The perfect weather of last week shot up to extremely hot in about a nano-second. In this day and age it's not too difficult to stay out of the sun and heat. Gratefully, most of us have air conditioning and/or little reason to exert ourselves out of doors. Today I'll share the Ten Times I felt grateful the past week.

1. I am grateful for the warmth and beauty of a summer weekend. We didn't have time to do much more than catch up with ourselves, but it was a nice change from the routines of worklife.
2.The best part of the weekend was the vodka tasting (elegantly presented in paper cups) with good food, good friends, lots of laughter and good conversation. The vodkas were great, but the double rye whiskey won my heart.
3.. Even though I overexerted and over heated myself, I am very grateful I could spend time in the garden. I came home with enough lettuce and spinach for my lunch this week. In the next couple of weeks we'll be picking peas. Our garden is the garden of weedin', however.

4. How many times this past week has my iPod saved me from ambient noise, or from total boredom? Dozens! I have it loaded with podcasts, books, and music. Portable listening devices are the best technological invention, bar none.

5. Many times this week I've been grateful for a device, such as my Kindle, on which I can search for varies recipes. Smith picked one of the young garlic heads from the garden, as he wanted to see how well they were forming. I searched for a garlic mint sauce to dress the lamb chops we had Sunday night and cobbled together something from the ingredient suggestions of various recipes. The new garlic has a young fresh flavor, with a slight nip of heat. We have a couple hundred head on track to harvest the end of July.
6. This past week I was often grateful for readily available cold, clean water. The heat, yes it is dry heat, takes all the moisture out of the body and quickly turns one into a dried up husk.
7. I am grateful for the fellow employee who brought a drill from home and installed a new keyboard tray on my desk. Without it I cannot type or use the mouse in an ergonomically safe way.

8. The many shawls I've made (or have been given to me) are put to good use this time of year, as I try to protect my shoulders from overly air conditioned buildings. Each is unique and I'm grateful for the art of their creation.

9. Our little Moxie is 15, and while he's had some bad days, he's holding his own and doing quite well. He still bounces around the house before his walk or before being fed. Overall, he is one happy dog. Every day he's with us is a gift.
10. Even though I am not quite the blogger I once was, I am grateful to you, my good friends, for sticking around to read my infrequent tales of knitting and life. Thank you.