1. Morning walks. I’m loving the turn towards darker mornings, as it means we are out in time to see the sunrise without having to rush. It’s not any cooler yet, as historically the next few weeks are always the warmest of the summer here, but the grasses are turning color and there are some yellow leaves on the trees — my favorite season is coming!

2. Practice: yoga at Red Sage, writing with my Friday morning sangha, making art, meditating, resting, reading.

3. First responders. There was a definite funk in our garage this week and we couldn’t find the source, and then Eric remembered that because natural gas has no smell they add a stink to it to alert you there’s a leak, and our water heater is in our garage, and after we considered that as a possibility, we had to confirm, so the fire department sent a crew over to check. If you didn’t already know this, kind and gentle reader, lift assists (if someone — maybe even you — falls but isn’t necessarily hurt and yet you can’t get them back up yourself) and checking for gas leaks are services happily provided by your local fire department. Turns out our stink was a leak from our small freezer that got a section of carpet wet and not a gas leak, but the firefighters said they are more than happy to come check and prefer to do so rather than someone not calling and it turning out to be a real leak. P.S. This is the second time we’ve had to call them out. The other time our carbon monoxide detector went off, and again it wasn’t an actual leak but rather a faulty detector, and still they were happy to come confirm that for us.

4. Healthcare workers. I’m including the people who maintain and clean the facilities and work in the cafeteria and at the front desk and in the records departments and such, along with the certified professionals such as doctors and nurses and pharmacists and all the various specialist technicians, etc. My cousin got to go home from the hospital last week after a serious scare with his heart and my other cousin gave birth to an angel baby that went straight to heaven, and the care they got is such a critical and compassionate part of that experience and I’m so grateful for it. 

5. My tiny family, small house, little life. I’m enjoying this last weekend before Eric is back at work fulltime, and also so grateful to have a dog who will be 12 years old in November. 

Bonus joy: plans to see Chloe’, texting with Chris, Jessamy getting her new apartment and how close it is to “Papa” and the kids’ school (which is right behind his house) and that there are things Mom no longer needs that Jessamy can take to set up her new place after losing almost everything in the fire, Mom continuing to do well and get such good care and company, that she still remembers us, all the books I’ve been reading lately, being able to get books from the library on my Kindle, libraries and librarians, poetry and poets, comedy, music, true crime, documentaries, good TV, listening to podcasts, when it’s cool enough to roll down my car windows and turn the music up, being able to cook, therapy, Sunday morning pilates, clean water, tarot cards, stickers, peaches and corn and watermelon, gummies, sharing reels with Carrie and Shellie and Kari, other people’s dogs and kids and gardens, afternoon storms, the chance to start over for the umpteenth time, a couch that’s just as comfortable to sleep on as my own bed, online banking, grocery shopping, onion and poppy seed buns, Zoom, streaming content, prescription glasses, my infrared heating pad, the way fall smells, the river, the birds at my feeder (I swear there are a few that lean out and look through my window to say “hi”), how hard Ringo tried to get to the back seat after getting himself stuck in the “way back” of my car, how he’s been waiting so patiently behind me for his lunch, naps, fans, a/c, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep. 

1. Morning walks. Sadly, Eric starts back to work in earnest next week, so no more weekday morning walks together. It’s been hazy and sometimes smoky with the wildfires burning here and northwest of us but early mornings are usually still okay so we get a walk in before it gets too bad. Still haven’t gotten many mosquitoes on this side of town yet and now it’s getting close to when that season is over for the year, so we’ve still been able to walk at our favorite places, near the water. I saw some yellow leaves this week, so even though we’ve got a bunch of 90 degree days in the forecast, fall is on its way.

2. Practice. Yoga at Red Sage, my Friday morning writing sangha, meditating, writing, and making art.

3. Family. My cousin was released from the hospital and is going back home, Mom still remembers us and we are still sending each other selfies, and Lia is riding her bike without training wheels and lost a tooth.

4. Late summer season food. The natural stuff — watermelon, corn, berries, and peaches, and the traditional stuff — potato salad, burgers, potato chips, baked beans, pasta slaw, and pie.

5. My tiny family, small house, little life. We went to a bbq by a lake with friends yesterday and even though I would always rather stay home than anything else, it was fun. I’ve been loving extra on Ringo because our friend Theresa just found out her ghost faced cattle dog Casper who is almost exactly three years young than Ringo and looks so much like him has cancer — send them some love if you’ve got some to spare. 

Bonus joy: texting with Chris and Chloe’, sharing reels with Shellie and Carrie and Kari, realizing that having friends who blog is almost like having penpals, so many good books, watching TV, listening to podcasts, clean laundry and clean sheets, a warm shower, a big glass of cold clean water, other people’s kids and dogs and gardens, listening to other people’s funny or sweet or surprising stories, making each other laugh, a cooler day in the midst of so many hot ones, Sunday morning Pilates, therapy, how much the bees and other bugs love the blooms on our mint, baby deer and their spots, Sunday afternoons, fry sauce, a good watermelon, our whole house fan and fans in general of all kinds, a/c, the view, how Ringo sometimes chooses to hang out with me even if Eric is home, gummies, grapefruit Bubly water, dogs with spots and stripes, baby elephants, stickers, wi-fi, prescription glasses, naps, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.