To blog, perchance to dream.

This week's topic for consideration over on Home Life Simplified's Listmania is Gratitude.  As a glass half empty (with a crack that makes everything leak) type of person I have to give serious thought to lists like this.  Later on I'll no doubt think of things I should have included but here is how the list stands at the moment.

1. Family.

"Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts."  It's funny because it is true.  I'm grateful for a sister and brother-in-law who feed me when I conveniently turn up just before dinner.  "No, I really can't stay...I've got a thing I have to do...well if you insist."  I'm grateful for all the love and laughter I have shared over the years with my nephew and nieces.  With no children of my own it's nice to know that my taste in movies has still been passed on to another generation.  Yes, an entire family of Chevy Chase fans!  I'm grateful that about twelve years ago my nephew gave me a nickname that all of the kids still call me.  It certainly makes me feel special.  I'm grateful for the family members, both local and interstate who I know I can call on for a laugh or whinge at any time.

I'm grateful for my grandpa, who at 95 years of age is still as sweet, and as funny as ever.  There is a reason we all call him "Great" and it's not just because he is a great-grandfather!

2.  Books.

I may be a technical genius (unconfirmed) who spends hours a day on the line (that's what they call it, right?) but the truth is I am and always will be a book worm.  I've got to have a book on the go at all times and I'm not fussy about the genre.  So I'm grateful for books, authors, libraries and book shops.  One day I may even be grateful for e-readers.  One day.

3.  Friends.

"Friends are the family you choose."  I think that's how it goes.  I have a handful of friends who I can truly count on through thick and thin.  Some from the old days (read:1990s), some from recent years.  Strangely we don't all socialise together.  I think of it like separating your laundry. But that's okay, I value our time together all the more because each friendship is unique.

4.  My stuff.

Yes, it's materialistic, I know.  But I love my car.  I love my computer.  I love my shoes.  I love the bits and pieces like vases and ornaments that I've collected along the way that are or were 'me' at the time.  I love my ridiculous collection of perfumes and nail polish.  I'm grateful that I've either had the means to purchase or been given lovely little things over time.

5.  Creativity.

I'm grateful that I live in a world of so much creativity.  It's not just in the art galleries and museums.  It's in the architecture of my beautiful city, Melbourne.  It's in the imagination of the nieces who can play 'bakery' with play-doh or meow like a cat for two straight hours.  It's in the carefully constructed bird's nest you stumble across.  Occasionally it's in my own mind, too.

6.  The World Wide Web.

I complain about connection speed all the time but I really must be grateful for access to the online world.  I live on Google.  I loiter around eBay and IMDb.  I pretend I never use Wikipedia as a source of information.  I watch cat's getting their heads caught in cardboard boxes on YouTube.  And I dabble in blogging.  What a wonderful world we live in!

7.  Sleep.

I'm grateful for a good night's sleep.  I have bouts of insomnia now and then.  I blame all the cat videos I watch on YouTube.

8. Fur Kids.

I'm thankful that my two big-boned cats keep me warm in winter.  I'm grateful that the evil one didn't pee on anything in the last 24 hours.  A new record!


So, I guess I have a lot to be grateful for.  More than I expected when I began typing.  

Nice.