South Breeze Farm hosted the Giving Thanks Challenge and I participated at Small Reflections … generating the following list one day at a time throughout the month of November.
1. family, friends, & neighbors
2. my happily retired life
3. my cozy home near the ocean
4. Molly & Ms. Kitty
5. good health
6. authors & the books they write
7. all I’ve learned about PSE6 from local adult school classes
8. the Blogosphere & blogging
9. my bloggy friends
10. comments on my posts
11. freshly brewed morning coffee
12. watching the sun rise & set
13. fresh lemons & limes from the trees in my front yard
14. fire-fighters and rescue workers who do their best to save lives & keep us safe when disaster strikes
15. The Red Cross and other ‘service organizations’ that provide comfort and assistance to those in need
16. this morning’s phone call & conversation with my Taos writing buddy, Jan
17. a break in the gusty winds in Southern California allowing firefighters to gain 40% containment of the nearby Triangle Complex Fire that’s burned 27,000 acres since Saturday morning
18. the generosity of strangers helping those in need
19. learning that the Triangle Complex Fire is 100% contained and the Sylmar Fire is 80% contained
20. catching up with my friend Jackie during a leisurely lunch at Z’Tejas this afternoon
21. Melissa at Part of Everything explaining how to back up blogs and create ‘identical sites’ both at Blogger & on WordPress … just in case some unforseen disaster strikes
22. two 8-hour nights of sleep in a row (almost unheard of for me these days)
23. the prospect of rain here in Southern California … finally. My prayer is that it will be a gentle one over an extended period of time so as not to generate mudslides in the burn areas
24. the gift of laughter to relieve stress and lighten things up
25. bloggy friends who took the time to check out my new Happily Retired Storyteller site at WordPress and leave comments there.
26. rain last night … finally!
27. getting my hair cut Wednesday morning, then picking Satsuma tangerines from my sister’s tree to give to friends & enjoy myself ;–)
28. the world’s best dentist with the gentlest hands, kindest manner & latest technology ever!
29. just one more day until the end of NaBloPoMo … 30 posts in 30 days on two different blogs … Yikes! For me that’s 60 posts in 30 days in addition to creating my new WordPress site … whew! No wonder I’m behinder than ever … sigh!
30. that I’ve learned enough in the past year to create my own original awards to enjoy & share.
I like the idea so much that I’ve decided to continue a daily Gratitude List in my sidebar at Small Reflections during the month of December … and beyond. At the end of each month, I’ll transfer the list to this blog and begin again … indefinitely because I believe counting blessings is always a good idea.
Thought for Today – “If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.” Meister Eckhart
Happily Retired Gal 
6 comments
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November 30, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Comedy Plus
That’s a lot to be thankful for. Sounds like you have a very fulfilling life. I too am retired and loving all the wonderful pleasures of finally doing what I want to do.
Have a terrific day. Big hug. 🙂
November 30, 2008 at 12:36 pm
yertle
What a great list. Am glad to hear that you are going to continue.
November 30, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Nekked Lizard Lady
So much to be thankful for. Very nice list.
November 30, 2008 at 6:03 pm
colleen
I had to pop in and make sure you hadn’t retired from blogging. I’m thankful for the beauty of winter ice and a cozy Sunday.
December 1, 2008 at 6:41 am
Lisa's Chaos
I’m glad you put them all together for us here. 🙂 Neat idea to keep going. 🙂
December 3, 2008 at 9:26 am
Karen
Fantastic list! I kind of envy you the citrus straight off the trees and the cozy close to the ocean…but on the whole, I’m feeling pretty grateful about my life, too!