16 & 17: rain

Grateful 16: It was shockingly hot yesterday. Not because it was so hot, but because it was so unexpected. Maybe it was only me, as I tend to ignore weather forecasts (despite the new thing on my phone that makes them easy to read....) but I just didn't know it would feel so icky. I had plans! I was going to bellydance class, and there's no air in the dance studio for some reason, and it was going to be miserable. But then the big black clouds rolled in.

And after class it was lovely and cool. This only happens in the summer.

17: It rained again (well, a couple times actually) today, right at the end of our walk. I've been enjoying walks with Richard lately. We didn't get too wet, though. There are a lot of good trees for hiding beneath in our neighborhood.

15: The obvious

MR. AWESOME!!!!

Aw, he was just a young kitten in a box back in the day. And for those of you who thought I would have had 15 posts by now about being grateful for a kitty, well, it is entirely possible that the remaining 350 posts will be about this kitty. He is currently draped across my lap, preventing my jogging plans from fruition (but if you think about it, he is assisting my blogging plans). I had recently resolved to win him back over, because he was all about the windows all of a sudden, and doesn't sleep with me anymore. So the lap time was a pleasant surprise! It's like we have a mind connection! Woooo kitty!

P.S. I picked this picture from a tiny thumbnail. This would be BLUEBERRY. Who was also a fine, fine kitty. Oops.

Grateful 11-14: The future?

11: Apparently the next belly dance performance could include dancing with lit candles in our hands. No, balanced on our hands. LIT CANDLES. I'm sorry, but I might have to skip the wedding of the summer for that opportunity.

12: I overheated my marshmallow Friday night, and in the rush to blow out the fire, whipped hot sugar onto my cheek. Although there is still a mark today, I am grateful I didn't stab myself in the eye with the roasting stick.

13: I went out for birthday dinner and dancing with some of the belly dancers and had this lovely moment at dinner thinking that all the women I know are smart, awesome, funny ladies. Seriously, they are hilarious. AND they love sparkles. I was wearing this very, very shiny showy necklace, which I had tucked into my shirt because it was "too early" for sparkles, and Sarah was just like, what? You're with us. Put it out there.

14: If I don't say "fathers" on Father's Day, I am a horrible person. But I really mean it! I am so thrilled that my dad has turned his life into a pleasurable experience. It gives me hope, because I really think that we are alike in a lot of ways - late bloomers, Attention Deficit Hobby Disorder, optimist/perfectionist/literalists. And you can just keep making it better, even when it gets very, very dark.

I hope to share pictures with you soon. Pretty, pretty pictures.

Grateful 5-10: Mishmash

Grateful 5: Friends. Duh. And probably more later, because it's a really important duh.
Grateful 6: Pride Festival. Danced at the Kalamazoo Pride, and got more appreciation from a smaller crowd than 4 shows of the Greek Fest.
Grateful 7: Pork loin stuffed with three kinds of bacon. Because there are three kinds of bacon.
Grateful 8: Reflective surfaces remind one to be humble. Because I'm not all that and I'm old to boot. .
Grateful 9: Hippie food. Bulgur. Chicken. Yogurt sauce with dill and garlic chives.

Grateful 10: The coffee mugs at work. Seriously, each of them deserves it own day. But today I chose the calico cat pottery mug. It had that lovely wider base and a rolled lip. It kept my filtered water nice and cool. It had a chip by the handle which didn't detract from the feel on your mouth, because it would be quite a feat to drink from that angle. There was a circular  medallion which contained the cat artwork. It was a nice line drawing of a cat with a yellow bow and, for some reason, a French Provincial Fleur pattern on the body. It was possible it was not microwave safe.... too bad because I discovered that I had a little bit of coffee left in my thermos and heated it up in the afternoon for a kick. It tasted too hot and possibly of glaze, but that could have been my psychosomatic impulses.

I will try not to get 6 days behind again. That was a lot of gratefulness. I am still a little sullen thinking about how long I had to wait for Richard to surrender the laptop. But it certainly wasn't 6 days. That was all my fault.

Grateful 4: Bellydancers

I have frequently found that something that challenges me will end up taking over my imagination. I remember being at the Kalamazoo Greek Festival probably 4 years ago now and being really freaked out by seeing bellies in public. Then, I became obsessed.

I just went through a weird shame cycle with my last performance experience at the Greek Festival. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't believe I had done that in public and ruined my life that way. I wanted to quit taking classes. But I also had to remember what Ron said, which was approximately, "I know what's out there in the media. But I don't think you're giving men enough credit to enjoy a lot of different types of bodies." Or as Brian the one-armed professor said, "I have one arm and a lot of scars." Eventually I got to the place where if my belly made one woman in the audience feel okay for a minute, then it was all worth it.

Plus, this: http://youtu.be/9UCtdhGUwo0

Grateful 3: Pantyhose

Well, more like the opportunity to wear pantyhose. Even though I prefer to think of them as tights. Because, if I didn't have a job in the healthcare industry (that I happen to love), I wouldn't need them at all. And that would be kind of sad and flabby.

I didn't really think of this until tonight, but it's a good way to look at nearly anything. I spent the evening drifting around the mall, for the air conditioning. It's 95 already. I did need a few things - mostly for belly dance (new flowers for hair, glittery eyeliner, necklaces to attach to bra, etc.) I've also been meaning to stock up on the nude fishnets they have at Macy's. But they were out of the color I wanted in my size. So I checked out the clearance rack and found a few other kinds of patterned not-too-wintry looking ones.

I took them up to the saleslady in the Plus department (it was the first counter I came to that was staffed). The lady seemed a little unusual, like someone I could have a good banter with. So I said, "I apparently work for the only employer in town who requires pantyhose!' and she kind of laughed, inquired where I work, etc. etc. Eventually she said, "Well, on the positive side, at least you have a job, even with a dress code!" and I realized she was right. I had actually been offered a job at Macy's at one point in my search, and had to consider if it was worth it to work every holiday and wear all black all the time, stay on my feet, as a seasonal staff. I was offered employment from the company that I work for now on the same day, and took that path.

It's also funny because it's been on my mind due to facebook. I had posted a status update about having to wear them and got 23 comments in response! I was slightly shocked by the vitriol towards them. I wonder if everyone was wearing really small ones or something, because I don't really find them any more uncomfortable than underwear or pants. My only concern is that everyone seems to hate them, and it's hard to find a good color anymore because no one wears them.

Grateful 2: popsicles are magic.

Item 1: Orchids

Probably a month ago I read about the 365 Grateful idea. It seemed like a way to get out of my photography rut (it's more of a sand dune, in that I haven't taken a decent picture in a good six months, but anyway...) but I really think it might have to be a multi-media project. I need to write. There can be pictures too. It's all good, really. This seems like a much more positive thing to focus on than cancer, or self-portraits, or even literally navel-gazing.

Item 1 of 365: I am grateful for orchids. I am reminded of this today because as I was shopping for the plants for the last planter on the deck, when I found a sale bench of $5 orchids at the greenhouse. At first I only took one. Then, the saleswoman, who seemed a little earnest and lovely, came over and told me her story of how she grew one and it didn't seem that hard after all, so she bought a couple herself. And I thought of my phaelenopsis orchid at home and how it is blooming right now, and it's true, it's not that hard. You just water them and feed them and once a year a stalk shoots out and amazing tropical flowers appear. So I bought two. I have no idea what the flowers, or even the types are. Somewhere I have a book. I bought some matching pots. I will repot them. I will water them and feed them. And maybe next fall or next spring, they will shoot out a stalk and surprise me.