1. Farmer’s Market flowers in the bathroom. When I get a new bunch, I take what is still left alive from the week before, trim it down and put it on my writing desk.

2. Rain. It’s been over 90 degrees for days and days, so the big rainstorm yesterday afternoon was a nice break, and it was an extra bonus it didn’t include any hail.

3. Swimming. Y’all, I am learning so much! This week, while I was practicing, I swam in the lap lane. Let me say that one more time, make sure you really heard it — I SWAM in the lap lane! My favorite is wearing my fins and kicking across the pool on my back.

4. Practice. Sam helped me meditate a few times this week.

5. Peach and cherry season. When we go to the Farmer’s Market tomorrow, we are buying a whole box of Palisade peaches so we can cut them up and freeze them, still have them once the season is over.

6. Baby birds. We are a bit sad, because it seems there are only two left in the nest, not because they are big enough to fly away or be on their own, but because something not good happened to them (we don’t know exactly what, and found no evidence of anything, but there are only two left when there were four — and then three and now two).

7. Sam and Ringo. My best friends. It’s been hot, so there’s been a lot of lounging going on around here.

8. And this guy. He’s my very very very best friend. I love the pictures he sends me when he’s out with the dogs. Because of the heat, they drive around in an air-conditioned car in the afternoon more then they get out to walk, just to feel like they got to do something.

Bonus joy: teaching yoga, swimming lessons, aqua aerobics, Pilates, coffee with a friend, Instagram, good books (still reading Pachinko, a National Book Award Finalist, by Min Jin Lee but almost done, and I think I might get Children of Blood and Bone next, a young adult fantasy novel by Nigerian-American novelist Tomi Adeyemi), good TV (we started watching the beginning of the last season of The Great British Baking Show on PBS, and now I’m craving cake), good movies, going to the movies with Eric (we saw “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” and “Oceans 8” last week), sleeping in, a cold glass of clean water, a good yoga music mix, getting paid for doing something I love.