We have a chest freezer. We put lots of things in the chest freezer. At one point, we put some homemade broth in the freezer, and it leaked before it froze. So now, we need to defrost the chest freezer and clean it out. This means that we’ve been working on eating out of the freezer for the last few weeks to get our stockpile of food down enough to fit only in the refrigerator freezer. We will be defrosting it this weekend. This means that this last week we have been eating a lot of things that had been bought who knows when. One of those things was a…

I want to start this entry of the journal a little differently. I want to talk a little bit about the place of gratitude in our society and also more about the place of gratitude in my life. I have seen two arguments against publically expressing gratitude lately, mostly in response, I think to celebrities expressing their gratitude for what they have in this time. And while I am not a celebrity, the truth is, I have more than most.  The first argument was that expressing gratitude without also working to address the issues the prevent others from having what you have is really just a humble-brag. I understand this…

Now that I am spending around 40 hours/week working in my home office, I have a hard time wanting to come in on Sunday evening to write my gratitude post. It feels a bit like going to work on Sunday night, and who wants to do that? That does mean that gratitude journals are going to get a little erratic until I can figure out a new schedule that works for me, but that is life for now. So I am just going to roll with it. Gratitude Item #27 – Brownie MixLast week, FB kept showing me an advertisement for a weight loss program. This is not surprising as…

I feel a bit like I am inside a Monty Python sketch. Except instead of the Spanish Inquisition, no one expected a pandemic. I mean, honestly, Pandemic is a board game I play with friends. It is not supposed to be our everyday life. And yet, here we are. I started this journal with the goal of remembering to be grateful for the little things, not realizing that only a year later, those little things would be very big things after all.  Gratitude Item #25 – Grocery storesEven 1 month ago, this would have seemed like such a little thing. But now? Now, I think all of us who have…

Three weeks ago, when I last posted a gratitude journal, Washington state had just declared a state of emergency due to COVID-19. That has been the start of some crazy weeks in my world, and I have not taken the time to sit down and post here. But the truth is, I think it is even more important in the midst of all of this to be grateful. I will also admit that a lot of what I am grateful for right now is in the way my employer and I am able to respond to the issue. More than anything I am grateful for the (as of right now)…

I have gone three weeks without posting, but not three weeks without being grateful. Sometimes, no matter my intentions, I just do not make it over to the computer with the energy to post. I do apologize for that. But, I am here now, with three weeks worth of gratitude Gratitude Item #13 – SavingsThe last few weeks we have been hit with some unexpected expenses. The car needed $3600 worth of work (and might have to go back in for more). The dogs’ dental visit cost $1200, and C’s cousin needs some financial help, so we have sent money to her (and will likely send more). None of this…

Last week I was sick. I spent most of the weekend curled up on a recliner or in bed, generally able to keep my eyes open for about an hour at a time and then falling asleep. I did manage to watch the Super Bowl, but I was so exhausted when it was over that I went right to bed, and did not even spare a thought for my gratitude post. But, I was grateful for things last week, and I am again this week. So here we go. Gratitude Item #9 – Game night with friendsWe ended up planning a last-minute game night last weekend. We made the plan…

What day of the week is it? Is tomorrow really Monday again? A Monday on which I have to go to work? What foul sorcery is this? Seriously, all these holidays crammed into four months (Veterans’ Day-Presidents’ Day) makes it seem like maybe we should have 4 day work weeks.  But, tomorrow is not a holiday. It is Monday, and I must go to work. But that means tonight is Sunday, and it is time to be grateful. Gratitude Item #7 – New Art from Artists I RespectThis was a week of new media for me. The new William Gibson novel, Agency, was released. Picard premiered, and we finally ordered…