This post is a mashup of The Little Bliss List and Joy Jam, and as such is meant to celebrate: the little things that brought me hope and happiness this week, the sweet stuff of life, those small gifts that brought me joy this week. By sharing them, I not only make public my gratitude, but maybe also help you notice your own good stuff and send some positive energy out into the world.

1. We are still here. I don’t actually believe in dire catastrophic predictable “the world will end on this certain date and time” scenarios. I think think it will either come in a flash without warning, or be clearly on its way, coming at a slow creep but equally unstoppable, and I think that if it happens it will be kind of like how our individual deaths will come–as either a surprise, a shock, suddenly, or at the end of a long goodbye. And yet, I did today as I do when I wake up every morning and felt gratitude for still being here, for getting another chance to ease suffering in the world and in myself, to begin again.

2. Netflix and Hulu, TV on demand. I don’t want or need TV all the time, but when I am tired and need to rest on the couch, when sleeping is too much but reading would be too hard and I don’t want to stare at my toes or the wall, when I want someone to tell me a story, I want to be able to watch. Sometimes that might mean an important documentary like Half the Sky, and others it might mean something silly and slightly creepy like the entire three seasons of United States of Tara.

3. SNOW!!! We finally got some, only about four inches but so beautiful and cold and quiet. More, please.

4. Christmas Music and The Happy Holiday Hearth. Probably because of Dexter’s cancer and “what happened last Friday,” I am feeling extra raw, homesick and weepy this season, wishing for the long gone days of Christmas at Grandma’s Farm. Along with twinkly lights, classic holiday music sung by voices much loved but long gone and my fireplace dvd bring me comfort. (Don’t mock me until you’ve tried it–it’s all kinds of awesome).

5. Permission to take it easy. I’m at least a week behind on Reverb12 posts, my house is a mess, laundry needs done, the checkbook should have been balanced almost a month ago, I didn’t do any Christmas cards or bake, lots of people I normally give to this time of year might feel slighted, but I just don’t have it in me. I am honoring instead how hard I’ve been working this year, how much I’ve accomplished, how many times I tried and failed, how much is still left to do, and giving myself permission to rest, to give up, surrender, let go and just be.

Bonus Joy: Dexter is still here. Apparently, he plans on sticking around for Christmas, so I bought him presents yesterday, three new “babies.” This picture was taken on Sunday morning towards the end of our walk. His left eye is running, (a symptom of the tumor in his nose), so he looks sort of like a Goth dog.