I'm so thankful for all of it.
For the words "President Biden."
Peter working in Islamabad and buying us rugs and getting settled in, and only until summer.
And then London.
Intermittent fasting. I've gained 10 pounds since I've been in the U.S. but at least I know how to get rid of it. Also, wow does it improve the way I feel, and I hate to think of how much I would have gained if I'd been eating all day, instead of only eight hours a day.
My kids, Camille with her crazy new job and finding her way, and Stefan being such an easy and fun person to live with. I cherish these two funny people and that we've had 10 months of living closer to each other.
My mom and her strength at age 97.
Social media. Zoom wears me out, but I am so inspired by bloggers and instagrammers and people in my Facebook groups putting pom-poms on chandeliers, reminding me to get out and look at trees, painting, cooking, and just looking at the world in a way that reminds me of to look for the beauty.
A huge TV and all the amazing and beautiful entertainment right from my rented sofa, my favorites: Occupied, The Good Lord Bird, The Queen's Gambit, Schitt's Creek, Person of Interest.
This apartment and somehow finding my landlady/friend/lighting designer/concrete expert/fellow airbnb-er/skincare expert/mover-shaker Ahnalisa who has been such a godsend and inspiration.
Our little Mini Coopers, so fun to drive around.
Art supplies, what a treat it has been to be 15 minutes from Michaels in case I need glitter and two-days from two-day shipping for Dawler-Rawley inks and my favorite German-made Schminike oil paints and small-batch lavender medium, and acrylics by Golden and Sennelier.
Pretty dresses. I bought 50 clothes hangers and said I can't possibly need to hang more than that while I'm in the U.S. I was wrong. I love clothes, and I love nothing more than going through the dress rack at Goodwill, even though day after day I end up wearing jeans and a sweater. From The Vintner's Daughter to the Vampire's Wife, the U.S. has the best shopping.
I'm especially appreciative of this little village of Pacific Grove. What a sweet, sweet place. A mile to Aslimomar beach or four blocks to Lover's Point, Pavel's Bakery, Acme coffee beans from Grove Market, second-hand stores, theaters selling tables on wheels to hold art supplies, the little antique store with vintage Stieff animals and old postcards, it's all so sweet.
Starting with the Sultan dying, and then our Omani colleague getting marched out of the office for posting on social media about Soulimani's killing, to reading the increasing Coronavirus cases in the car to Peter every morning, to deciding to leave on a whim with Beth and Matt--and if I hadn't gone, I would have been trapped in Oman this whole time--to finding the house on Walcott, to Peter's sisters in Monterey, to my job that I could easily do remotely, to the fireplace I turn on by pushing a button, to hiking along Big Sur with Gina (even though I fell in barbed wire that one time), to hearing the seals bark at night, to the pink sunsets, the kind guy who runs the dry cleaners across the street who accepts my packages from UPS, to the candle section at Homegoods, and seagulls perched on metal buildings, and being reminded that October and November are the best time of year along the coast. For all. of. it. I'm grateful.