Twenty Things to be Grateful For

Following in the footsteps of Kezzie and her recent post, which I thought was a lovely idea, here are my 20 things to be grateful for.

1) Having a lovely warm home to come back to after a day's work. Like Kezzie I really appreciate this one, as on a daily basis commuting to work, I see so many people who don't have this luxury.

2) My little dog, who helps to keep me sane.  I just look at her on our walks and smile.  She makes me just want to squeeze and cuddle her.  (She hates this though, as she is very feisty, independent and not needy at all and will only tolerate it if she gets a treat) She is so cute and lovely (but also very annoying at times, especially when she's barking in the garden).

3) That I get paid to do a job that benefits people who need support and help in life, for whatever reason.

4) My allotment, which is my little place of meditation and reflection.

5) That no harm came to anyone on Oxford Street yesterday.

6) That we live in a democracy which gives us freedoms that some people can only dream of.

7) My gym classes and friends that help keep me fit and healthy and clear my mind of the stresses and strains of daily life and work. (When I can get to them)

8) The generosity of the many and varied people who donate so many wonderful items to our CS, which makes my job so interesting and satisfying.

9) The hard work of all the volunteers that work in our CS shop week in week out.

10)  The wonderful and vary varied British weather, which keeps us on our toes year round and provides a topic of conversation between strangers on a daily basis.

11) Sophie from My Great Challenge and Diane from Diane in Denmark on YouTube, who are my daily inspiration for keeping on top of things at home.

12) The wonderful bloggers whose posts I read every day and who connect with me here on my blog.

13) Our local council waste and recycling department, who do a wonderful job in our borough of keeping the streets clean and recycling as much of the waste as possible in very creative ways.

14) Our wonderful free at point of entry NHS, that will no doubt be working hard this Christmas to take care of those who need their expertise. We are so lucky to have this and need to be grateful for this every day.

15) Our liberal and egalitarian society, which accepts people from all backgrounds and tries it's best to treat everyone the same. (Some people may argue that we are too liberal)

16) The London Transport buses that run frequently, are reasonably priced, provide me with a seat and get me to work on time every day.

17) The customer who pointed out that I had undercharged them by £10 the other day when I misread the price ticket on one of the articles he bought. (I am not, however, grateful for the customer who last night set off the fire alarm, because I had locked the door at 6pm so more customers couldn't come in and he couldn't get out - it took 30 minutes to silence the alarm as it had a fault!!!)

18) Ebay, which is an amazing way for people to find whatever they might want, no matter how obscure it might be or where in the world it might be.  I am in awe of this invention, but then I am biased, as I have in the past and still do earn money from selling on the site. (Although, I have to add that I do think that their fees are a little steep these days.

19) My dog walking friends/acquaintances who sometimes share walks with me, as well as their news, gripes and grumbles about daily life, who also treat my dog kindly and whose dogs my dog likes to socialise with.

20) Last, but certainly NOT least, OH and LB who bring joy, love and support to me on a daily basis and which makes me very happy.