For all these things, I Am Thankful!

A husband that still loves me enough to keep me, sons that are awesome and will still watch a movie and eat popcorn with me, a dog that makes me walk everyday, family that I can call friends, friends that are like family, exceptional neighbors, a house to come home to, a reliable car (thanks to my husband!), food on the table, a huge backyard, my Tinkerbell coffee cup, heat when I need it, clients that still hire me, the sun, the moon, the stars, the wind, the rain, the laughter of friends around the table, light at the flick of a switch, Highlander Grogg coffee, words to say, a big window in my office, lots of pixels, the parking garage lady, the nurses and aides at St. Leonard’s, my sister that I talk to everyday, the ladies at the bank, water, my brother that sends me texts in the middle of the night for no apparent reason, popcorn, a great friend that puts up with my dog, band kids that still keep in contact, my dad for saving everything, the newspaper, a beautiful sunset, summer, kind people, new friends, pumpkins, really great books, red, my mom for teaching me to cook, variations on a straight line, chocolate, sweaters, America, the young cashier at Kroger that laughs at my jokes, journals, my brother that shares everything, cell phones, Thoreau, my brother-in-law that keeps it real, wine, Sunday nights at El Toro, nieces that call/write me, homemade pizza, book club and non-book club, autumn, dogs, my sister-in-law that keeps her heart wide open, blue, friends that stay connected, friends that re-connect, foggy mornings, spring, the road less traveled, sunrises and the promise of a new day, Zits (the cartoon), Lake Michigan, the first snowfall, twinkling lights, bon appetit magazine and the friend who sends it, pedometers, winter, eyes that still connect to my brain, that connect to my finger that pushes the small button on the black box called a camera.

My life…thankful.

Driving the backroads and in the blink of an eye, you see it. A flash of orange and yellow. Mostly, you see the light and how it’s hitting the leaves and not much else. Gotta shoot that tree…

You turn the car around in some crazy driveway and drive back to what you hope you saw, trying to find a place to pull the car over and park. Gotta shoot that tree…

A driveway that screams: “PRIVATE” is the only option. You park there anyway. Gotta shoot that tree…

Carefully crossing a busy country road, with a blind hill on one end and a 90 degree curve at the other, you stand in the darkness of the woods. Never mind the drivers in the cars that are flying by you. Gotta shoot that tree…

The perfect location seems elusive (if the evergreen tree was just a few more feet to the right), but you stand your ground because the light isn’t the same anywhere else. Gotta shoot that tree…

A few frames and you’re out of there–can’t leave the car in that private drive too long!

Success? Maybe.

Love watching and finding the light. Don’t you?

Fall is in the Air  Chair.

Beautiful Fall morning in northern Indiana.

Orange pumpkins, golden leaves, white chairs and wind!

Windy wind!

As if, getting older isn’t harder enough!

I arrive home from a long-overdue eye exam, where I ordered a new pair of bifocals

(yes, I said NEW bifocals),

and this lovely mailer is in my mail box.

Don’t get me wrong, I am fine with my age, mostly because I act like a 12 year old,

but receiving cards like this in the mail…well, it just screams OLD LADY!

Personally, I think the card would have been more tolerable,

if it had been mailed along with a copy of

Nora Ephron’s book, I Feel Bad About My Neck.

At least then, I could have had a good laugh!

“We all look good for our age. Except for our necks.”  ~~Nora Ephron

Second year, moving in.

Apartment living with new friends.

Building beds and talking about shower curtains.

Those bittersweet moments when you watch your kids grow up and move on.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday…

We have been hearing them all summer. The roofers.

Early morning workers.

Hard workers.

Today, they came to our house.

They worked all day, and I mean ALL day.

7:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m.

They were surprised by the brownies and Mountain Dew.

An Ordinary Day during the summer of 2011.

“The Summer of the Roofers”

Moving out.

Back to school.

Another summer gone.

Kids grow up with or without our help.

Always bittersweet.

Day #42—bag #42. Coincidence or serendipity?