weekly gratitude

thank you hunting socks for punching cold weather in the face. 

It is bloody cold in the northwest! I mean, it's around 40 or so still but the forecast is saying there's a possibility of overnight snow throughout the week (or so I've heard) (am I the only one who would be completely okay with that? SNOW!)

On that note, an entertaining highlight of the week occurred when I turned my little space heater on for the first time this season... And set off the smoke detector. 

I bet my landlords loved that (at 7am).

Potential fire hazards aside, there were all kinds of happy-having this week...

1. Thank you again Dad and Maw Maw for helping me so much with my new car! My goodness, I'd be up a creek without a paddle (or a working accelerator) without you. I can't say it enough: thank you. And thank you Jared too for driving me out there to pick it up and sitting with me through over an hour of "sign here, sign here, sign here". I knew you'd come in handy one of theses days. 

2. Thank you, on a similar train of thought, Mike Noble and Gary Overmeyer - my old mechanic and the gentleman who sold us the car, respectively. As my dad put it when speaking of Gary (though I say it applies to both men), these are good men in a tough business. "Car guys" are notoriously skeezy and out to make a buck. But not these guys... Mike was honest when my old car was on its last leg, telling me that while I could drop another $3,000 on fixing it, I'd be better off going for a new car altogether. And Gary, up against his own bottom line, helped us get a screamin' deal on the new tonka toy and treated me with such incredible respect during the buying process. It was much appreciated. (I also loved that as I finished cleaning out my old car, Mike said not to be a stranger and that if anyone over at Kia gave me any hassle to let him know, "I know the manager, all I have to do is make a call."... Awesome).

3. Thank you for the chance to hear (what I assume is a new revision) of "Come Thou Font Of Every Blessing" this morning in church. When I was little I remember my mom and my Grammy Morton singing this to me, but not with the words I sang this morning ("Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love; Here's my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above...." I love those lyrics so much) but with one, simple, made-up word over and over again to that tune. Falling asleep at night or just for a nap, softly and quietly I would hear, "Bayo, bayo..." and slip into slumber. It brought immediate tears to my eyes this morning, and it's doing an equal number on me now as I write this, but they were happy tears. And I'm grateful for them.

4. Thank you for all things surrounding Shamoo's parents coming to town. Thursday night I got to commandeer Jared and Shamoo's kitchen to make this for us all for dinner (oh god, how had I gone so long without making grits before?) and today the guys, Shamoo's parents, his brother and a friend all came out to the winery to play! I love having visitors come wine tasting; I love the chance to show off my friends. Call it selfish and/or boasting, but it was a fun day at work getting to bring two of my worlds together. 

5. Thank you Don for having a housewarming party! Silly way to end this post but quite frankly, there is not better way. I know a lot of genuine people and Don is high on that list. He's had a tricky year and now his reward is here: he's a homeowner. Wendy and I headed over to his new place after work to find a happy, smiling Don surrounded by good friends, good food and good wine (which he happily shared with us). The guy deserves it, and Lord knows he's earned it.

And so Happy New Home, Don! You should buy a house more often (providing you cook up brisket and pork ribs like you did tonight)!

Okay kids, gear up for another week!

Be happy, be thankful.

And keep smiling... It confuses people.