December 9

When I saw the sun streaming through the clouds, I pulled over to capture a shot illustrating my gratitude at finally coming home after an afternoon full of errands among holiday season crowds. I hate crowds. And I'm not particularly fond of shopping. I am grateful for that winter sunlight. It was a lovely coming home gift after braving both.

I'm also grateful for the unintended lesson in lens flare that I googled after downloading (look carefully at the bottom middle for the tell-tale rainbow).

December 8

I'm grateful for real live page turners. The alternative is taping together all of your pages and although it looks like it works, it really doesn't unless you have eyes like an eagle.

December 7

(I must remember not to show the children this particular gratitude.)

Our TV unfortunately shares the same space as my piano. This isn't usually a problem, unless I'm trying to prepare for some performance. My preferred mode of practice is to grab 10 or 15 minutes here and there throughout the morning and evening, rather than sitting down and practicing for an hour or two straight through. But because of the TV location, this can require a bit more planning so as not to interfere with Sponge Bob Squarepants.

But this week, TV viewing privileges required not only the usual completed homework, but the added demand of a clean room. Oh my, the nightly moaning and gnashing of teeth has probably been heard two blocks away. You'd think I was asking for the Holy Grail or something similar.

I'm grateful that even after a week of parental-enforced TV blackout, they STILL haven't cleaned their rooms. I've really enjoyed my practice time uninterrupted by Squidward's nasal harangue of "Spongebob!"

December 6

I'm grateful the water lab put up Christmas decorations. The lights are just barely visible if I peek outside my office door and their bright colors put me in a cheerful mood.

December 5

I lost track of my HP48GX about the same time we went to New Mexico on vacation more than two years ago and I figured it was gone for good. Every time I found myself trying to use Reverse Polish Notation on a normal calculator, I'd think about it, wondering if I'd ever see it again.

When I came upstairs to get my coffee this morning, I was shocked to see my faithful HP on top of the microwave. I'm grateful that Luke had (for some yet unknown reason) cleaned out behind the free-standing kitchen cabinet and come upon it.

He was hoping that I'd let him use it for homework until he came face to face with RPN. After struggling with that for five minutes, he decided maybe times tables were easier memorized after all.

December 4

After dropping off the kids at school, I coasted into the gas station this morning on the last of my fumes. It was bitter cold, so I stayed inside my car, waiting for the pump to fill my gargantuan tank. I've noticed over the last year that most gas stations have a credit card cap on their outside pumps and only let you pour $50 in at a time. I've scoped out the stations that let me charge more because 19 gallons of premium has been over $50 for many months.

But today I was surprised. I'm grateful that I once again am able to completely fill my tank on less than $50. Not MUCH less than $50, but I'll take it!

December 3

We're only one week away from the Annual Christmas Benefit Concert, where the Community Choir will be performing Handel's Hallelujah Chorus, Mendelssohn's He Watching Over Israel, Mack Wilberg's arrangement of the The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy, and the pièce de résistance, Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song), arranged by Roger Emerson. Breath of Heaven is a beautifully written piece and more than one time I've had to blink back tears in the middle of singing. I'm grateful for all of the wonderful musicians who come together each year to offer up beauty to the community.