practice 'Happiness Manifesto' periodically

• continued lovely fall weather
• continued progress on dealing with Stuff (the physical kind, of which I have accumulated so much over the years)
• lots of dinner plans with friends
• the ready availability of contractors to fix all the stupid things that need to be fixed before next Friday – and most of them are not idiots
• having a few choices of where to crash once my place is cleared out
• the extra week to get ready for closing

• my realtor understanding that the meek young woman who’s buying my apartment is really a tyrant, cheapskate, and PIA
• getting all the repairs under control
• having a cute car, in great shape and with low miles, that people might actually want to buy!
• my dad’s plan to come and see me off
• an invitation from a friend to go out for brownie sundaes… for lunch!

• banker’s boxes, the cheapest (and sturdiest) among the kind you have to pay for
• these 12”x12” thin foam sheets I discovered, great for packing delicate stuff
• a long day with lots of time to pack and, um, to fart around
• a conversation with my mother in which she didn’t seem too appalled that I’m moving to England, and she didn’t make me cry
• buying just enough food to get buy, without (much) going to waste

-not having to cook when I truly don’t feel like it because G doesn’t mind doing it
-not having to cook alone because G usually cooks with me, unless he’s tied up with something he can’t put aside
-not having to cook because there are such lovely things as restaurants
-not having to cook because I don’t have kids to worry about feeding
-not having to cook because there is a bowl and cereal in my cupboard

• the various bits of the move falling into place
• finding the last Bell’s Two Hearted Ale in the fridge
• another successful no-knead bread experiment: molasses-raisin wheat
• getting seen by a dentist at the last minute when my crown cracked and, rather than hit me with another $1400 expense, he said it could easily wait till I get to England
• discovering, just now, another English composer I wasn’t familiar with: Gordon Jacob

I am grateful for:

- my awesome, amazing Yoga Teacher Training. Weekend 1 is amazing so far, and the people I am surrounded by are so inspiring!
- being surrounded by loving friends as we say goodbye to an old friend who died suddenly and too soon, at 27.
- the sun shining on my face
- life, laughter, friendships and family
- a quiet Saturday night

• productively working from home: packing, phoning, emailing, and then packing some more
• relatively responsive contractors
• moving iTunes back onto my computer from the external hard drive, which I can and will now use as a backup device!
• occasionally remembering that stuff is, well, just stuff
• making Thanksgiving plans with A’s mum – she’s letting me take over her kitchen!

• my spiffy new laptop arriving in the mail, getting it all set up, and having a call from the insurance company saying that they’re paying for two-thirds of it! (I had thought the maximum allowed was a lot lower, and I even tried to be a good doobie and asked him about that, but he said it’s not the case. Of course the proof is in the check…)
• sunshine, after a vile 3 days of cold rain
• getting some exercise running errands
• the triage help I got over the weekend
• having a place to stay during the upheaval (maybe even more than one place)

• visiting Oxford for the first time – especially enjoyed finding an amazing little restaurant for super-cheap, exploring Blackwell’s, gawking at all the amazing, ancient architecture, and sketching a theme and some accompaniment for a violin sonata (that I may never finish) on the train back
• free tickets to London Symphony tonight!
• paperwork falling into place
• the semi-casual dress of most non-business workplaces I’ve visited here – no one wants to be a tosser in pinstripes
• National Trust parks and properties

(I’m letting A write this for me…)

• “for me, of course”
• for cheap drinks (a dark ‘n’ stormy, this time with real ginger beer, and a Guinness, in the hotel lounge)
• lovely rainy days in Blighty
• afternoon naps and shnuggles
• realtors doing their stuff