November 18

After many hours in the car and on a plane, I'm grateful for safe travel. A couple of queen-sized beds and cable TV isn't too bad, either.

November 17

It's back! And it works beautifully! All of the black spots are gone, there is an actual switch for my AF/MF and the focusing ring turns smoothly.

I'm grateful I have my favorite lens on my camera once more.

NOTE: I will be away from a computer until next Saturday, so I won't be able to upload my dailies to Snapshot Gratitude or Snapshot Gratitude Rejects until then.

November 16

Kalamata olives rock. I'm grateful for their addition to salads, especially when paired with feta cheese.

November 15

I'm grateful for the special effect candles can have at dinnertime. They dress up the table, even when it's set with paper plates.

November 14

I love 360° sunsets. You know, the kind that light up the clouds in the west?

When I lived in New Mexico they would happen often, their pink and orange glow blanketing everything in the neighborhood. I wasn't sure if it was a function of no mountains, or dusty air, but I did notice they seem a bit more rare here.

Although I wasn't in a prime position to capture tonight's colors photographically, I'm grateful I looked out my office window at just the right time to catch it.

November 13

I love bread made by the Crumb Brothers, especially their Decker Five Seed. But Hart and I are such occasional bread eaters that most of the loaf usually ends up drying out and going to waste.

I'm grateful Erik clued me in to the proper way of keeping their bread fresh: place it back in the paper sack, put the whole thing into a sealed gallon ziplock bag and stick it in the cupboard. It worked perfectly - I was able to craft the best turkey/avocado sandwich for dinner last night, using bread I bought last Friday. Thanks, Erik!

November 12

I'm grateful I said yes to crashing a dinner party this evening. The Spaccarellis, close friends from my childhood, were in town. Friends of my parents, all of whom I hadn't seen in years, got together to have a last dinner with them. Walking into the kitchen was like falling through a timewarp. I felt 12 years old again because not one of them has changed in 20 years!

We enjoyed incredible pasta that they cooked up for us (they own a restaurant in Portland), bits of Oregon chukar pointed by their merry band of vizslas and drank wowzer wine from Italy. It was a Very Good Evening.