1. Our garden, now featuring 8-12 foot tall sunflowers and hundreds of cherry tomatoes.

2. Back to work at CSU. The work, the people, the benefits, the new and improved space, the opportunity to work with discomfort and irritation, the view from my office which looks like I’m in a treehouse.

3. Sam and Ringo, who are adjusting so well to us both going back to work. I realized just last night that I finally am sleeping better, have stopped listening for all the bad things (someone getting sick, a puppy chewing on something he shouldn’t, someone licking or scratching or whining).

4. Good food. Zucchini Noodle Pad Thai, fresh peaches, tomatoes tomatoes tomatoes, homemade chocolate chip cookies.

5. Continued progress on our home improvements. Last week was new toilets, replacing a 50 year old electrical panel, new lights for both the front and back porch, picking paint and lighting for the bathroom remodel, and fixing the outlet by the washer and dryer that had been just hanging there for far too long (and he did that last one for free).

Bonus joy: yoga on the back patio in my pajamas under a blue sky, teaching yoga at Om Ananda, play date with Pancho and his mom, having the means to pay for what needs done and to do some fun stuff too, getting my office at CSU halfway unpacked, finally getting over our colds, cooking and baking, trying a new recipe and having it not just turn out but wanting to make it again, having the time to really clean off my desk, having a job that is somewhat flexible, walking with the dogs, the way Sam just decided this morning to get in the tub to investigate, the way Ringo cuddles with Eric in the morning, the way Eric remembers one of the funniest things he ever said, dumb tv with an irritating host that grows on you the more you watch, cooler mornings and even some days, good people that do good work that I don’t mind having in my house, the sweetest feedback on something I wrote.

1. The first signs of fall. Blooms on my chrysanthemum bush, leaves turning yellow, way more tomatoes than we could possible eat, pumpkins turning orange.

2. Peach season. These are one of the things I ache for come winter.

3. The cold Eric got that I thought I was getting too turned out to not hit me so hard. It was good to have a break on that front for once this summer.

4. Something Good on Wanderlust. It makes me so happy that something I was doing anyway leads to something even better, that people still appreciate it so much.

5. Breakfast with good friends I don’t see nearly enough. Good people who make me want to linger, make me laugh, don’t mind turning our meal into an impromptu life coaching session for me.

Bonus joy: having the means to fix up our house and have work done without worrying, having the time to be able to be here so the people can come do the work, having dogs who will rest mostly patiently in their crates while the work gets done, my favorite plumber Andy, knowing it won’t be too long before the bathroom is all shiny and new and the floors are finally finally refinished even though there’s a lot of work and waiting to do between now and then, talking to my mom on the phone, coming up with a new mac and cheese recipe that uses spinach and tomatoes from the garden and is so tasty I don’t mind eating it for lunch and dinner two days in a row, people who see what I’m doing and get it and appreciate it, sitting in the backyard watching the moths feed from the flowers on the broccoli while the dogs play and a light wind blows, Sam’s foot being hurt again but not too bad and on the mend.