Five Good Things

I took a moment at my desk this morning before beginning school, and found myself thinking about some Good Things which have come my way lately. After a traumatic summer, it is nice to feel like we are back in the groove of life {except for the driver’s license issue, but life can’t be perfect, right?}. Here are five Good Things I’m thankful for today:

1. CiRCE Institute CDs, being one of many reasons that I always save my Christmas money to spend throughout the year. Si thinks it is so weird to hear me say in mid-July that I want to use my Christmas money on something. Some women buy clothes. I buy books. And, apparently, now I buy CDs.
   

   2009 CiRCE Conference CD Set: A Contemplation of Nature

2. Wendell Berry. Right now, I am reading The Gift of Good Land. I love the way he connects culture with agriculture. This is something, I think, which is often overlooked when folks discuss farming or gardening, regardless of the scale.
3. PaperBackSwap. And why not? PBS is so good to me, I can hardly contain myself sometimes, though admittedly I’ve been known to wait patiently for a book for a year or more. When I returned home from our trip, The Twilight of American Culture was in my mailbox. My heart did a little dance.
4. Book clubs with Cindy. I have attempted book clubs, and none has been successful. The only reason I attempted them is because I have had wonderful experiences in this vein courtesy of Cindy. And now, she’s about to host another one, or actually two, covering first Leisure: The Basis of Culture and then the aforementioned The Twilight of American Culture, or in reverse order, depending on her voter turnout. Join us; it’ll be inspiring!
5. Sunsets in Avila Beach.

   

   I know I’m home, but I’m enjoying the photos we took. Avila is a south-facing beach, which is why it is usually the warmest of the central beaches, and this gives the sunsets a different quality. Instead of watching the sun set over the water {or into the water, from a child’s perspective}, the sun is nowhere to be seen, and the setting itself is more subtle, seen mostly in reflections on the water or nearby cliffs. Just lovely.

What are Good Things are you thankful for today?