1. Flowers. Especially this time of year when my garden is hibernating. One of my not so secret dreams is to turn our garden, front and back, into a tiny flower farm. Places like Floret Flower Farm are so dreamy — fields of flowers covered in bees, butterflies, moths, and hummingbirds. 

2. Good food. The nice thing about cooking a special seasonal meal for just the two of us is we have food for the next three days, don’t have to worry about cooking and get to eat some of our favorite things, like apple pie and stuffing. I made bran muffins with dried raspberries this morning, which are one of Ringo’s favorites. 

3. Four day weekend. In particular, one like this where not only does Eric get to be home from work, but those last four days of his break, there’s NOTHING on our schedule, nothing extra that has to be done.

4. Good content. Books, magazines, TV, films, podcasts, music, comedy, and art. And I’m also grateful for all the makers.

5. Morning walk. It looks so different out there now, full winter.

6. My tiny family, tiny home, tiny life. I am so lucky, so grateful.

Bonus joy: lots of naps, drinking green tea in the morning in the dark while sitting in my practice room, my aunt’s quilts (a long time ago, on a completely different website, I did a tour of my house and all the quilts of hers I have — I need to do that again), watching true crime with Eric, being retired, writing in the morning with a cup of coffee, a warm shower, grapefruit bubbly water, raspberries, apple pie oatmeal (one part oatmeal, one part apple pie), poetry, blankets (in this regard, I may have a problem, kind of like I have with books — there can never be enough!), birds in the feeder, dreaming about Sam, all the things Ringo does that drive me crazy but also mean he’s happy and healthy, walking with Eric and Ringo at City Park, hanging out and making art with Mikalina, texting with my brother, neighbors putting up their Christmas lights and decorations, the hydromassage chair, the pool, sitting in the sauna with Eric and Janice, making art with Janice, training with Shelby and the gang (which one day this week included Eric), realizing I’m getting physically stronger, dog rescue, snow tires, a washer and dryer inside my own house, hot water right out of the tap, sunshine, electricity, the internet, clean water, kitchen towels, blank journals, purple highlighters, baby chickens, snail mail, yoga, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.

1. Ringo Blue. It’s his ninth birthday today. He and I have a deal that he’ll stick around for at least another four years, (and that still wouldn’t be enough). He is all the way recovered from being sick and it’s such a relief to see him happily being himself, even (or especially?) when he’s being a jerk.

2. Birthday love. My 55th birthday was yesterday. It’s so nice to be reminded in one big wave of all the people who love me, even though they are all really good at letting me know all the time.

3. Practice, which this week included making art with Janice, meditating with bilateral sound tracks, and Wild Writing with my Friday morning writing sangha led by Laurie.

4. Morning walks. We had a snow storm and frigid temperatures roll in towards the end of the week, so I didn’t get as many pictures — we walked early in the dark so we could beat the storm one morning, and the next morning it was only 7 degrees with fresh snow on the ground.

5. My tiny family, tiny house, tiny life. Eric doesn’t have to work next week because his campus is on fall break. I just remembered that this morning after we got back from the gym, (weekends are my favorite because it means hydromassage chair, hop around in the pool for a bit, then sit in the sauna). He is my absolute favorite person. He and Ringo are out napping on the couch together right now and that makes me so happy. Ringo is so cuddly when it gets cold, makes himself a pile out of blankets and pillows and it’s so cute!

Bonus joy: the cake Eric made me, birds at the feeder, white chrysanthemums — especially the fat full ones with spiky edges like you see in Japanese art and that are wrapped in plastic netting at the grocery store to protect the petals, my general practitioner — her skill and kindness and sense of humor, books, new music, the fancy headphones I got Eric for Christmas that he doesn’t really use so now I do, gingerbread muffins, vaccines, clean sheets, true crime, listening to podcasts, that corner of the couch, twinkle lights, texting with my neighbor, texting with Chloe’ and Chris, YouTube, a new blank notebook, my HappyLight, the sound of the furnace, snow, raspberries, bananas, toast, marionberry jam from Auntie T, the sound of Hendrix in the background during our Wild Writing and what Laurie said about that and how Chloe’ smiled, other people’s dogs — in particular Diego who we see at the cement ponds, all the great places we have to walk so close to our house, being able to use the internet and apps for things I used to have to use the phone or my whole person out in public to accomplish, the pool, prescription glasses, Dana from Scotland who I make talk extra by peppering her with questions because she’s so friendly but I also love her accent, the front desk staff at the gym, training with Shelby and the gang, snow tires, good toothpaste, peanut sauce, the Vietnamese spring rolls from Chili House, being retired, canceled plans, good TV, graphic novels, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.