FRIDAY

Happy Friday!

What a joy to know that the next few days will be filled with a sushi night with friends, a housewarming party, and time to read and write and watch movies at home with SB. I LOVE the weekends.

A few highlights of this week - feeling like I've finally returned to running (it feels SO good), and revisiting Bird by Bird (by Anne Lamott) - a fantastic book.

In honor of Friday, here is a photo from a recent walk, and a song that has been capturing my mood lately.

Time

It really does fly by. November is right around the corner.

I have been feeling busy lately - like I'm trying to cram long "to do" lists into each day and just never quite feeling satisfied. I think it is related to the approaching winter - feeling like I want to get a lot done (projects in our home, just being outdoors, connecting with folks socially) before hunkering down when the cold and snow hit.

A few highlights from the past two weeks include: deep cleaning our apartment, two dinner parties, and a visit from good friends. It has been helpful to have so much going on outside of the office because work has been dreary for the past month. At this point I am discouraged enough that I began updating my resume. Ug.

On a lighter note, I just re-joined the YMCA. This is the second year that I've bitten the expense bullet in hopes of staying (or should I say *getting*) fit this winter. My frugality makes me extra motivated to work out at least 3 times per week, because that way I get a discount on my monthly membership fee.

Anyway, that is all the news to report at the moment. I've got a crazy busy month of work ahead, and another visit from a close friend next week - so there is much more to come! The important thing that I try to remind myself through all of the busy times is this:

Saturday Night's Alright

Feeling particularly joyous on this Saturday for the following reasons:

- I went to the library today, which is always fun to browse. I recently decided that I love memoirs and am going to dig into that genre more moving forward.

- It is sunny sweatshirt weather and I just got back from a walk to the spice shop.

- On my walk I bought vanilla and rosemary at no cost to me, because I was fortunate to have received not one but TWO gift cards to Penzey's for my bday this year. Talk about a gift that keeps on giving. I love walking in and smelling all of the aromas in the air.

- I'm now sitting with a pickle-filled bloody mary in hand. One of my favorite weekend treats.

- A stew is making itself for dinner in my crock pot, which means I can kick my feet up on the couch with a book and/or an episode of Dr. Who or Call the Midwife for the next few hours.

- Tonight we have a work party with SB's colleagues. Having grown up in a family of teachers, I love being around teachers. There is a group of his coworkers that are our age and super fun, and I hope to build some long-term friendships with them.

- I love this new album that is currently streaming for free on NPR. Frazey Ford - Indian Ocean. It combines two of my favorite things - airy lady vocalists and soulful, funky, southern bands.

- Tomorrow is yet another day off of work!

Autumn Hike

We hiked around a state park this weekend and it. was. breathtaking. Here are a few photos and a poem to commemorate the lovely afternoon spent!

Aunt Leaf

Needing one, I invented her – - -
the great-great-aunt dark as hickory
called Shining-Leaf, or Drifting-Cloud
or The-Beauty-of-the-Night.

Dear aunt, I’d call into the leaves,
and she’d rise up, like an old log in a pool,
and whisper in a language only the two of us knew
the word that meant follow,

and we’d travel
cheerful as birds
out of the dusty town and into the trees
where she would change us both into something quicker – - -
two foxes with black feet,
two snakes green as ribbons,
two shimmering fish – - – and all day we’d travel.

At day’s end she’d leave me back at my own door
with the rest of my family,
who were kind, but solid as wood
and rarely wandered. While she,
old twist of feathers and birch bark,
would walk in circles wide as rain and then
float back

scattering the rags of twilight
on fluttering moth wings;

or she’d slouch from the barn like a gray opossum;

or she’d hang in the milky moonlight
burning like a medallion,

this bone dream, this friend I had to have,
this old woman made out of leaves.

-Mary Oliver

Gratitude Challenge Day #3

Today I am feeling grateful for...

- the changing seasons. This 50 degree weather is absolutely wonderful for sleeping, and I love sliding on slippers when I get out of bed every morning. :)

- the opportunity a few weekends ago to see my favorite band, from the first row, at a sunny outdoor music festival. We have four of their albums and honestly can't get enough of them! I highly recommend Hurray for the Riff Raff.

- the green/orange/yellow/red tapestry that is present everywhere as the leaves turn. Whether I'm just walking down a city street or driving across the river and seeing a vast spread - it is so beautifying.

- having turned 30 quietly and without much fuss. I have a hard time with some occasions because of what I think are others' expectations for how to feel and what to do. Turning 30 felt pretty natural for me, so I just spent my bday hanging out with family and with SB.

- the evolution of my job. While my job doesn't always give me opportunities to be challenged in new ways, the training program that I coordinate has grown and soon I will be supporting a network of nearly 100 trauma and resilience trainers statewide. I've never done that before and am excited for the challenge of supporting and connecting them so that this work stays at its best and doesn't lose steam.

- the exciting break from work that I will get today when I pick my parents up from the airport. I have been inspired by their travel to South America and am eager to hear about their trip. In light of the fact that they just crossed Machu Picchu off of their bucket list, and because I'm a list-maker by nature, I have now started making my own bucket list.

- the sense of opportunity that I feel most days. Despite the fact that I am very privileged and have an incredibly fortunate life, I have had my fair share of "the blues" - due to my personality and/or genetics. That being said, I have noticed lately that my hope for all that life can be is present with me almost all the time. I feel that anything is possible, and that I have grown more assertive as I've gotten older in making fun possibilities realities.