8 things that I love about life...

Not just chocolate... there's so much.

1) The sound of my dog sleeping at night. She makes this noise-- its a grunt that sounds a bit like a mowing cow. We like to imagine that there is a sacred cow burial ground under our house and that if you listen very closely at night, the ghost cow rises to moo000...

2) Lattes in the morning. I use to drink a pot of french pressed coffee every morning until this past spring when I gave up coffee cold turkey. Oh man. Now I drink green tea or some other healthy crap in the morning. I feel great... really. But every now and again, I wake up to find my partner has gone astray to the local bakery for a morning latte. OH, what a delight. The smell... the foam... its... heaven in a cup.

3) The way I feel after going to church. Okay, it sounds REALLY cheesy, but today I woke up in the worst mood EVER. I could have fought with a rock if it talked back. I didn't sleep well on Saturday night, I don't like getting up early but somehow, it happened. It happens every Sunday-- regardless of my mood. I find joy and I love these people that God has given me to tend. I leave (most) every Sunday satiated in ways that I didn't imagine possible. There's something to this God stuff...

4) Children's art made for just for me. "You are a good prest, gorgi" It reads. Then there's the piece with God as a big boobed woman playing tea party with a little girl. Then there's the picture of the girl priest at the altar with the note that reads, "After all these boy priests, I'm really glad to know a girl one. Today, you were wearing my favorite color, green." There's pictures of dinosaurs and monsters and the baby Jesus too. I'd take these over a Picasso anyday.

5) Fixing dinner for friends. Vino. Salmon. Raw Vegetable Salad. Fresh Ccrn on the cob. Laughter. What's better? The salmon was a bit over cooked, but oh my, what a wonderful gift.

6) Thunder Storms. Woe to us who live in the Pacific Northwest. Thunder Storms are an anomaly. We had one this morning. Just as the Gospel was being read, there it was: The Holy Gospel of our Lord CRACK! BOOM!

7) Beauty. It doesn't matter what or where. More than anything else in life, I am convinced that beauty saves lives. Now, I'm not talking super model superficial plastic boob looks. I'm talking real beauty-- something that takes your breath away and makes life so unbearably gorgeous that you can barely take it in. The smell of honeysuckle on sultry hot July day, a baby laughing, the couple that's been married for 62 years and still hold hands, good poetry, humanity being born, humanity dying after a full life. Beauty is everywhere.

8) Walking in the woods with the dogs and with Betsy. Silent together.