Ringraziamento

how milk sweetens on heating just the right way

earplugs - did I say this last year? I think these are perhaps the most bang for your buck in any manufactured product ever

layering

lengthy sunshine hours

eyeballs that continue to function with minimal deterioration

school, learning, dialogue, discourse

soup-to-nuts open source OS & software

a generation and culture that is increasingly ecologically sensitive

wireless internet… everywhere…

my own little space to live in

eagles

metacognitive ability, coping

care packages

persistence and progress observed in others

porters, stouts, cream ales, …

greek cuisine

hand-me-down hiking boots worn every day that last years

flexible deadlines

My best of’s are not new:
best food:  big rock trad on tap
best music: mgmt

best movie: farewell my concubine

best book: cognitive processing of chinese and related asian languages (–joke; I don’t read anymore)

best words: ludic, phatic, co-constructed, comity, problematize (could also be worst word)

I am thankful for:

big rivers
old trees
high winds
disorganized gardens
a growing family
memories
kindness
and always…. love, sweet love.

Fog that burns off
corduroys
TRAIL RUNNING!
a daughter who is affectionate and generous
a husband who lets me run every Saturday
Quaker meetings
the smell of freshly roasted coffee
visiting relatives
friends who watch Lucy so Gordon and I can have some alone time
enjoying the best fall colors in Seattle in recent memory
real maple syrup
restaurants that offer decent, vegetarian/fish options
a good pie crust
Facebook- for allowing me to reconnect with old friends and keep up with existing ones
a health insurance plan that covers acupuncture
Obama
being excited about an election
a good jogging stroller
snow-capped mountains
camping as a family
car pool lanes

books: The Book Thief (Marcus Zusak), Into the Wild (Jon Krakauer)- also the movie, A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini)
movies: I haven’t see very many. See above.
albums: I’m in a music rut. Probably Vampire Weekend. Also enjoyed the Allison Krauss and Robert Plant album.
meals: Nothing leaps to mind.
runs: doing the ultra-Ragnar Relay with Gordon (specifically, running across Deception Pass Bridge at sunrise).

The guestroom in Sara H-P’s Portland condo

Maureen’s acceptance into and funding for graduate school
Non-resident tuition waivers for part-time students (so I can take classes, too!)
The Willamette River

Amtrak Guest Rewards

Donations to the Center for Railroad Photography & Art (my employer)

Good relationships with editors (my freelance work)

A camera with usable ISO 1600
Free wireless Internet in libraries and coffee shops

Rainy Oregon Winters

Sunny Oregon Summers

Corvallis Farmer’s Market

Used bikes (and lots of bike lanes)

New and old friends
A world that again has hope in, and for, America
Favorites

• Book: Potiki, by Patricia Grace
• Movie: The Darjeeling Limited
• Album: Stories, by Misty River
• Event: The Center for Railroad Photography & Art’s 2008 Conference, where I was a featured presenter!!!
• Meal: My first Ethiopian dining experience at Portland’s Queen of Sheba

Things to be thankful for:

• Boundless love
• Relpax
• Learning to like pink
• Digitally capturing light
• Outside

Books:

• Red Sails Under Red Skies (Scott Lynch)
• Old Man’s War (John Scalzi), a slow year for reading, and many things, just ok.

Music:

• Raising Sand (Robert Plant & Alison Krauss)
• Wise to the Fade (Kevin McDermott)
• Vampire Weekend (Vampire Weekend)
• Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends (Coldplay)
• Hey Ma! (James)
  

And remember to help build our park by buying from Amazon with this link this holiday season.