gratitude journal 10-10-12

1. I’m grateful John not only joined me for lunch, but brought Sirius with. That was unexpected and a lift to my day.
   
2. I’m grateful my Harley boots are finally, finally fixed. I bought these damn boots back in 2008, and the zipper broke within a year because Harley apparently makes boots like they do motorcycles. I hung onto the boot, though, because in all other respects it was fine — fit well, soles not coming apart, real leather, etc. etc. Plus (like Harley motorcycles), it was completely overpriced for a boot, and I wasn’t okay with throwing it out quite yet. So I hung onto it for years, just waiting until we had the money to take it to a shoe repair shop. And finally, this year, for the first time since 2008 . . . I took it to a boot shop. My boots are fixed.
3. I’m grateful I didn’t get a really bad headache today. It was a near thing. A client came into the office drenched in some sort of floral perfume, and the smell permeated through the office. I took a bunch of excedrin and other headache medicines, but my temples were still aching and my throat and nose were closing up and my eyes would not stop watering. Luckily, I needed to run an errand, and when I got back the perfume-drenched client was gone and someone had left both doors open, so the smell had mostly dissipated. I don’t understand why people wear scents that are so strong and won’t fade. It’s so disgustingly rude.
4. I’m grateful John knows how to spot a deal. The other day, he saw a neighbor throwing out a perfectly good heater. He asked them why, they said the electric company told them the space heater makes the bills too high. So he asked if he could have it, and they said sure. Now we have a space heater that (we checked the meter) takes less energy than our regular radiant heating, but heats the small space more effectively. And! Our radiant heating thermostat sucks, but the thermostat on this heater is spot-on. John looked up the brand online, and they sell for $300 brand new, around $150 used. We got it free. I love free.
5. I’m grateful DJ lives nearby and gets up early. Now we can meet up for coffee once a week in the morning, and it’s nice to be able to see her despite our conflicting schedules.