True Colors - gratitudes for today.

I specifically chose the colors from an 8 pack of crayons for today's gratitude list. I am making crayon holders for the bazaar and had this thought while I was working on that project.

I also thought and prayed for Mrs. Jane Coile as I was preparing this list today. Mrs. Jane goes to church with us and she suffers from Macular Degeneration. She was a teacher, a student of God's word, and a member of our choir. She is one of the most beautiful people I know. And Mr. Buddy her husband is a beautiful person too. Mrs. Jane can see very little - Mr Buddy takes her hand unconciously, he helps her to fix her plate at our church dinners, as people approach her he whispers who it is in her ear so she does not mistake them. An inspiring couple for me. She has an enlarger at home, which allows her to read some things, and he types the words of the choir songs so that she can read them through the enlarger. These are only some of the things we know about, I can only imagine the things he does behind the scenes. I hope to inspire younger couples someday.

The photo above was taken this morning outside my bedroom window. This is a beauty berry bush. The birds love the berries in the fall. I can see these every morning as I gather my clothes to head to the shower. Not at all showy in the growing season, but beautiful in the fall.

So having shared another view from my world, I progress to 8 color crayon gratitudes for today. For those who are new to the Thanksgiving Month gratitudes, I am celebrating seemingly small things that make up my life.

These are all things I noticed today.

1. red - my porch swing (painted by my crew as a gift), my nautilus bench (painted by Ned becuse he wanted me to buy it and I wanted a red one) , the coke crates (my mom gave me these), and the red jacket hanging on the armoire in the dining room (meaning that more people than me live here).

2. yellow - not a color I have a lot of because its not a favorite but I still noticed - the sun applique on baby Charlie's quilt, the trees on the way to work (starting to fade now), sticky notes (my preferred note apparatus, I cannot keep a daytimer at all), a yellow highlighter marker (used to mark completed items on cutomer quotes - yeah)

3. blue - the jeans both my girls wore to school today, the "sky" background fabric on Baby Charlie's quilt, some blue edged cards I have stamped for the bazaar, the blue plates I carried cookies to the banquet on last night, and my favorite shoes (blue Eddie Bauer clogs I paid too much for but have gotten that much good out of them)

4. green - my favorite color - the bathroom walls (army green with a distressed finish that looks like those old chalky metal signs), the shirt I have on (a gift from someone who knows I love to wear green), the eucalyptus tree in the front yard (a beautiful silver green and it smells good) and a bench that has it's own story to be told later.

5. orange - some of the leaves are the most gorgeous shade of pink/orange this year, the traffic barriers in the construction zone I come through right now (pray for those highway workers, they have a very dangerous work location), and the Harley Davidson logo on a coworker's shirt today.

6. purple - those berries outside my window

7. brown - - another of my favorites - the stitching in a project I am working on for Ms. Vallen, the trunk of the tree and the love letters on Baby Charlie's quilt, Molly working at the dining room table on her altered book project - i have lots of brown in my house.

8. black - the surface mount door locks in my house, the twist latches on my kitchen cabinets, the ink pads strewn everywhere (I am making the gift tags for the bazaar), Abby wore a black shirt today, the monster dog, Licorice, and the markings on the porch wall growth chart (a personal favorite)

There you have it 8 things on the 8th. Well its so much more, but 8 categories of gratitude. It is an exercise to find these kind of things - we often generalize so much and looking for tiny, specific things is sharpening my focus.

I have been crafting, but nothing I can show. I am working on Ms. Vallen's return gift in exchange for the wonderful crown she sent me. I hope to finish some gift tag packs tonight and figure out a way to display the post cards so people can see the variety.

I hope you all have a beautiful day.