Days of Gratitude - The Loss of Towels And The Gaining of Oceans

Here goes, some more days of gratitude to bring you to the 210th day of the year.  It's been a struggle sometimes but I've still only missed posting on nine days.  And I started two days early.  So that's 203 posts I've shared in this blog - plus another eight when I filled in all but one of the gaps.

I am pretty amazed to still be doing this.  My usual commitment and dedication and discipline doesn't often last this long.  I know full well that the diary has been good for me.  And seeing the posts from other people has been good for me too.  All hail the happy group of the Sunday Assembly Newcastle!

Five more days of gratitude.  And they begin right away with things going wrong!  We planned something.  And then got to where we were going and found we couldn't do it.  Then we remade the day and it was good.  A broken plan is not the breaking of a world.

24^th July

Grateful that when plans went wrong we remade them into something good.

25^th July

Grateful that my bed awaits me tonight. Lots of sleep would be appreciated!

Grateful that there is much living to be done now I am back in Newcastle.

Winefride enjoyed the journey back. She was excited to have the front seat on the coach.

26^th July

Grateful that most days I am not this tired. Grateful to have a bed and a sofa and easy access to luxuries like a kettle and tea.

And grateful that today Blob Thing went public with the news that he has a sister.

Here's his post: https://blobthing.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/blob-thing-has-some-extremely-good-news.html

The picture was taken in the play area in Rhiwabon. It was Winefride's first adventure outside and she seemed to enjoy it a lot.

Later we went into Wrecsam and popped into the Catholic cathedral, a place I had to go to when preparing to be confirmed as a Catholic in 2005. It's fair to say that it felt very strange to be back.

27^th July

Grateful that on Monday, exactly two months after Towel Day, Amanda forgot her towel. A non-event in the history of home showering.

Image from http://arghink.com/…/wear-the-lilac-and-remember-your-towel/

Grateful for the place Douglas Adams has in my childhood.

And grateful that the forgetting of a towel, something solved with ease within a few seconds, inspired me to open up the word processor and write "She had forgotten her towel."

Yesterday I wrote some more and today I finished a draft version of a little story from that writing prompt. 3800 words. Even though the story had formed in my head on Monday, sometime during the coach ride home from Manchester. it took me by surprise.

Grateful to be allowing myself to write and that, whatever the results may be in the short and long term, I am finding joy in the writing.

28^th July

Grateful to have been mentally able to leave the house after two days closeted safely indoors.

Grateful that plans can change so many times before reaching a destination.

That destination surprised me by being Alnwick even though I had been on the Metro to North Shields.

Charity shops to visit, Barter Books to browse and decide there wasn't anything I wanted to buy, and a free freshly made waffle covered in lots of strawberries, banana and blueberries - free in exchange for filling in a two minute survey about a museum I will probably never visit.

Winefride thinks the books are about cookery.  I am not going to correct her error.  She doesn't need to know about these things at her age.

Then the sea called and so I spent an hour in Alnmouth too. I want to go back there for longer and my head is planning walks.

Blob Thing and Winefride had a great time!