Chin up!

Bad news today. Ugh. Depressing.

But instead of letting the miserable crap define me, I’m going to go all Pollyanna and count my blessings. As nerdy as this is, I love doing it. I also love making lists of all my terrible flaws (There are just so many!), and of people who look like puppets, and of self-improvement ideas, and of things I would like to make if I had unlimited supplies, time, and skills. Really, any kind of list will do. But today, I need a booster. So I’ll make my list of blessings without muddying them up with the downsides.  It’s all silver linings in Pollyannatown! Here goes.

1. I love Ron.
2. My parents are both alive and well (though my dad is recovering from knee surgery–but still, recovering, and finished knee surgery, so let’s go ahead and count that as a complete blessing instead of giving it a qualifier).
3. I have a good relationship with them.
4. Ron and I are strong and able-bodied.
5. My partner is funny and talented and handsome and makes me feel proud and lucky.
6. I have a few great friends I can count on, plus others who make my life brighter because they’re smart and funny and entertaining (not that the ones I can count on aren’t those things–they’re all those, plus).
7. I have friends in my industry/crafty community who support and buoy me.
8. I don’t actively wish anyone ill.
9. I live in an amazing building with a fantastic creative workspace.
10. I have 2 very nice cats, 7 very nice sheep, and 5 very nice hens contributing to my quality of life.
11. The winter has been fairly mild thus far.
12. I have a great yarn and fiber stash that could probably keep me happily knitting/spinning until the end of time.
13. Two of my credit cards are going away for good this year. One of them has already gone. When Citibank rushed to double/triple all its rates last year in anticipation of credit card reform, I decided to opt out of the no-cause 3X interest rate increase on both my Citibank cards. Which means when the last card expires at the end of the month, it’s gone for good. But I get to pay off the balance at the low original rate, not the alarming raised rate. So yes, Citibank and I are officially breaking up, but we’re parting on good terms. We’ve been going steady since 1989, but it’s time. And while the lack of credit is a little scary, the liberation of being unfettered from the potential to rack up infinite debt is, well, a relief. It’s like I’ve finally left my abusive boyfriend.
14. I’ll soon be liberated from satellite TV, too. We’re keeping our internet and we can get most of what we watch from Hulu and Netflix on Roku. And I’ll be glad for less TV in my life.
15. I get to host Yarn School twice a year, plus many other stimulating workshops.
16. I already have all the gear and supplies I need for many hobbies: knitting, spinning, cheese-making, brewing, small-scale printing, baking, sausage-making, sewing, embroidery, paper craft, felting, etc.
17. I have great cooking pots and appliances.
18. I think my little DIY greenhouse is going to serve me will this winter.
19. I’ve got another pattern in the upcoming knitty (a great one! Oooh, I want to tell!).
20. I’ve got an excellent book proposal in the works.
21. I’m reasonably skillful at several pursuits.
22. I don’t have any overwhelming emotional impediments.
23. I love my kitchen
24. We have high-speed internet, nothing to sneeze at in the country.
25. Sketchers is going to replace those stupid fitness shoes that always pop off my feet for other stupid fitness shoes that will actually stay on my feet, hurrah!
26. We haven’t had a problem with mice this year (thanks, Sugarfoot!)
27. I’ve got some great new patterns and projects in progress.
28. I’ve got to believe that there’s some solution to The Big Problem, and that if I seek enough advice, I will find it.
29. I have many pairs of warm wool socks.
30. I have meat in the freezer and beer brewing and hens laying fresh eggs.
31. We have a car that gets good mileage.
32. I don’t have anyone dependent on me to survive, which means my stress and problems aren’t magnified by anyone but me.
33. I live in a place with clean air and starry skies and quiet nights.
34. I live in a place that has somewhat calmed my voracious consumption.
35. Living somewhere that’s not a cultural and political echo chamber of my own opinions has made me more tolerant. It has also made me use the phrase “echo chamber” a lot more. You forget you’re in one until you leave and you can suddenly hear more than the sound of your own voice.
36. My Lexulous addiction is currently under control.
37. I have a job I love.