I’m confident my American friends won’t mind if I share a little of what’s making me smile and feel happy on this Thanksgiving Thursday, while they’re busily passing the steamed, candied, or roasted yams around.

It is a beautiful spring day here in Melbourne, so there’s that to be thankful for.

Here, in no particular order are 27 other things I’m thankful for, giddy over, tickled pink by or chuffed about:

1. Sunshine. Something about a sunny (but not hot) day, makes me so happy.

2. Blue skies with fluffy clouds. So uplifting and beautiful, don’t you think? Blue skies equal possibility and positivity.

3. Chocolate. I just scoffed a few squares and they’re working their magic on my tastebuds and mood!

4. Slow roasted roma tomatoes. The oven is doing a job on a tray of them right now. I bought a 1.7 kilogram bag of juicy tomatoes for $1.99 today. Come on, that’s something to be thankful for. Which leads me to…

5. Access to very affordable, super fresh fruit and vegetables. That made me so happy I nearly danced back to the car with my box of bargains this morning.

6. My job. I’m enjoying having something to do, and even the tiredness that comes after a day of trying to fill my brain with new facts, processes, procedures and names.

7. Paying my rent today, with money I earned. First time I’ve been able to do that in nine months. Felt so good. Thank you!

8. Bono.

9. Let me explain that one for you, I say Bono, not because he’s a rock-god, which he is, but because when I see him now, as I just did on a documentary about a photographer named Anton Corbijn, he reminds me of someone else I’m thankful to know.

10. That person is Eden Riley. Eden is a blogger, a poet, a mother, a wife, a legend and a barnacle. Eden’s blog is called Edenland and you can find it at www.edenriley.com. You should most definitely be following her if you aren’t already. Eden is in Uganda at the moment, for World Vision Australia, and her photos and posts about what she’s seeing and the people she’s meeting are something quite magical. That she’s there doing that makes me all kinds of thankful and happy. Go Eden!

11. My messy bedroom. A strange thing to be thankful for? Perhaps. But I know how good I’ll feel once I get in there and sort it out later, so it’s on the list.

12. This year of struggle and challenge. I wrote about a particular low point here yet I’m so damn thankful that this year panned out the way it did. All of it, the ups and the downs. I’m grateful.

13. This year of joy, reflection, quiet time and goodness. I have experienced so much kindness and goodness from people. I’ll always be thankful for that. You guys rock! Yes you, especially you, the ones I’ve never laid eyes on, who have been such vessels of kindness and encouragement to me. I’m not going to stop saying thank you.

14. Ms Pip Lincolne, bloggy cheery lass from Meet Me At Mike’s makes the list, because this year I’ve been her willing student, in Blog With Pip, Inspiration Information and Inspiration Information For Bloggers. Each course has taught me more than I anticipated and her tutelage has made this very blogging caper happen. Thanks Pip! Aside from being a great teacher, and a super talented lady, Pip is just happy being herself. Authentic, nothing more, nothing less. I like that about her.

15. My home. It’s my sanctuary, refuge and refueling station and I love it. I love it’s creaky floorboards and the way the breeze picks up the lace curtains in my hallway. I love having a place that is all mine, even if I don’t own it.

16. That I’m free to vote on Saturday in our state election. Even if I think there are only turds to choose between, the freedom and responsibility of making my voice heard is a privilege I am grateful for.

17. Painting. I am loving exploring the worlds of colour and effect that you can achieve with a brush, a palette, a sheet of paper and a cup of water.

18. Coffee. I love coffee. I’m thankful that in the not-too-distant future I should have enough money to get my beloved Nespresso machine fixed. Huzzah!

19. Gosh, this is getting a bit harder now – I’m thankful that I have so many things to be thankful for, and this list is making me ponder lots of them. Ha!

20. This quote. I totally agree. Do you? How’s your quest going?

21. My friends, those who had the patience to let me be evasive, insular, mistrustful and plain weird, as I worked my way to being loving and open with them. Thank you for biding your time and putting so much into wanting to be my friend. I love you for it.

22. The internet – specifically a few social media sites where I’ve found really great and inspiring people and perspectives. Thank you Instagram. Thank you Twitter, thank you often maligned Facebook. I still love you, whatever your wacky algorithms are doing to us and our demand to reach thousands of people for FREE.

23. My brain. It’s a crowded place, but I’m so thankful for the way I think, the ways I’ve come to think the way I do, for the mysteries and marvellous things it does for me everyday. Walking, seeing, my sense of smell, all that under the hood stuff. For instance – touch typing, I mean, wow, I can type so fast and don’t have to think about it at all now. Well done brain!

24. I love you Number 24. You’re my favourite one. I like your numberliness, your lines and curves, your evenness, your sequentiality. Mwah. I love it when I see you around the place. Street numbers, signs, menu items.

25. Music. I love, love, LOVE music. I love pop music, I love The Love Boat theme, I even love lipsyncing to Whitney Houston (watch it, you’ll LOVE it!). I adore Our Kylie, early Madonna, U2, The Doobie Brothers, Sting, The Beatles, I love so many different singers. Thank you musicians of the world for providing the soundtrack to my life.

26. Oh, I’m sad that I’m running out of numbers. I am thankful that I know how to be exceedingly SILLY. It is so good to just be a FOOL sometimes. See above lipsync for an example. Don’t take yourself so seriously okay? Pull a face, dance at the supermarket, nobody cares, and if anyone really gets upset by a bit of tomfoolery, you’re better off without them.

I’m really super grateful that I can think of way more than 27 things to be thankful for. How good is that?

27. Lastly, for today, I am thankful to you for reading my blog. It means so much to me. I am so happy to be a blogger. Truly. It’s so ace here. I don’t care about the talk about competitiveness and nastiness and the ‘popular’ kids – I just don’t buy into it. I don’t need to. I love my blog, I love the blogs I follow. Live and let blog, I say!

So, there are 27 things that make me say THANKS. I hope that you can think of 27 things that make you happy and grateful.

Feel free to share a few in the comments. I’d love to know what is making you joyful.

Cheers,

Annette xx