April 1

Our precious, cute, adorable little kitty has the stinkiest bathroom habits I've ever smelled, and I can't figure out why. He has all of his shots, he eats the expensive cat food, I'm pretty sure he's not hoovering up leftovers like the dog does... Yet when he does the #2, you can smell it throughout the entire upstairs.

Today I'm extra grateful for our incense burner.

March 31

For the last month, Curves has been holding a food drive for the local pantry. I've watched the piles grow taller and taller and have pondered considerably the weirdness of all that food in a place where a good portion of the residents are probably trying NOT to think about food.

More than 2000 pounds of food is quite a pile. I'm grateful that my fellow Curvites heeded the grocery bag call and happy that I don't have to move it all out of the window this weekend!

March 30

It started with a rectangular block of wood that we cut and he smoothed down with borrowed sandpaper. Six coats of electric blue paint, followed up with four coats of gloss and flame decals resulted in a blaze of speed down the Pinewood Derby track set up for Pack 299.

I'm grateful that Luke diligently stuck with this project and finished with a super-fast car that (after liberal dusting of the axles with graphite) no one was able to beat!

March 29

Once upon a time I read that only after seven long years does a woman's body finally recover from the havoc wreaked through pregnancy and childbirth. Thank God she's finally 7!

In 1998, Hart and I had been all set to finalize the family size at three persons. I'm grateful Doc B wanted me at Hart's snip appointment, because although I'd been a ardent supporter of the process, it wasn't until he said, "Well, what day would like to do this?" that I realized I wanted one more child.

Happy Birthday sweet Ruth! You are my sunshine.

March 28

As this project has progressed, I've realized that people are pretty willing to let you snap their pictures if they know what you're doing. Gratitude moments, however, often present themselves without warning.

Today I'm grateful for a stranger's smile. I didn't manage to capture that gift with a photo, but its memory lingered in my head for the rest of the day. It was a lovely way to start a Tuesday morning!

March 27

I'm grateful that I was clued into Airborne, these orange, Vitamin-C packed effervescent tablets that you plop into water and sling back every three hours in the hopes of either staving off a cold or reducing the symptoms and time lost for one already in force.

Even if I couldn't tell if it was the Airborne or the ibuprofen that reduced my symptoms, it was awfully fun to plop those babies into a glass and watch the fizz. Plus, it tastes good!

March 26

Tonight was the big 3+ hour Messiah rehearsal for orchestra and chorus together. The trumpets were glorious.

I'm grateful for John Ribera this evening. Somehow he's able to balance that fine line between work and fun and the time just seems to fly by. It has been a joyful experience singing alto under his direction.

Don't miss this multicultural performance!