January 28

Not only can he pick out a great new house wine, but his cooking is sublime. I was going to try for a shot of the actual meal, but all that was left were empty plates. I'm grateful tonight for Hart's culinary command.

January 27

At Christmas this year, I was once again forced to figure out how to fit a fully decorated tree, a baby grand piano and a gigantenormous library/entertainment unit into the same space. To give us a bit more room, we decided that the fishtank needed to be moved out. We moved it to my daughter's room.

I figured that she'd absorbed my instructions over the years and more specifically, on the day we moved the tank, as to how much to feed the fish, when to feed the fish, yada yada yada...

Nope.

I finally noticed on Tuesday this week that the fish were gasping, and there was a thick layer of undigested food on their cobble. The ASPCA would have been at my door if I'd posted the "before cleaning" pictures.

Tonight, I'm really thankful that none of my fish, especially Jimmy, went belly up this week.

January 26

I am so freaking grateful that I don't work 12-hour shifts on a regular basis. I know it's a desk job and I shouldn't whine too loudly, but my brain starts turning to putty after about the tenth hour.

January 25

Usually, my morning foggy head is a detriment. I am a person who needs to pin my nightly list of Must-Not-Forgets to the front of my pajamas.

This morning, after I realized that I had indeed forgotten a Must-Not-Forget and headed back towards home to grab it, I caught the sun just as it broke through the fog and blessed my little town with a short-lived sundog (or could it be called a fogdog?).

Today, I am grateful for my forgetfulness.

January 24

Have you seen those gloves that convert from being fingerless to mittens just by pulling a little hat over the top of your hand?

Hart gave me a pair for Christmas that went one step further: there's a little hat over your thumb as well. When I need to change the dial on the radio in the car, I can actually turn the knob as it was intended instead of watching my uncoordinated index and middle fingers flail away at the task.

I'm thankful today for those gloves because they came in handy this morning recording the aftermath of a freezing fog, or Pogonip.

I'm also thankful for the ability to filter my photos because I discovered this morning that pre-sunrise light is really blue.

January 23

I'm grateful tonight for the chance to be thoroughly trounced by my 10-year old son in a rousing game of "Duel Master". It was a lovely end to an otherwise pretty exhausting Monday.

January 22

I am grateful the world is not black and white.

Individual lives are not monochromatic, and we can't take freedom of ANY choice for granted. Today, on the 33rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, I'm grateful that my right to choose is still intact, albeit taking a serious beating.