All Cockeyed with Gratitude

I've just been inspired to list what I'm grateful for today, this last day of the month.  And I choose these things, above all, though I could go on listing all morning.

What I am grateful for today—

Rain, blackberries, Louise Penny, lavender, soft fabric, curry, friends in all parts of the world, my grandmother's rugs, Santa Fe, Puccini, tagliatelle, Labradors, oak trees, majolica mugs, wood grain, wild rice, green shutters, espadrilles, persimmon orange, bookshelves, bay leaves, Rilke, Billy Collins.

Above all, maybe, those green shutters.  The walled garden in Pisa (with ancient cat and orange tree) where I found them.  The oranges made into delicious marmalade by the innkeeper, following his mother's and grandmother's recipe. His generosity to strangers.  The loving welcome of the cat too in the dark of the October garden near the Arno, between convent and blue palazzo with its quiet tribe of long distinct Modigliani faces visited the next morning.





image:  Christie B. Cochrell, Green Shutters, Pisa