Daily: Reflect on 5 things for which I'm grateful.

I’m grateful for:

• getting unexpectedly cheerbombed, thanks calypte!
• a cheery encounter with the man in the Ginger Pig, and that I now appear to have recognised customer status
• getting back home before the heavens opened
• the man who came up to me as I was putting my stuff in the recycling bins and told me I was doing my good deed for the day
• the courage to do something

I’m grateful:

• for a cheery welcome at the sports club this morning as I popped in on the way to work to drop off the payslips, and the new machines are coming a week earlier than expected hurrah!
• for a useful meeting with K about the accounting system, and that it didn’t go on as long as I was expecting, thereby giving me time to get other things done
• for a nice lunchtime chat with ace colleague Z
• for a cheery meeting this afternoon with the lovely GVH and the nice doctor (the one who reminds me of Bill Pullman) who passed on an unexpected cheque for £10k for one of our smaller charities
• for the opportunity to see my friend AM this evening and catch up on things

I’m grateful:

• that this week is going so much better at work than last week!
• for permission to take my water wings off at the next trustees’ meeting i.e. present all the accounts instead of just one relatively unimportant bit
• for permission to streamline and re-format the accounts so that they actually make sense and you can see how one bit flows into the next, which was previously not at all obvious, and I’ve been allowed to cut the legacy schedule from 4 pages to 1 without losing anything
• for having time to come home and relax for an hour before going out again
• for a fun evening ahead drinking serious white burgundy!

I’m grateful:

• for my alarm clock, without which I wouldn’t have made it to the gym this morning
• for a productive morning sorting out yet more discrepancies, almost there now
• for a lovely lunch at Tate Britain
• for useful advice and encouragement from PB
• for cheery colleagues

I’m grateful:

• for an unexpectedly good day at work! The DP helped me get to the bottom of a discrepancy, and then I worked out what the other discrepancy was, so I now have a trial balance that actually balances (well, it’s £7 out on a total of £70m), result! I feel a lot calmer about the prospect of finishing the accounts now
• for cheery colleagues
• for the terrine which I had for lunch, which was fab and earned envious comments from others
• for med group, which left me feeling relaxed
• for coming home to a nice warm flat, and lighting the Cheery Candle :)

*

grateful for:

• ace music on the ‘pod getting me through the gym sesh
• a chance to talk to AB, catch up on her news and will hopefully be seeing her in a couple of weeks
• fab terrine, G said 2 notches up from last time – looked beautiful with the pistachios!
• G’s lovely Gigondas 1985 mmmmm drinking perfectly now!
• a brilliant evening in general – first we attempted to watch Bottle Shcok which was extremely dire despite having Alan Rickman in it, so we only managed about 15 minutes, and then we decided to watch D.E.B.S., our favourite film _{5.2 on IMDB WTF? 10.0 surely!} totally wonderful, so no Sunday night blues for me :)

I’m grateful:

• for feeling exceptionally cheery this morning as I walked round town
• for G returning from kittenville earlier than expected, which meant I got to spend a couple of hours with him this afternoon
• for Waitrose having 25% off their booze at the moment – I helped G stock up on vintage Madeira which at that price is cheaper than he can get it in Madeira! :)
• for having a clean flat – sprang into action this afternoon and just did it, which means I don’t have to do it tomorrow hurrah
• for seeing D and M again. As I’d hoped, it was easier this time, we seem to be beginning to feel more relaxed in each other’s company, and the restaurant we went to in St Albans was lovely. A good evening was had!

I knew today was going to be tough, and it was tough. But there are still things to be grateful for:

• getting through the day without any tears and without doing anything stupid
• assorted people pointing out to me that it’s only another 8 months and this will all be over
• fireworks!
• delicious sushi and a dark cheery mocha nom nom nom
• the chance to catch up with DG and find out what’s been going on in her life, as well as the chance to rant to a sympathetic audience

Where to start? It’s not often I say that!

I’m grateful:

• for the BBC iplayer which enables me to watch stuff on my computer, and in particular for “The Thick of It” which is about a spin doctor and practically every other word is a swear word. Watched episode 2 of the current series last night which has the fabulous Rebecca Front as a government minister. At one point she exclaimed “Someone’s done a great big poo on my desk” and a nearby minion protested “Well, my bottom is clean, minister!” which made me laugh and am going to save up for a suitable occasion in the office.

• for G turning up late last night with a couple of bottles of premier cru Puligny which belong to me (hurrah!) and then telling an anecdote about how while he was in kittenville, he’d left the cat that looks like Morten Harket alone in the kitchen for 30 seconds, during which time said cat had managed to open the fridge door despite it being barricaded with a chair and a piece of wood, selected some lard from the contents of the fridge, got the lard out and across the floor under the table. Very funny!

• for everything today – my ace SiL for organising the trip up Big Ben, that my mother made it all the way up (there had been some doubt), for the entertaining stories told by the tour guide, the view, the bongs, the sense of history, a chance to spot MPs while we waited in Portcullis House, and a very nice lunch in one of the House of Commons canteens.

• for the opportunity to go to Blackwells on the Charing Cross Road and buy some books with the book tokens my dad gave me for Christmas. I don’t go to bookshops very often, probably a hangover from the days when dad had his shop so going elsewhere felt disloyal, but it was really nice to spend some time in there browsing this afternoon.

• for a reply to my email from the elusive AB who had some major news to tell me – she’s pregnant, after years of trying – am very happy for her! She’s invited me to Denmark (am not sure I can go but is nice to be invited!) and suggested I call her this weekend, so I shall definitely do that.

I’m grateful:

• for the moon which was very orange and low in the sky this evening – saw it out of the office window and was bowled over
• for a cheery atmosphere at work
• for a day off tomorrow
• for greater perspective and a decision about how to proceed _{starts singing “things can only get better” like it’s 1997 ;)}
• for the candle I bought the other day which is cheering up the Towers