thoughtful thursday: readers are made

things that made me smile

* dinner with a good friend.

* the absence of humidity and high temperatures

* josiah coming home after spending time at the nephew's. he was so happy to see me and met me right at the door with a huge jump. i was so distracted that i left my keys in the door. love that dog.

* my dad is okay and I'm so glad.

* walks in the cool fall air.

* good books. a cup of herb tea. hammock time.

* a good sweaty workout.

* doctor who with friends.

* and this little bit of fall color brings mixed emotions. while I love fall i am not quite ready to welcome it with open arms...yet.

* i love this apron made for me by one of my talented SILs. it just makes me smile and feel wonder-ful.

p.s. published from my Droid phone; hence the awkward line up text and photos. not many editing options on my phone.

thoughtful thursday: share the last cookie

things that made me smile last week

okay, i'm back and i have a lot of catching up to do. BUT i cracked my laptop's screen when i accidentally stepped on it one morning in my fog of waking up entirely too early. AND this was after i uploaded all the photos from my camera the night before. hopefully, i'll have a new laptop in a couple weeks time and i'll post photos from my adventures over the past few weeks. for now, i'm starting where i'm from which is looking at last week...

* my mom. she makes me laugh. especially with stories about late night... oops, i promised not to tell.

* a divine dinner of leftovers with a good friend. it was such a fun night of eating good, healthy food and talking. i need to do this more often.

* i made this surprisingly good little salad using up what i had in my fridge. into a small bowl quarter and slice some english cucumer, cut into chunks a small avocado, and cut up two string cheese sticks. toss with some balsamic vinegrette and serve. yum!

* i love fall cleaning. it feels so good to deep clean and freshen things up.

* watching tv and crocheting. i'm working on a baby blanket for a friend.

* reading.

* receiving much sought after inspiration.

* gelato and deep conversation about hard stuff with my dearest LLR. this too shall pass. life is hard sometimes, and we don't always get what we want. but life is good, i wouldn't trade any of it.

* people who help other people.

* laughing at the sunday comics.

* my job. amazingly, i smiled quite a bit this week over my job. i feel so blessed to be where i am right now.

* another weekend of chiefs training. it was amazing and humbling to be a part of it. plus, catching up with my brothers and sisters is always so much fun.

* at the end of a very long, working weekend i finally sat down to play the piano and just felt the tension drain away. thank you.

thoughtful thursday: patient & tough

9-11 memorial

WTC skyline sculpture made of metal from the wreckage

fireman's coat at St. Paul's Chapel

memorial at St. Paul's chapel

9-11 Memorial fountain

panorama from WTC plaza overlooking one of the fountains

9-11 Memorial fountain at the foot of Freedom Tower 1(?)

a vertical panorama of Freedom Tower down to the memorial fountain

the Survivor Tree

photos taken on 26 August 2012.
more of my photos here

thoughtful thursday: courage