This is a periodic blog feature I call “grace notes.” It occasionally captures my jottings of incidental gratitude. My hope is that this practice will make me (and you?) more aware of the constant flow of amazing good we are perpetually steeped in, which we are surrounded by all the time. It is here only asking to be noticed and amplified.

So now I am furthering my ongoing goal of appreciating such a continuous, overflowing abundance of random good. I’ve taken photographs of some of them with my iPhone, which you can see in this post.

So let’s start this gratitude list with:

• Our youngest was able to be home for five weeks over the holidays, two of which she was on vacation, and the rest she worked from our house, see photo below, until her teaching schedule resumed. I’m grateful we get along so well and that she likes to be with us. I’m grateful for all the fun we have together, for the walks we take, for the heartfelt, earnest conversations we have, and that we are so grateful for each other. I’m grateful she’s so kind to us and so helpful too. I’m also grateful she brings her “friends” home to be with us as well (never call them stuffed animals) and that none of us have outgrown enjoying them; they are such good company and great at snuggling. I’m grateful our daughter is such a balanced, sensible, intelligent, clear headed young woman.
• I’m grateful we had a quiet holiday, mostly just the three of us. I’m grateful we had a lot of fires in our fireplace, and that both our daughter and my husband did a big sewing project in our dining room over the holiday. I’m grateful both of them got new fabric to play with and my husband got all new thread. I’m grateful we played lots of cards (Phase10 and Five Crowns), cribbage, and bananagrams.  I’m grateful we were so low key we didn’t even get a tree, and that Christmas for us was not about the trappings.
• I’m grateful for the great time I had with our older daughter in Guadeloupe just before Christmas. It was so fun to be with her on an unexpected adventure. I’m grateful for the hiking time, the beach time, the snorkeling time, and the bonding time. I’m grateful she could zoom in with us on Christmas, and that she and I are now planning a trip for the summer.
• I’m very grateful our son finally got all his stuff out of our house after a year of asking.
• I’m grateful all our offspring are avid readers. This is such an important thing to me and I’m grateful I was able to instill that love in them.
• I’m grateful for all the food made by others recently: church friends, book group friends, even restaurants. I’m grateful for the lovely meal out we enjoyed for our anniversary; I’m still dreaming of that excellent calamari appetizer! I’m grateful for eating out after church on Sundays.
• I’m grateful so many of you are enjoying your Polly Castor Art calendars. It has been fun to get your photos of them in situ.
• I’m grateful for all my new ink (and my pen holders) that I bought with my Christmas money. They make my journal writing so much more fun and inspired. I’m grateful that the ink is finding its way into my artwork too, even though that’s not why I bought it.
• I’m grateful my husband dealt with all the help desks to solve my recent technical difficulties. He is a saint. For all you that think I do everything, I don’t. I’m grateful he does dishes and laundry too, besides being my tech guy, and all around main squeeze. I’m so grateful I hit the marriage jackpot with such a helpful, dear sweetie.
• I’m grateful for lovely healings in my Christian Science practice. I’m grateful that some long standing cases have come to good conclusions.
• I’m grateful for the Clergy Association I participate in, for the four book groups I’m in, for the church I go to, and for all the art groups I’m in. Each of these communities is wonderful and so very appreciated.
• I’m grateful for all my art materials and my third floor office where I spend my time. I’m grateful for new ideas always percolating regarding what and how to paint. I’m grateful to be learning time-lapse photography of me working on artwork that I’ve been sharing on Instagram stories.
• I’m grateful I have “dailies” that I do regularly that give me a good baseline to work out from. I’m grateful for every good habit I’ve acquired, and for still trying to master others. I’m grateful I’m neither “settling” nor spiraling downward, but “rising higher and higher from a boundless basis.” I’m grateful progress is a spiritual law.
• I’m grateful for the opportunity to speak to our local Congregational Church (here’s what I said).
• I’m grateful for my husband’s podcast, the Bible Speaks to you, and that he’s so vibrantly engaged with answering your questions and sharing his insights.
• I’m grateful for dried flowers, Legos, my great to-be-read pile, for naps, for the Charles Finch mystery series (I’m reading book four now), for cell phones which make my lifestyle possible, for our new Community Shellfish place that brings in the fresh catch from Maine, for almonds, for Costco and Trader Joes, for hiking at Huntington State Park, for our first snow of the year, for good developments in my extended family, for planning painting workshops and retreats in Maine, for light bulbs, for delicious comice pears, for gloves, for maps, for having a car when it rains, for crunchy peanut butter, for new fancy shampoo, for The Chosen video series, for ears, noses, and eyes, for the sun, for days getting longer, for frost on the window, for a clean house in the New Year after a lived-in homey holiday, for conviviality everywhere, for the beauty of wilderness, for the unfolding now, for each of you.
• Yes, I’m so grateful for each of you. Because the website was down last weekend, I missed you! I truly felt the void. I’m so glad you are out there and participate in this blog. I’m so grateful you appreciate it, for you bring so much to my life by being here. Nothing like a small taste of our connection to one another not working to make me so grateful all over again that we both have the privilege of being here. Thank you for reading, thank you for subscribing, thank you for supporting, and thank you for sharing this blog. It means so much to be able to amplify good together in this world, which is so hungry for all our love.

Share your grace notes in the comments! I know you have them too!