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This is a relatively newer, periodic, blog feature; I call it “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 even taken photographs of some of them –mostly with my iPhone–as shown in this post.

My list continues with:

• smiling dogs
• tree reflections in water
• cross pollination
• wicker baskets
• lemon zest
• inviting what I want into my life
• unusual pumpkins
• cups of cold water
• late afternoon light on marshes and wetlands in early December
• pleasing a friend by making a new drawer handle to replace her sadly broken one (photo below)
• doodling
• my local knitting group teaching me to make my first mittens
• an egg sandwich (photo below) from our food truck (Eggz): the Polly Special is a Bodega on a brioche with and extra egg. Yum! And I so love supporting local businesses.
• knowing what to say to someone in need
• cookbooks finally catching up with the way I like to eat
• getting pottery commissions done before the holidays
• unbiased thought
• orange pigment
• spiritual causation
• buying a large, sumptuous, handmade leather journal (photo below) for my art notes with the prize money from my first national art show
• hearing from our youngest a lot on the phone
• improved beliefs that spawn reform
• a nice new member at church (photo below)
• hearing a talk by esteemed artist Daniel Greene and seeing a slide of his massive airy studio (photo below)
• spontanaity
• magnificence made fresh
• well written fiction
• clean teeth
• watercolor crayons
• our Reading Room booth at the Mind, Body, Spirit Fair (photo below)
• white sharpies
• cut flowers lasting a long time
• that fake news is false
• that the beautiful, good, and pure constitutes my ancestry (and yours!)
• “prayer is like floating on the inside” comment from a blog reader I gave Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures to
• seeing our oldest (from California) in Boston; going to the Mother Church and having lunch with her there. Seeing photos of her dressed as “good news” for halloween, and visiting her cousin at Berkeley. (photos below)
• thorough preparation
• the courage of definitive decisions
• cultivating the authentic self
• ice sculptures on Main Street in Ridgefield
• instinct
• Truth dispensing with doubt, correcting error
• science
• forever developing insight and broadening capacity
• that special hue of green of the lichen on tree bark
• lots of sanded pastel paper backed and ready to be painted on (photo below)
• poached eggs on roasted vegetables
• pedicures and foot rubs
• my husband reading aloud to me
• rising into newness of life
• our wholesale frame place and their anti-reflective glass
• light streaming in our dining room, tangling with the chair legs under the table (photo below)
• the blessings of new technology
• the miracle of clearing off the table in the middle of my studio
• beaver houses
• our clergy association
• the workers who so promptly replaced our downed telephone poles
• mark making
• ginger
• stalwart pioneers
• the efficacy of a loving response
• that God is sustaining me
• good energy
• excellent intentions
• windshield scrappers
• completions and beginnings
• rubies
• thriving houseplants
• Price Harry’s new fiance
• impromptu Sunday School teaching
• coupons
• sisters
• crock pots
• geckos
• sheet cakes
• answered prayer

What are some of your grace notes recently? Tell us in the comments!

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