late to work
3. That I got the whole day off and could go and sleep!
4. Listening to Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls on Youtube
5. Goats Cheese
   

Monday

1. For dogs that greet me as if all the happiness and love in their lives depended on it
2. For lovely men who rearrange their lives for me (well man singular really - in more ways than one!)
3. For tempting things sat on a back burner, waiting to be picked back up again - 21 Secrets
4. The sky as I left work - beautiful clouds glinting with the last of the days light
5. A peaceful lunch where I actually got to eat all of my food and not share it with half the neighbourhood corbae population
   

Sunday

1. That S is better and has colour (although I would like to be grateful that that nasty cough has gone next time I see him!)
2. That I have finished the things I needed to for the hen party next weekend! Really pleased with how well they all came out!
3. Sky Plus - just love having all that TV stored for my viewing pleasure. Not having to worry if tea is ready in the middle of a programme.... Tv works for me now....
4. That I found that pair of clean jeans so i didn't have to bother with doing the washing last night...
5. That I know more of my family history now and that this makes me appreciate Rememberance Day more....
   

Saturday

1. Sharing the family history
2. My hair! I had it all chopped off and now I have hair that is shoulder length right at the front and much shorter at the back, it is all choppy and messy and lovely and purple!
3. The sun shining in through large windows, making everything warm and lovely
4. Anticipation of chorizo sausages, mushroom and onion in fresh cheesy rolls....
5. I just know Strictly Come Dancing will be on here later too....

Today is a good day!

Friday

1. Coming home to a lovely stew
2. Twisting turning plot lines (Ringer)
3. The spreading of the purple hair....
4. That my Bosses Boss took the time to come see our problems and got it straight away
5. White dairy free chocolate buttons
   

Thursday

1. Getting an appointment to have my lump out!
2. Emails to and from a fellow dreamer...
3. The anticipation of pizza!
4. Seeing lots of magpies
5. A beautiful day......
   

Wednesday

1. Having a lie in (mostly because I was organised the night before so as to try and get in early but my body decided to grab the time and oversleep)
2. My bits of glass that now sit with candles in, on the side of our bed
3. Getting rid of the old bed and mattress
4. Listening to the oldsters talk of their youth... gaslight and cobbles...
5. Chips
   

Tuesday

1. Putting paint to paper!
2. Watching my Pies and Crows feed
   
3. The unusual cloud formation like the clouds were a flat piece of material that ended with a very distict vertical edge
4. Getting rid of the old bed and mattress.
5. The possibility of an early night
   

Monday

1. Waking up in my large bed
2. Watching TV with my lovely man
3. Discussing Strictly at work
4. The beautiful start to the day - all soft light, dewy ground, misty highlights and feathery clouds
5. The conversation about the chair!
   

Sunday

1. I am glad S is getting better
2. My new bed is sorted - my bedroom may still be a mess but our pallets are together, the found mattress is on them with our new king size sheet and the duvets and pillows are awaiting their freshly laundered coverings.
3. The anticipation of sleeping on my big new bed and mattress with all fresh bedding ( a theme developing here!)
4. That I don't have to go anywhere today
5. That Tesco had one last tub of Sri Lankan Chicken soup - one of the few with no cream in it and it is absolutely delicious!
   

Saturday

1. Our nice new to us King Size mattress
2. That the squirrel made it!
3. Ceremonials!
4. Learning that IBS can sometimes be triggered by certain fruits! I thought I was going insane every time I started trying to eat healthily....
5. That I made it to the gym
   

Friday

1. Mist lighting covering Big Hill with it's various stone decorations, natural and man made in such a delicate and beautiful way
2. Seeing the Jackdaws get in on the feast and my growing Corbae tribe all getting food. Most people feed cute little birds. Some barmy people feed pigeons or sea gulls - what does feeding the Corbae make me?
3. Finishing my books, A Discovery of Witches. Very enjoyable!
4. Chinese and film with F.
5. Feeling happier with my skills on the truck after my doings of the day....
   

Thursday

1. That things are finally up and well... hobbling if not running... but at least they are moving....
2. The Crows and Magpies seem to be sharing better. Maybe the Crows figured out that them getting food depends on the Magpies getting a bit too. And my are those Magpies getting good at it!
3. Friends and time carved out in our quick moving lives to just sit and spend time with them
4. The sky was clear enough for me to actually see the moon
5. Attacking Little Dog's nose through the letterbox when I got home. When I get home I always put my hand through so she can snuffle it and say hello straight away but last night I was feeling playful and she always is....
   

Wednesday

1. The colour of my frshly dyed purple hair
2. The thought of having it all lopped off and being brave and booking that appointment....
3. The Last Post
4. Magpies flying and being exactly where I needed them to be when I needed them to be there.
   
5. Finding the other, sneaky, place to park that enabled us to not have far to walk and be there in time.... Given we had older folk with us this was a great help!
   

Monday & Tuesday

1. The chance to watch the huge sky paint itself in to darkness
2. A new Florence album! Yay! Although I have to wait for it to arrive because I resisted the temptation of instant gratification and bought the deluxe version online....
   
3. F pouncing on me to scare me as I showered
4. F cooking stew for me.
5. The dog lying in wait for on the bed with that wicked look on her face, saying come play with... you know you want to (and of course I did!)
   

And Yesterday's.....

1. Left over Halloween sweets.
2. Samhain readings for me and by me and for others
3. My new Tangle Ease brush - it works sooo well!
4. My new book, A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
5. The promise of relief as the New Moon fades, my moontime ends and Samhain's spiral of energy starts to turn....
   

Sunday

1) Postsecrets - brightens every Sunday morning
2) Having a whole new family tree to research - F's!
3) F realising he didn't have any veg for last nights tea
4) Baths and books
5) Changing clocks

Saturday

1. Finding out absorbing things about my family..... my great great great granddad went to jail for stealing a loaf of bread - for three months!
2. Cosy old British pubs, full of hustle and bustle and wet dogs on a rainy day
3. Middle class tourists of a certain age who love to talk to people and assume everyone is a tourist like them!
4. Driving along the coast with F, stopping every so often to enjoy the view, or have a short walk in the wild wild wind and mizzle
5. Curling up on the sofa under a duvet to watch Strictly Come Dancing
   

My Neuro Linguistic Programming book brought up noting gratitude so I thought I would get back to it, but be more about little things.....

Wednesday

1. The sky as I drove to work. Big clouds all dark but painted peach where they faced the sun, against a soft blue sky. The light was sort of a coppery bronzey colour....
2. The magpies got all the food at lunch as the crows were a no show!
3. A rainbow over the distant sea.
4. A glimpse of the sky as the sun set, dark blue with fushcia clouds.
5. Watching TV with my man

Thursday

1. Not having to train outside in the rain!
2. Thinking the magpies had missed all the food as the crws were their on mass. Scattering the bread for the crows, walking away, only to hear an outraged sqawk, turning to see a magpie running off with a beak full!
3. It stopped raining by the time we left work and it was beautiful again as we walked out.
4. Having good mates in work, having a laugh and feeling like I belong.
5. Cuddly dogs....

Friday

1. Going out for chips at lunch
2. Passing the test
3. Not having to buy tea as I still have my lunch to eat!
4. Knowing my bath is waiting for me downstairs.
5. Big knickers!
   

A Tingle in my Soul

I don't really have anything much to say. I am bored. The problem with being ill is you just don't feel like doing stuff.

The antihistamines have been doing there thing well and my rash has few raised bumps now and is a lot less angry looking. It is a little tingly is all. I just feel very, very tired. I have already slept most of today...

I made my first magic fairy wool creature earlier on. An orange rabbit. It all looks so simple when she does it but twisting and knotting the wool requires some finesse. Maybe today is not the day....

So what do i do? Not sure today is the day for reading the non-fiction I am currently finding enthralling.... The rich vein I am following right now seems to be all to do with the 'reality' of the world around us and the power of the mind. Two things that go very much together it seems. From Supernatural to Incognito and then I have the Occult and the Field waiting, and just from flicking through them I can see the continuation of this train of thought.

Supernatural took archaeology and drugs and folklore and showed evidence that the world we live in has others right nect to it and that some people are very adept at seeing into it, and others need drugs to help them. This world is a strange one... Incognito is looking at the mind and the strangeness of how it works. How we dream our way through life with our dreams anchored by our senses. Our brain uses limited information and makes up the rest. We really do not all see the same world. Some see more colours (some women see more than others with up to ten colours in the rainbow), some people see with their tongues (the brain can learn to convert any information feed in to 'sight' and a device on the tongue has helped a blind climber to climb) and many more strangenesses. I have much more to read.

I am very much believing in serendipity at the mo. Everything was going great. So I have to believe that there is a reason for my current illness, even if I do not know what. This herpes virus has been living in my body ever since I had chickenpox as a kid, waiting for it's moment. Maybe this is my body kicking it out for good? Maybe it isn't about my immune system being weak, because I don't feel weak right now in general... Who knows.

But things are on the move in my life and I have trust. even in the bad stuff.

I am grateful that I don't appear to be overly ill. That my rash does not really hurt much and paracetomol are doing the trick. I am grateful I have no blisters. I am grateful that beyond being rather tired, I don't seem to have many side effects.... Whether this is shingles or not, it could have been a lot more unpleasant!

I am grateful for unexpected gifts, just when you need them, that are just what you needed.

Yay! For a great day. For people who give generously of themselves and have so many talents and interests.... People who followed their hearts and bacame experts! Love em!

Today I am grateful for friends and other generous people who may become friends.... There are so many kind souls out there who give of their time and thought to help us progress in the world. I am lucky.

Today I am grateful that I have a car. That I don't get out of the house really early to get a bus. That I don't have to walk all the way to work as people used to, and many of them walked a lot further than I have to go! And they looked after their small holdings and tended their houses far better than I do.... I am grateful I can offer lifts to those without a car. I am glad my car is small and cheap to run but just big enough to act as a family car and hold us and our luggage (just) if we go anywhere. I am glad F is selling his car. I am glad he has a motorbike and a push bike now. I think this is a good decision. Why did we really need two cars? I am grateful we have so much.

I am grateful for the trust of animals. I love my Little Dog and how she trusts us and has faith in us. How we can do anything to her (as long as she is awake) and she believes, until the moment we hurt her that we won't and that we won't do it again. Accidentally trodden on tails and paws are forgotten in the blink of an eye. If she is asleep she is rather more grumpy about things however! If we have to trim her claws she doesn't growl or bite, although she does try and remove her paws from our grip and sneak away.... I am also grateful that wild animals sometimes learn to trust us, give us a glimpse of their lives close to....

I am grateful that change always comes when it is needed, whether or not we chose to see it that way or not.

Today I am extremely grateful that F had a day off. I was able to come home and find the last few bits of the wardrobes finished off, the last little bit of floor varnished and that mound of cardboard from the flatpack recycled. I am not sure you have any idea how good that felt after the last 11 days of toil..... I know I am going to wake up and just stare around at it all.... lots....

Today I am grateful that everything eventually comes to an end! One quarter of my bedroom floor requires it's final coat of varnish and then it is finished! yay! *does happy dance* and I can then go eat the lovely bar of M & S fudge I have been saving as a finishing treat! Today we get to play with the wardrobes! *does an even wilder happy dance*

I am today, grateful for pinterest. I love this website and a browse is always the perfect thing to fill a spare minte or hour. basically it is a giant set of pinboards that people can pin any image they find on the web to. So you can browse peoples boards or boards for different categories or whatever. Just browsing the iages people have admired is uplifting and inspiring and beautiful and sometimes humorous too.... Love it. So much beauty on the web, all for sharing.

Gadgets! Oh I am sooo grateful for these. The amazing paint scrapper we bought one time. The lovely paint pad that has smoothed my beautiful new paint around. My silicon spatulas for cooking and the egg pods for poaching. The lovely set of kitchen accroutements that all fit together for easy storage and are the colours of the rainbow and inclue a giant bowl, a colander, a sieve, a measuring jug/ small bowl and measuring cups. Lovely things make you smile as you use them and are so much better and easier to use. They are designed and made with much thought and love, someone has really, really put effort in to working out exactly how to make that job go perfectly and with a smile!

I am grateful for paint. We get to choose the colours we live with. We can cover up all manner of wall defects. We have choice of finish. We have all sorts of gizmos for putting it on as well. And our paint contains no lead. I like paint.

I am grateful that F and I have different talents and skills. We work well together and have fun doing it. I am glad we are all different. That we can not possible be the same as someone else....

I am grateful for my lovely dyson hoover. I am so glad it just sucks up all that dirt without clogging up. Our bedroom would have killed an old style hoover. Those dust bunnies under the bed..... I am grateful for the innovators. The people who are able to step outside of it all and find something new and different. I am definitely grateful for them and their inventions.....

I am grateful that I have reached the end of this week. It has been a tough one. We have been short staffed with the holidays and all. It has been necessary for me to do a lot of physical work this week, something I am not used to. It has been hard, but now I am here. And I am now on holiday until early May and I am sooo grateful for this moment. This anticipation is always a lovely moment. I have time coming and I love that feeling that it is here, ready for me to enjoy, right now.

I am very grateful to have a man in my life who understands me and puts up with the nasty me that develops when I am tired. He is a truly lovely chap. And he is mine.

I am grateful for dogs. I love dogs. They are always pleased to see you. They always have time. They always forgive you and if you actually manage to annoy them, it is with good cause and swiftly forgotten. I love that they are always in the moment.

I am grateful for the traditions and places and blood that link us back in time to each other, that anchor us. I think they become more important as we get older. I like them more now than I did when I was a kid. I am glad they no longer feel like being bound, something I need to break out of in order to find myself. I am me, just as I am. My ties make me feel stronger not weaker now, because I understand they do not make me, me.

I am grateful for the occasional shining light that has entered my life. Someone who lives life so fully, despite everything, they just shine. Shine with light and life. They may not be a conventional beacon but they are a beacon all the same. Grateful for these people who are pure in their difference, in themselves and their ability to live life. There is no judgement but their fun, they lighten the lives of those around them.

I am grateful for anticipation. I am sat here, anticipating my KFC. And I know that what I am thinking about is almost as good as the real thing. My mouth is watering and I get to look forward to it all.... I get to extend my enjoyment.

I am grateful for the sea, and waves, and sea spray carried by the wind. The wind rips the top of the waves. I love to watch surfers catching a wave. Cornwall is the surf capital of the UK and any beach you visit, if there is surf, there will be a surfer. I love the different colours and moods of the sea. I love it's slow erosion of the coast, creating beautiful structures. I love the way you can trace history in what it exposes and what it leaves behind, wave cut platforms and bare rock, ancient wood, fossilized. I love that the waves take all and smooth it, from glass to the little piece of an ancient tree I picked up today. I love the way light shimmers on the sea. I am filled with wonder as I wonder why the sea is different colours in different places...... I dream of the world beneath the waves. Yes, I am grateful for the sea, and even more grateful I can see it's beauty. And feel, smell, hear and even taste it to.

I am grateful for love in all it's forms. You can never have too much and you can never love too many people. What you do with your love is important though. I will do good with my love. I also get to be surrounded in the love of those people that belong to me. Oh and the hounds that belong to me too!

I am grateful I have a job. In these trying financial times, this is no small thing. I am grateful that things are going well enough that my employer has work and money to give me overtime. I may not always like overtime - if money were my main desire in life, I would have left Cornwall a long time ago. But in a month with Easter, Mother's Day and two birthdays, I am grateful. And because the alternative is not something I wish to consider!

I am grateful for having a nice family, a good family. I know someone who is not so lucky. not only did she have to put up with her childhood being ravaged by these people but now they are a millstone she carries through life. She cares for them all. And they all drag her down and down and down, with their needs and their messed up lives that they always need her to sort out and be there for.

I am grateful my family are also my friends. They are my support and I support them. I love them all and I miss them. I am so grateful that I have them in my life. That they are mine. That they are the ones who shaped my life, in love, kindness and understanding. I am also grateful for the mistakes we learnt because a 'perfect' life would have made me a very, very 'imperfect' person. They gave me an opportunity to learn. They also gave me the opportunity to make my own mistakes, of which I made very many. But I learn. And always, i love my family.

Grateful for beds and duvets..... and pillows... and snuggly dogs and men who cuddle and snore.

I am grateful for story tellers and all the people that bring them to life. Editors, publishers, printers, directors, producers, costume designers, set artists, actors, actresses, narrators, cartoonists, library assistants reading to kids in a circle........ But with out the story tellers..... and without the stories...... with out the writers muse.....

So please will one of you just get on and publish my friends story so I can get on and READ it already!

After a weekend playing with creative wonders, I am grateful for colour. Maybe if you can only see in grey, colour isn't important, or maybe grey takes on all the richness and variation of our spectrum in a way we can not imagine..... I can't imagine being colour blind. I am so glad I am not.... I am grateful for colour, in all it's variety and wonderfulness.....

I read a book recently called Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde which seems very relevant to this but to start talking about the ideas of colour here would spoil the book so I won't. But it sure has some interesting ideas. I am grateful for good books and writers who find new ways to rewrite the world and the universe....

Today I am grateful for the fact that I am not the Boss. I don't carry the can. I don't take it all home with me. I get to smile when the shit is hitting the fan and at 5.00 I walk out the door unless they offer me overtime.

I am grateful that I can do Maths. That those little numbers speak to me. That I can do the math and work out which loo rolls are actually cheapest (currently the white own brand four pack). That I can play with those little equations and move those numbers around. But I am also grateful that there is more to learn about numbers and that there is soooo much MORE! Can you imagine how the mysterious relations between numbers and the way they all work together must have seemed like magic to our ancestors? Love them....

And I am still loving those eggs.... and it seems everyone else loves them to - even the person who has spurned every cake and sweet I have ever wafted under their nose. I know their weakness now!

Today I am grateful for the powers of internet shopping. If you live in a small town you expect limited choice, but the truth is, even in the larger towns, my choice is pretty limited. Shops that used to stock larger sizes seem to have slowly stopped. Marks and Spencer and then Tesco left Evans as my only choice.... Their clothing is expensive but not always of great quality....

The internet gives me choice. Not as much as a thin person, but choice. I am actually able to buy clothes that fit.... which is a good start. I love all this choice, where a small artisan has as much chance as a huge shop. All of these shops at my fingertips.

I am grateful for the internet which is full of good things. Like the recipe for chicken and sweetcorn soup and a gazillion other recipes. Just one little area of wonderfulness. And so useful. And the soup was good, very good. I am grateful for the good will of all those people who put all this great stuff on to the internet.

I am grateful just for being today. I am grateful that jerks have to try to make my name embarassing. Glad my name is not embarassing without them having to be numpties.... Although I wish the numpties spelling mistake had not ended up being quite so public or quite so amusing to soooo many people....

I guess I should be grateful that I bought so much laughter to so many people's days.... (still working on that one though....)

I am grateful for Cadbury's Cream Eggs. I just love them. I love to bite the top off and slurp that sugary goodness out with my tongue. I love it, love it, love it. And my Masseuse told me they are relatively low cal the other night. So now I don't feel guilty for eating multiple eggs at a time....

I am also grateful for the lesson they once gave me in sensible eating. I had a trick when I was a kid, where I would put a whole one in my mouth and bite off the top and slurp it all out within my mouth. Except this one time it went a bit wrong. Luckily I was small enough for my Mum to dangle me by my feet and slap me on the back, hard.....

Probably the closest I have come to death and I STILL love them! They are that good!

This morning I am very grateful that I have a man who gives me space to figure out what I am thinking and feeling and doesn't object to the sudden u-turns as I work myself out.

I am grateful for big hills with views of the sea. I am grateful for stacks of granite slabs to climb and for Little Dog to race around madly. I am grateful for the gentle mist flowing up the valleys giving the land a beautiful soft look as the setting sun paints the land in pastel colours. I am grateful for seeing the land turning into a gentle dream beneath a sky turning to night.

This morning I am grateful that it is Friday. I was thinking about putting the rubbish out tomorrow just after I woke up and then I realised. Yesterday was a mid week day off, a Thursday, that does not make this Monday! Yay!

I am also grateful that I have an indoor loo for nocturnal wanderings. Can you imagine having to go outside at night? Or maybe I would have had a pot.... Still, much love for indoor plumbing!

Oh and I am also grateful that I wore a top with a lovely pattern that consisted of multiple colours and large flowery shapes. It turned out to be very good for disguising the oily drops I managed to let loose.......

I am grateful for a barmy spring day where winter sends the wind and bites from the shadows but can no longer win against the sun. I am grateful for a beautiful beach, a rock perfectly suited to sitting on and a lovely man to sit with me. I am grateful for the beauty that surrounds us, when we but drive out to go see it. I am grateful for good food and the people who invent those recipes and then cook 'em up for us!