Grateful Friday on Saturday

Today I give thanks for...

Where to start? It was a good week. Nothing out of the ordinary, but then I am a believer in the extraordinary ordinary. The simple little things that make every day beautiful and magical. They're always there if we notice and honor them. That's the whole idea behind my Grateful Friday posts: to pay attention and say thank you for the good things that are mine. Life is never perfect, but long ago I decided not to let perfect ruin good. I learned it is a choice.

Gray days. I love them as much as other people loathe them. It's my nostalgic, wistful nature. Not to mention there is always color to be found in our world and I'm not talking about donning rose colored glasses either. It's going to rain all day. It would be better if the forecast predicted snow because we are planning on decorating our family tree later.

Christmas carols. I finally feel compelled to listen to them. Right on cue...it's December first. Vince Guaraldi is on right now. He reminds me of college.

Believe it or not this is a Christmas decoration. Isn't it cool?!! It's a Christmas cactus that Jess brought me when she came for dinner recently.

I've started decorating. I always put up my dining room tree first. It's the one I decorate with all my Mom's ornaments so it's extra special to me. I love basking in the white, twinkly lights.

My book buddies.

I finished Bitter Orange last week. It held my interest, but I didn't love it. I jotted down a single passage:

She's a damn good storyteller and all she needs is an audience. If she tells the story well, you'll think she's someone different than the person in her head. who wouldn't want to rewrite their past, if it means it will change their future?

Now I'm halfway through How to Behave in a Crowd. I love Bordas's style and the characters she writes. I was immediately smitten with Isadore.

Chinese delivery from a new to us restaurant. The food was delicious. We chuckled last Saturday when we realized we unintentionally ordered Chinese while we were watching Crazy Rich Asians. The movie was disappointing. Meh.

Sunday dinner was carnitas, which cooked all day in the crock pot and were fabulous. I like mine topped with creamy cole slaw.

Mike and I started watching Making a Murderer this week. I had a very strong opinion going into this documentary and I'm a little surprised at how it has wavered, but I also know that this is very one-sided. Two things I am certain about are that the law enforcement involved were corrupt clowns and Brendan Dassey did not get a fair trial.

Mike's car is good as new and the repairs were less than I anticipated.

Neighbors who repair your broken window for free when a baseball goes through it. I'm amazed that in all the years we've lived here and all the balls that have been thrown in this yard, we've only lost two windows.

My favorite spot is also their favorite spot.

An apple a day.

A new scarf and Peanut for modeling it.

Morning rituals.

We're redoing Lily's room again. She has changed in the two years since we last did it and it's important to her because she spends a lot of time in her room so it's important to me. She's a good girl and she doesn't ask for much.

Church tomorrow.