Thursday Morning List...

..and beyond. Participating in Thursday 13 this week.

I mentally "jotted down" some happy things as I drove in to work this morning, and have remembered some more good things. In spite of it being yet another typical grey and ugly-looking March day, I was cheered by some things--auditory and visual, mostly. It turned out to be an easy-going day.

Here then, is today's happy list:

*1

two days after finding out she did not get chosen for a town beach job, my daughter is dealing with it okay after all. Already the next morning, she was talking about going to a few other places in town on Saturday morning to apply for summer positions. That's my girl!

*2

discovering that the last sesame bagel in the house was NOT eaten by R or Mr. F before they left the house, so I was able to have that as my breakfast with a second cup of coffee and relaxing a bit before I took off for work.

*3

not having to wear gloves OR a hat on my morning walk with Jewel through the neighborhood. After months of wrapping myself up to face the bitter cold and wind nearly every day it was SO enjoyable to simply throw a jacket on, walk slowly, not mind so much when the dog stopped to sniff and investigate some "pee-mail" left on a tuft of grass or mail box post.

*4

kids playing catch with a baseball and baseball mitts at the bus stop (a sure sign of spring)

*5

turning on the car's radio after starting up the car, and the song playing was "Kick Drum Heart" by The Avett Brothers--a perfect way to get me off and running on a work day!

*6

seeing a swan couple slowly gliding along on the river as I crossed over it on the bridge--an unexpected serene and beautiful moment glimpsed as I sped along.

*7

spotting seven crows in a (still) bare maple tree alongside the road. At any other time, I might have considered their black silhouettes to be ominous, but I liked how they decorated the bare branches, as if they were waiting...for something good.

*8

laughing out loud at and also being further impressed by Chris Rock--I caught an interview with him on the radio this morning(listen here). I always liked him(just hearing his voice gets me wanting to laugh) and now I hold the guy in even higher esteem. Very smart, a seemingly great father and down-to-earth, and off course, wickedly funny. Yeah, his humor can be VERY raunchy and laced with profanities(in the past, Me. F and I have only been able to watch his comedy specials on cable TV when R was OUT of the house), but his humor is the RIGHT kind of raunchy. There are plenty of simply vulgar comedians out there--Rock is NOT vulgar for the sake of being vulgar even at his raunchiest. It was just so great to have him be the last thing I heard as I drove into the parking lot at work.

This is how the interview ended:

Mr. ROCK: I'm the zebra. When I was a kid, I used to love Goofy. Now I am Goofy."
Copyright © 2011 National Public Radio

*9

the good feeling of dealing with a potentially tough customer at work, rising to the challenge, doing excellent design work with her for the art she was framing and eliciting a wonderful compliment from her before she left(and spent over 500.00 !)

*10

A cup of hot jasmine tea as my treat after that customer left.

*11

NO cuts of any kind today while on the job! I often get at least one each day--I am always wearing a Band-Aid on one of my fingers. It comes with the territory--I get cuts from glass and picture wire, but most often from the sides of mats. Like amped up paper cuts. But, I escaped that today for a change.

*12

my sneezing, snorting, smiling dog to greet me when I got in from work. Yes, my dog does this excited routine where she sneezes and snorts while wiggling around , and actually smiles. She only does this for a few people who she REALLY likes. I know what she does, showing her teeth with her mouth upturned is not a true "smile" as humans do it, but it is only done when she is elated and excited and it certainly looks like a smile to me.

*13

its Thursday, so that means it is already Friday tomorrow--the week did manage to fly by after all...!