I am so grateful for...
the view right outside the window of this vacation hideaway.
maryland crab cakes. bacon-ey salad with ranch dressing. cheesecake. the strength and vitality to walk it all off.
mango scented soy candles. an indulgent husband who buys them for me.
simple pleasures. the fact that soy candles make me more happy than some women can be with diamonds.
palm-sized slices of sunshine, still clinging to rain-soaked trees. the random chirp of a few, hardy crickets, persevering in song as the November sun sets.
long evenings spent reading GK Chesterton. my beautifully embossed, antique copy of "Weight of Glory" by CS Lewis - one I have owned for many, many years now. short evenings spent reading Gladys Taber. reading Wind in the Willows to children.
lamplight - pink light bulbs, to be precise. (nothing makes a room more beautiful than a pink light bulb under any color or style of lampshade.) generous dollops of red in a home's decorating scheme. toile, in restrained amounts. fresh flowers. antique furniture. the matted-and-framed photo of a loch in Scotland - a gift from a well-loved, wee Scotsman.
copper cookware. the fact that my copper pots shine like mad, with a half a lemon and some salt and elbow grease.
the thought that I planted over 50 spring-flowering bulbs into 2 gigantic planters on my back porch, this past week, before leaving for vacation.
dahlias. my canary, who sings like a dream. my parrotlet, who imitates him.
yo yo ma and his cello, eric clapton and his guitar. handel....and his Messiah.
shooting stars, church life, the way I can make him laugh.
That He loved me first.
quiet moments, busy days, isaac's gigantic smile. sarah's musical laugh, hannah's nose that wrinkles when she smiles, josiah's acoustic guitar playing.
adjectives, back roads, the smell of pine needles and the ocean air.
being convinced that I am deeply loved, cameo jewelry, the color orange, and trying new things.
friends in north carolina. having a professional mathematician in the family. having a professional artist almost in the family. being married to a pastor. having a father who has finally retired. a mother who sits by me in church - two trophies of grace we are, sitting side by side.
a sister who is even funnier than I. a brother who is a war veteran, though younger than I.
choosing to carry no baggage in life, red toenail polish, the way my husband weeps as he prepares a message. (every pastor should. does yours? do you know him well enough to say?)
puppy bellies, the winter sky, cicero's thoughts on growing old, palladian windows, old cantilever barns.
being well educated, so that I am not compelled to be a competitive, conspicuous consumer.
being able to afford it, but still not buy it. marriage. funky socks. lycra. baths. cardamom. whole nutmeg.
the fact I can still blow him a kiss and make him forget what he was about to say...
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