I’m always surprised that when I sit down to write this entry every week, just how much I have to be thankful for. Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend.

Some times we come across the most unexpected things on our daily walks. Yesterday, this mantis was the surprise. I haven’t seen one this big in years, probably not since I was little.

I like the way she kind of blends in to her surroundings. I know there’s a lot to be said about standing out and uniqueness, but some times there are benefits to blending in. There’s comfort and a feeling of safety when you can blend in and lay low under the radar.

Of course, I don’t recommend it all the time. Neither does the mantis. Even she likes a little splash and pizazz. You can tell by the vivid green of her legs.

Happy Love Thursday!

• The weather cooling down just enough to make it comfortable to walk outside
• Meeting Chris at Big Truck Tacos on a Friday after work
• Riding the scooter down Walker between 23rd and 13th
• Chatting with the older farmer gentleman who we buy our eggs from at the Farmer’s Market
• Chris finally getting his bacon
• Watching Top Gear ( I have a secret crush for James May)
• Buying seeds to plant for the Fall
• Naps
• Finding a new Asian Food Market (they have fake meat in the shape of chicken!)
• Sunday morning with coffee and bagel, a newspaper and Chris
• Making pickles (tasted them yesterday; they’re awful
• Dreaming of giving my two weeks notice
• Robin after a particularly bad lab meeting
• My yoga students!

Sigh…

This weekend I tackled #44 and #45 of the Life List: can vegetables and make pickles. OK…maybe I cheated on the vegetables part, but I had to learn the canning process in order to actually make the pickles. So there.

It was really a very simple process. Actually the hardest part is not eating the cucumbers straight out of the brine. I think we lost a whole jar there. First I cleaned the jars.

Then I sliced cucumbers and snapped green beans. I placed them all in a big bowl along with some left over okra, water and Kosher salt. I left this in a cool place over night with a plate on top to keep everything submerged.

The next day I boiled the jars and lids to sterilize them. Then I rinsed the veggies and began to fill the jars. While I filled the jars, I boiled equal parts vinegar and water. Then I sprinkled some pickling spice into each jar. Some jars I added a clove or two of garlic or a sprig of dill or a chili.

Next, I poured in the water/vinegar mix, put the lids on and set them in the pan to boil. Once they started a gentle boil, I set a timer for 15 minutes. Now all I have to do wait for them to do is cool overnight and then tighten the lids.

Mission accomplished.

You see, I don’t really look like anyone in my family. Actually, my sister-in-law and I are often mistaken for sisters (or sometimes, much to Katrina’s shagrin, mother and daughter). My sister used to joke that I was the Milk Man’s kid, which was suspicious because at the time we really did have a milk man. Then there were the teenage angst years where I prayed that I had been adopted.

Now, I’m OK with all of that. I have McCool eyes and a Graham nose. I’m a patchwork blend of my family, all of which mixes together to make me the truly unique person that I am.

Wait. Wasn’t this originally an entry about my scaly feet? Oh well.

Looking back over some pictures, I got to the water balloon fight set. I wanted to go back to Anna’s right then and do it all over again. I’m so thankful that she was such a good sport and let me bust all of those balloons in their yard. I’m thankful for Talaura who jump started the 100 new Museums part of the list. I am thankful for Misti, who is going to keep my hair under control while I grow it out for #42 and who also told me to start taking Biotin (though I think it’s working more on my nose hair and eyelashes). I am thankful for every single one of you that wrote to me and said “I will help with #…”.

I have a lot to be thankful for. Have a wonderful weekend!

One time, while driving along the highway, I noticed a spot tucked in along some brush that looked kind of interesting. Saturday, I dragged Chris out to where I thought that place would be. We parked off of the main road, kind of under a highway overpass. It seemed a little seedy at first; like we were up to something illegal. But as we hiked down the sandy path littered with cables and tires, we began to notice little things like the ant lion dens in the sand.

Then we came to the train tracks and hidden overpasses that were covered in graffiti. It was like an explosion of colors splattered all over in this normally dry, dead area. It looked like a practice ground for graffiti artists. And then Chris and I noticed something else. The whole area was relatively clean. There wasn’t empty cans or soda bottles laying around, no dirty needles poking up out of the dirt, no garbage. The artists took care of their studio.

I found the place to be beautiful and I love that Chris and I could find it together. Happy Love Thursday!

• Yoga students who missed me while I was away
• Having a fairly easy and straight forward work week.
• Zooming as fast as I can on the scooter in order to create my own breeze
• Seeing the woman who owns the studio I teach at. I hardly ever get a chance to see her.
• Going to yoga class and then hanging out with the other students at brunch afterward
• Getting my CV touched up enough to send it to my new pal Boni for review
• Getting good H&E results
• Urban hikes to great graffiti areas
• Hanging out at Coffeeslinger’s with Chris and working on web page stuff
• Bloody Mary’s from Cheever’s (pickled okra ya’ll)
• Brunch with Misti and all the talk of future and possibilities
• The Urban farmer guys parked outside Cheever’s
• Cleaning up the veggie garden and getting ready for Fall
• Making plans for spinach, carrots, and potatoes
• Making Asian Spring Rolls for my lunches this week

So happy. Have a beautiful day.

There are plants out there that need to be yanked from the ground. The soil needs to be mushed up with some fertilizer and dried milk (for the tomatoes). Tomatoes need to be cut back and fall veggies need to be planted. But I just can’t muster the strength to get out there and do any of it. I open the door and it’s like opening an oven door except I’m looking at sad droopy plants instead of chocolate chip cookies.

Maybe later this evening. That seems to be my new mantra these days.

Today, I am thankful for the kind of strength that gives you just enough of a shove to get you through. Whatever that may be. Lately, it seems many of us are living for the weekend. I am completely guilty of this. Then I decided to be perfectly okay with it. There are moments in the week that I love. I love teaching my classes. I love my daily walks with Robin and Heather. I love that brief twenty minutes in the evening where I can get Hooper to lay on my lap. But the weekend? The weekend is always something to look forward to. It’s the reason I find that extra bit of strength to get me through.

Seize every moment of every day, but particularly savor every moment of your weekend. Have a great Thankful Friday.