1. Peonies in my garden. It’s strange this year because the dark pink ones usually bloom first, but this year it’s the white and the pale pink with the butter yellow centers. 

2. Morning walks. We are having a cooler, wet spring, which means we have to stay on the pavement and skip the dirt trails around the ponds and by the river, so I didn’t take many pictures this week.

3. Mom. We send each other selfies, (Chris helps her). I’m so glad she hasn’t forgotten me yet.

4. #1000wordsofsummer. Jamie said on the first day that there are something like 70,000 people who signed up, so I don’t spend any time on the message boards, but it’s nice to have the container of the 14 days, the 1000 words a day, and the daily letters of encouragement from various authors that Jamie sends. It’s really helping me to work on “The Book.” Here’s hoping I can maintain the momentum once these 14 days are done.

5. My tiny family, small house, little life. I told Eric when I got in bed last night that even though I don’t ever take it for granted, sometimes I get overwhelmed by how grateful I am to have him, to be able to live my life with my best friend, my favorite person.

Bonus joy: a fish sandwich for lunch, cooking with Eric, leftovers, reading in the morning with a mug of hot green tea, books and those who write them, poetry and poets, libraries and librarians, Dr. Foster, yoga at Red Sage, how green everything is right now, clean sheets, a warm shower, house plants, comedy, true crime, music and musicians, my nutritionist, my acupuncturist, my masseuse, my Pilates teacher, going to bed early, fireflies (even though I’ve never actually seen one), birds at my feeder, my Merlin app, taco salad, a big glass of cold clean water, health insurance, our whole house fan, being able to leave the windows open, how soft and green the grass is in the backyard, having all the laundry put away, prescription glasses, down blankets and pillows, listening to or watching podcasts, other people’s dogs and kids and gardens, being able to start over as many times as necessary, grocery shopping, how much quieter it is living in a college town during summer break, the spicy sesame bowl at Liminal, rice, roasted veggies, citrus, naps, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.