Gratitude

When things get a little jumbled it's always good to remind yourself of the things you love. What better way to use 10 Things Tuesday?

1. My dog. She always tops the list but I'm still grateful for her. She makes everything OK.

2. Good books. The trip to Powell's is long behind me but some of the books are still waiting to be read. I'm thinking of joining the Manhattan library this week so I can read the Bubbles Yablonsky books without breaking the bank.

3. Auntie Blanche. Granted she's gone now but she has, perforce, been on my mind a lot lately. I was incredibly lucky to have her.

4. Friends who feed me. I've been trying to be good food-wise lately in service of shaving off the 7lbs that have crept back on. I'm so bored with the things I'm willing to eat and to cook for this losing streak. Kath got ambitious and we made Thai summer rolls for dinner on Thursday and it was so good I could have wept.

5. TV, baby. I try to cut down and I think I have and yet I love the stuffing out of TV. Mad Men's 3rd Season premiere, the Season 1 recap of Sons of Anarchy, Saving Grace's summer stint, the final season of Monk. I may be hungry for food but I am full to the brim with glorious teleplays.

6. Facebook. Feel a little odd putting this one on but it has connected me with so many people from the past lately and my summer has been chock full of bridges crossed that are enriching my days so, for all its evils, it's doing right by me.

7. Safely coming through. Blondie Girl and MG have both had some fairly serious surgery lately and I'm immensely grateful that they've come through it all OK.

8. New York Goddamned City. I live elbow to elbow with some of the best things on earth. Museums, shows, food, people, there's so much here and I get to gorge at the buffet.

9. Friends with membership privileges. The buffet ain't free but I have friends who are members of some of these organizations and, as a result, I can sometimes piggyback. Thanks to one of those friends I was able to go to a really important (for me) exhibit this weekend and not break the bank.

10. The World Wide Interweb. It's been pissing me off lately but I'd still be lost without it. I can't wait for the next step.