Three Five beautiful things for today:

1. I’ve been reading The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway, on the train to and from work every day for the past fortnight and I finished it this morning, a blissful 2 hours of reading the end of what is a brilliant book. I can’t even begin to describe the plot, my head is still in it too much. Here’s a snippet from a review that does pretty well in summing up:

There are profound meditations on war, commercialism and the nature of humanity, and there are also hugely entertaining passages featuring pirate monks, ninjas, mime artists, ridiculous military escapades and much more. It should be made clear that it is also very often arse-kickingly funny. Throw in some perfectly plotted revelations, an unforgettable finale and a life-affirming and thought-provoking denouement, and you’ve got a tale which will live long in the memory, and a writer destined for great things.

Yes, yes and yes. That gives you a clue as to the complexity, the sadness and bravery and humour and strength and love. It’s one of my new favourites, added to the list of books to read over and over again, to recommend and give to others. I haven’t had one of them in a while. It feels good.

2. I chat with a friend on Twitter about the possible reason why we never meet eligible men – we both work in fields dominated by women, we have mostly female friends and pretty girly interests. Plus we’re not the type to go try to pick up in a bar (yuck). I tweet that “Maybe I need a new hobby – welding?” and straight away those little search engines do their work and I am now being followed by Welders World. I imagine a massive dark space filled with welders, sparks flying, constantly working, except for occasionally when one of the burly manly men lifts his protective head gear, pulls out his iphone and updates his twitter. It makes me giggle whenever I think about it.

3. I have lunch with one of my best friends from high school – she is based in Melbourne and travels for work so I only see her 2 or 3 times a year, but we never have that awkwardness you often have with someone you don’t see very often – it’s always completely normal, as if I had just seen her yesterday.

4. I watch the Muppets Bohemian Rhapsody clip that’s doing the rounds this week… for the fifth time. It makes me happy.

5. Clare Grant, the creator of the original Three Beautiful Things blog got married this week. I’ve never met her, but know enough from her blog that she is a good person, deserving of good things. I feel immensely glad for her and her husband, Nick.

Thanksgiving day is a jewel to set in the hearts of honest men;
but be careful that you do not take the day and leave out the gratitude.
– E.P. Powell

1. Thanksgiving with family

2. road trips

3. “history of food” shows – I love learning all about where nachos and donuts and Tootsie Rolls come from!

I hope you’re all celebrating with loved ones today, and I wish you a very happy Thanksgiving!

Elijah during a drought said, it’s going to rain.  No matter how hard Elijah tried, his servant couldn’t see it.  When he finally caught a glimpse, he said, what you’re talking about is the size of a man’s hand.  Elijah said in response, I hear the sound of an abundance of rain. (1 Kings 18:41-45)

1.) Others will not quickly believe in you! Elijah was persistent and patient.  Seven times he said, look again.  Don’t give up in the company of unbelief.  Keep on declaring what’s in your heart to those you value.

2.) Others will underestimate you! The servant told Elijah what he saw was a small cloud.  Don’t take it personal.  Others might see something, but say or give you the vibe that it’s not much.

3.) It will include a storm! Elijah experienced, God rides in on a storm.  Most people lose their blessing because they’re so narrow-minded.  They don’t believe God might be in the storm.

God doesn’t choose and anoint us to slide down a whip cream slide into strawberries and peaches.  In 1 Samuel 16, David was anointed.  In chapter 17, he fights.  If God puts something in your heart, it will have to be contended for.  Remember you’re anointed for this fight!

• Mew at Shepherd’s Bush Empire 10.11.2009
• Ash at Gipsy Hill Tavern 16.11.2009
• Alec Empire at Islington Academy 19.11.2009

The poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.
– G.K. Chesterton

So, I took a little hiatus from this feature, though I’m not really sure why.  In any event, it’s back, so let’s get to it.

1. Macaroni and cheese

2.  Getting some Christmas shopping done early.

3. An honest day’s work

That’s what I’m happy about this week – what about you?

• Prediabetes: the hidden health timebomb “Women who have polycystic ovarian syndrome and are overweight have a higher chance of developing prediabetes, as do those who have had gestational diabetes. Anyone with severe mental health problems also carries an elevated risk”
• Women born small for gestational age at risk of PCOS
• What laser hair removal and facials can’t fix

The last couple of days have been frantically, whirlingly busy, but I’m just about done, finished and ready. So here are Three Beautiful Things for today, before I head to New Zealand for 10 days, 1 wedding, lots of laughs and hopefully a couple of decisions.

1. An freelance article is done. It was an easy one, but I only got the brief a couple of days ago and I needed to send it off before I left. Done!

2. My crafty wedding project took a bit longer than expected, but it’s finished and the result is better than I expected, by which I mean that it didn’t wind up in the bin and will actually be given with the gift. I hope they like it!

3. What’s that you say? I need my passport? And currency? This trip’s been coming up for so long. I made the flight booking months ago and until recently the trip (as opposed to the wedding) had fallen almost completely off my radar. So much so that I only thought about things like currency and my passport yesterday. Luckily, the passport is valid (though I’m cutting it close, it’ll need renewing on my return) and the currency was easily obtainable. I’m almost ready!

• How to link to a Daily Mail interview without them getting any Pay Per Click revenue.
• Placebo release FREE tour bundle EP  for their upcoming EU tour.
• Sketchbook Magazine hits the shelves
• Stephen Gately’s last interview
• Queues gather for Robbie Williams’s comeback show at the opening of the BBC Electric Proms
• Think Before You Pink asks whether all Breast Cancer awareness products are sold in good will.
• French Vogue does Blackface - Deconstruction or Racism?

Three beautiful things for a beautiful Friday evening.

1. I sit on the step in the back garden and my cat ambles up wanting his ears scratched. I take the opportunity to brush him, something he used to hate, swishing his tail in warning, then taking swipes at the brush and my hand. Now he sits patiently with his back to me, occasionally angling his head so I can reach under his chin. When he has had enough, he ambles away to a sunny corner and flops down.

2. From my vantage point on the step I spy 3 bright ruby-red jewels, the first strawberries of the season. I pop one in my mouth while it is still warm.

3. I lie on my back and watch the occasional clouds, something I used to do almost every day in my teens. It’s late in the day and the ground is still warm but the light isn’t glaring. I let my mind wander and before I’ve realised it the sun is setting and the clouds have multiplied, only now they have frocked up in pink and violet and golden yellow. They are racing across the sky – perhaps they have somewhere to be.

It’s entirely possible that Thursday’s Game 1 of the NLCS between the Phils and Dodgers will be a microcosm of the series as a whole: two good lineups trying to outscore each other before the other team’s starter leaves the mound, and piecing together runs off the bullpens whenever they can afterward.

As we all age 40 years in the process.

Anyway, in watching every hair-tearing, unmentionable-swearing, Jesus-praying moment of that game, I managed to extract three positives, three negatives, and three “tweeners,” or aspects that fit somewhere in the middle.
Three Good

1. Raul Ibanez: The man looked good. Every AB from him tonight went well.  The home run off Sherrill was, undoubtedly, colossal. The man’s looking good in his first postseason.
2. Carlos Ruiz: Boy, I’d love to have Choochtober every month of the year, but that’d just be greedy. Good, patient at-bats. The homer was off a pitch outside the strike zone, but who can fault a guy for a three-run dinger?
3. Brad Lidge: It wasn’t pretty the whole way. But, well, most of his saves in 2008 weren’t perfect either. It’s encouraging to see the guy get more outs than baserunners allowed, for starters, and anytime Lidge induces a double play ball is cause for celebration. I’m growing more encouraged by the day, and I hope Brad keeps it up.

Three Bad

1. Ryan Madson: I have no excuses for Ryan tonight. He was not sharp. He was a bit erratic. I’m glad he was able to come back and retire Manny to end the eighth, but surrendering four hits and two runs just like that is not good. He needs to shape up and fast.
2. Joe Torre: This one works in our favor. He burns Orlando Hudson terribly early, and then doesn’t bother to insert him in the field when, clearly he is a superior defender at 2B with a better bat than Ronnie Belliard, no matter what Torre says.
3. Bad swings: It’s something of a by-product of Kershaw’s stuff, but the first four innings were an exercise in bad strike zone judgment. Too many cuts at pitches at the eyes.

Three Else

1. Cole Hamels: Some very good pitches. Some very bad pitches. Letting his body language take over after the botched double play. The pitch on Loney’s homer was awful, but the one to Manny wasn’t quite as bad. Only one walk. I don’t know, I’d grade this outing as incomplete, though we sure could’ve used a better outing.
2. Chan Ho Park: He looked great in his first inning in about a month. I’ll be curious to see how durable he is, though, and his availability tomorrow could be critical with Pedro on the mound.
3. Eric Bruntlett: I still don’t understand why he’s on the roster for this series when we’re clearly set with positional backups. Miguel Cairo and Ben Francisco were, as expected, used before him off the bench. He did not get put in the field. His presence on the roster shortens the Philly staff to 11 arms, and bullpen usage is already looking more critical than ever. We’ll see if he serves a useful purpose.

My soul is full of whispered song;
my blindness is my sight;
The shadows that I feared so long
are all alive with light.
– Dying Hymn, by Alice Cary

Today, the happiness is hard to find, so let’s focus on things I’m grateful for:

1. that a wonderful, smart, kind woman isn’t in pain anymore

2. that she had the best possible care — in her own home, which she loved so much — until the very end

3. that the people who loved her had the opportunity — one not afforded to many — to make sure she knew how much she was loved

It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.
– Sir Edmund Hillary

1. the ability to accept the help that is available to you

2. sleeping with the windows open, and the resulting decreased electricity bill

3. having more money than you have bills

These are the things I’m thankful for this week.  How about you?

I couldn’t get the envelopes to print this morning.

I gave it my all yesterday, I hope they want me.

Thinking about gallery night tonight.

Farewell, my sister, fare thee well,
The elements be kind to thee, and make
Thy spirits all of comfort: fare thee well.
– from Antony and Cleopatra, by William Shakespeare

1. the chance to say goodbye

2. seeing something you’ve committed to bear results

3. gift cards

What are you grateful for this week?

“We took to heart lessons on how people steal music, watched how people steal music and interacted with people who steal and learned why people steal music. People aren’t stealing music to make money. They steal because they love music. They want it as soon as it’s out and that’s a good thing. It isn’t like people are boot-legging the music and making lots of money off your record, they just want it.”

More here

If dreams are like movies
then memories are films about ghosts
– Counting Crows, Mrs. Potter’s Lullaby

1. going through old memories

2. clearing out clutter

3. finally getting the guest room in full order, after 6 months

How about you?  What are you happy about this week?

P.S. I know I haven’t posted the rest of our trip – or anything but Three Things recently – and I’m sorry.  I just haven’t felt motivated to take the time to do it.  Hopefully I’ll get around to it soon.

(I am digging that alliteration!)

Cooking is like love: It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.
– Harriet Van Horne

1. trying new recipes

2. a friendly game of softball with co-workers (and Team A (my team) won – of course, because the A stands for awesome!)

3. the familiar ache in your muscles the day after you lift weights

What are you happy about this week?

Oh! ‘darkly, deeply, beautifully blue’
As someone somewhere sings about the sky
– Lord Byron

It’s a supersized edition to make up for last week!  Here’s what I’ve got:

1. this very recent picture of the Princess (probably my favorite that I’ve ever taken of her):

2. the (truly) vintage wedding dress my cousin wore for her wedding last weekend – sleek, simple, and gorgeous, and handed down from our moms’ cousin

3. that my mom’s side of the family loved David and that he was included in all our family pictures at the wedding

4. a 10-day road trip with someone you don’t mind spending 10 days in a car with

5. this building on the Chicago River, where I have decided I want to live:

6. seeing three baseball games at three different major league baseball stadiums in three different cities in four days

What are you happy about this week (or what were you happy about last week?)?

One of the great things about traveling with different friends, is that they invariably have their own holiday habits, or traditions. So it was with Yas, who liked to reflect each day on the Top 3 favourite things about the previous day.

It actually ended up being quite useful, as I find it too easy to let things wash over me, and not really take them in. I suppose that’s why I like photos and mementos, not just because they’re lovely images or objects, but because they’ll provoke a memory and can connect me to a time and place that might otherwise be lost. And, of course, that’s why I started this blog!

So thinking up a list each day was great, and at the end, on the plane home, we each came up with a Top 3 of the whole trip.

My number 1? The week can be neatly divided in two – rain and sun. I was prepared for the rain, and although there were too many times where the camera had to stay in the bag, we still got out and about and saw pretty much all we wanted to see. But then, our first day in Launceston and the sun was shining and it was warm but not too warm – it was perfect Spring weather.

Number 2: The wide open spaces. The fields and trees and sheep. I got to see daisies growing in the grass (never seen in my neck of the woods, and something I feel such strong nostalgia for), holly trees, snowdrops and daffodils. It was wonderful.

Number 3: That amazing dinner at The Black Cow.

This marks the end of the Tassie posts – now onwards to new things!

There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something better tomorrow.
– Orison Swett Marden

1. The nicest pharmacist ever

2. The start of 11 days’ vacation

3. A fancy, executive-length lunch with boss and co-workers, on the boss

What are you happy about today?