• coffee life,  musings,  writing/reading

    Gratitude Lists

    February 28, 2025

    A few years ago I began the practice of writing out a gratitude list. Usually the final paragraph in my journaling for the day. This morning my journaling began with a list of “what if” questions. What if people were to start making a gratitude list each day, making it a routine just like brushing our teeth? What if it consisted of just one gratitude for the day? How would our view of life change? Would we spend less on unnecessary stuff if we made such a list? What if we wrote it down, putting pen to paper, and not just let it rumble around in our head? I know from my own experience that I was prone to make a list of what I wanted rather than a list of what I already have. And, because of that I was seldom in a place of gratitude. I write gratitude lists.

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  • coffee life,  People/Portraits,  quotes

    Top of my Gratitude List

    January 13, 2025
    Adriana and Emma

    May the light of your soul guide you; May the light of your soul bless the work you do with the secret love and warmth of your heart; May you see in what you do the beauty of your own soul; May the sacredness of your work bring healing, light and renewal to those who work with you and to those who see and receive your work; May your work never weary you; May it release within you wellsprings of refreshment, inspiration and excitement…

    John O’Donohue

    My coffee life this morning had a special perk to it. I was pleased to see Emma at the coffee shop when I arrived. Let me tell you about it. So Adriana, in the background, is one of the current baristas, a full time student at CSU and a manager at Mugs. Emma, in the foreground, worked at Mugs for many years while a student at CSU. She now lives in Massachusetts after graduation and is in town for a visit. These two were roommates for several years and two of the most beautiful people on the earth. They both have made a lot of my mornings better by their presence, offering their smiles, their morning greetings and making my mocha lattes. My life has been enriched because of the gifts they are and I believe the world is richer because of their presence. Even though I am much older, they inspire me through the lives they live! I also consider them adopted granddaughters. They are at the top of my gratitude list! Even though I knew Emma was going to be here, it was still a wonderful surprise to see her. I’m still smiling!

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  • landscape,  natural areas,  poems,  snow

    Miracles Everywhere

    November 9, 2024
    Snow covered foothills at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area

    I was sad
    Mad
    Big things going wrong
    Big
    Asked for a miracle
    Nope
    Screamed for it
    Nope
    Then looked around
    Miracles everywhere
    Just not the one I so badly wanted

    Joyce Wilson-Sanford, I Pray Anyway

    It has been overcast and cold all day. The snow stopped around mid-morning. I made a drive to Reservoir Ridge Natural Area this morning knowing it was closed due to wet conditions but hoping to get a photo of the snow sitting atop the foothills from the gate. What a miracle it is to be alive and live in this beautiful world. In my quiet this morning I took a book down from my shelf called I Pray Anyway and thumbed through a few of her poems until I came across this one. Sometimes a poet will just say what I need to read. Her poem speaks to me because so many miracles that didn’t/don’t/won’t happen the way I want them to. She reminds me to look around at all the other miracles in my life and let go of what I think outcomes need to be. And then I can make a gratitude list of miracles everywhere in my life!!

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  • gratitude,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  sunrises

    One of my favorite…

    May 26, 2023

    Sitting on this rock, watching the sunrise with awe and wonder. The grass around me is wet from the mornings dew and also from the rain we had yesterday. The temperature is perfect. There is almost no wind. I take sips of my chai latte, listening to a meadowlark perched atop the fence singing its morning praise. The sun rises behind the clouds, offering hints of pink and letting me know the new day is here. I’m grateful for this moment, this place, this experience, this life, all the green that surrounds me, the clouds, the new day, even the cold hard rock I’m sitting on. This is one of my favorite times of the day… one of my favorite places…

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  • clouds,  consumer,  gratitude,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  sunrises

    Everything is a gift

    December 4, 2022

    Living in a consumer society, as a consumer, means I am bombarded daily with the idea I do not have enough. And, that’s simply not true! The Rule of St. Benedict counsels contentment, that what we have is enough. But, along with being content is the idea of gratitude. I have the practice within my journals of writing a gratitude list on a regular basis. Along with that practice I also include a simple pray of thanks throughout my day as I look for the gifts offered. When I look back over those lists I see less and less material goods and more of the intangible things in life and includes so many of the simple things. So this morning I was grateful for time at Pineridge Natural Area and this predawn scene. It was a good start to this day and reminds me that everything is a gift! Sorry it’s a bit blurry but I shot it handheld at 1/20 sec in the wind and at 20 degrees. Grateful for my old gloves! Happy Sunday!

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  • gratitude,  landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  shadows,  snow

    Dang, it’s cold!

    February 14, 2021

    Most people don’t look…
    the gaze that pierces – few have it –
    what does the gaze pierce?
    The question mark.

    Henri Cartier-Bresson

    It was -8 degrees at 6:30 am. That’s too dang cold. Wearing wool socks, two pair. Made a French press but it was cold before the first sip. And, it’s snowed. It may sound like I’m whining because I am. I also have an attitude! Our countries unrest doesn’t help the attitude. The thought crosses my mind to sell my condo and move south. Whining! So, about 9:30, after it had warmed up to -4 degrees, I headed to the natural area. Needed time in the sanctuary of nature as it’s therapy for this negative thinking I find myself in. I needed to gaze at the world around me rather than the four walls of my condo or the prison of my thinking. Found the parking area empty, fresh snow and shadows as the sun began to break through. I immediately began to feel better!

    A friend sent me a short reading that reminded me of the value of beginning our day with gratitude. I realized that sure wasn’t how I began today. So, I restarted my day with a gratitude list in my journal. Beginning to feel even better but still cold.

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  • flowers,  gratitude,  Plants

    Gratitude Lists

    September 22, 2018
    It's in the details
    It’s in the details

    Saturday afternoon and sitting on the patio of a local coffee shop. CSU is playing a football game so pretty much have the place to myself. A beautiful day. It was 47 degrees this morning at 7:00 am and is now 83 degrees with clear blue skies. The cool breeze is refreshing.

    Every day is a day for gratitude. Over the past few years I’ve acquired the habit of making gratitude lists in my journals. Some days it’s only one thing and some days it’s a longer list. A list is important for me as a visual person, something written in black and white that I can see. Today I’m grateful for the details in this dandelion.  Do you write out a gratitude list? 

    Enjoy your weekend! 

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