1. Morning walks. It’s finally getting warm out there. We’ve had the weirdest summer, with only a couple of 90+ degree days so far when by now we usually have A LOT. We only just this week had to start watering the lawn in back and it’s the middle of JULY! We’ve had more rain and cooler temperatures but I am NOT complaining, especially considering what is happening in other places. I’m enjoying getting to walk more with Eric and love how quiet it is when we get out early. 

2. Ringo. I noticed the past few weeks I hadn’t taken very many pictures of him so this week I made up for it. One super cute thing he’s always done is find things on his walk and insist on carrying them home. Usually it’s toys and often they aren’t dog toys — like the Elmo he found this past week.

3. Good friends. I made art with Janice this week, swapped Instagram reels with Shellie, got to finally have lunch with Carrie, and just got back from hanging out with Chloe’ in her backyard with her dogs and her boys. I’m so grateful for all of them.

4. Teaching yoga. I subbed my Sunday morning class this morning, was in the front of the room instead of in back like usual, and I felt like I’d finally gotten my “groove” back when it comes to teaching. It’s probably not surprising how rusty and awkward you get after a four year break.

5. My tiny family, small house, little life. I probably wouldn’t mind if Eric stayed on vacation all the time. It’s just really nice to have him around more often, especially knowing he’s going to be extra busy in the fall.

Bonus joy: Aunt Monica’s taco salad, family group texts, birds at the feeder, the call of hummingbirds, the giant dragonfly eating mosquitoes in the front yard and the tiny jumping spider eating them inside the house, fans (the one at yoga this morning saved me while I was teaching), lemonade, being cleared to go back on my HRT, that even though our tastes can be very different Eric and I always manage to find something to watch together at night, being able to get books from the library to read on my Kindle without ever needing to even leave the house, good neighbors, dark chocolate covered walnuts, leftovers, naps, catching the murder beetles before they destroyed the clematis, not having as many grasshoppers so far this year, daisies, our whole house fan, my blue jellyfish tshirt, super soft tshirt fabric, buttons, stickers, green tea, pottery, music and musicians, listening to podcasts, clean sheets, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.