Noticing something worth celebration each day is an easy thing for me to do. The habit of writing it down reminds me to be grateful for these and a myriad of other things in my life. Here are my top 10 for July 2015.
Fireworks on the 4th! -Fireworks are often use as a ‘symbol’ for celebration….I like them in small doses and not too frequently. Somehow the 4th of July is always my favorite event to enjoy fireworks and this year is was so simple - walking about a block from my Parent’s house after spraying myself with insect repellent. It was 15 minutes of summery celebration.
Goldfinches - We have goldfinches that are frequenting our bird feeder and the plants on our deck. I always celebrate seeing them - both for their color and their loopy flight pattern.
A new Coursera course after a hiatus - I had about 2 months of absolutely no Coursera courses….and celebrated starting a new one about Geodesign this month. I’ll ramp up again in the fall probably - but I’m setting three as a maximum. I enjoy the courses tremendously but more than three concurrently is overwhelming.
A day at home - Now that I am post-career, I look back on the time of my life when I left home for work every weekday and some weekends…and I wonder how I did it. I find myself frequently celebrating a day at home these days…it is my favorite place to be!
Hydrangea on the desk - I like having flowers or something else from outdoors as a focal point on my desk even though the view from my office window is wonderful. When I close the drapes to block the afternoon sun - the piece of outdoors that I’ve brought in side sustains me until I can see outdoors again.
A new computer - Not for me…for my Mom. She has had hand-me-down computers before…so we both celebrated a new one just for her (and that I was there to configure it the way she wanted).
A hike to the Patapsco River - I hiked to the Patapsco River from Belmont with summer campers. It was a hot day and we all celebrated wading in the river before we hiked back. I celebrated when I got home and discovered I’d already gotten the 12,000 steps for the day!
Bug Blitz - Another activity with Belmont summer campers. It was a warm (not too hot) sunny day - perfect for finding bug. The elementary school aged campers were very good at capturing the insects for a photo into iNaturalist. Their enthusiasm was contagious! My favorite was a small moth with orange markings - a chickweed geometer.
Blue jay feather - I found a blue jay feather. It was mostly black but has a rim of blue and black on one edge - unusual looking. I celebrated finding it…and realizing what it was.
Red highlights - We painted a concrete floor - base coat then sprays of green and copper. The final touch was some streaks of dusky red made with a paint coated marble. We all celebrated how great it looked!
Wishing you something to celebrate today!
Okey, Thomas; illustrated by Katherine Kimbell and Orlando Frank Montagu Ward. Paris and its story. London: J.M. Dent. 1904. Available from the Internet Archive here. Colorful illustrations of Paris in the time before World War I. I clipped 2 that included the Eiffel Tower from different perspectives. A lot has changed in the intervening years.
Hichens, Robert Smythe; illustrated by Jules Vallee Guerin. The Near East: Dalmatia, Greece, and Constantinople. New York: The Century Co. 1913. Many of the illustrations in this book were in morning light. The one I clipped is of the mosque of Suleiman at Constantinople.
