Grateful: Day 88 - Hornsey

Up early enough to pond it up. Yeeooarrssss!

The sunrise this morning. Oh my goodness. Rich, deep oranges, pinks, reds and warm yellow fire glows, and layers of cloud all put to shame, but kissed at the same time, little bits of blue all lost. Just beautiful. And a sunrise like that, it develops as you move through it. The colours become less intense as the sun reaches up higher, and there's a softening, a spreading. I have to be careful, on mornings like this, not to come a cropper in potholes or to run into the back of a car.

This morning, a first. A naked lady standing in a washing up bowl, drinking black coffee from a red polka dot mug. A first for me to see it and her to do it. The lifeguards brought leftover coffee in to us. How lovely. I haven't drunk any coffee since New Year, so I didn't have any, but I still received the gift.

Today was Tax Return Day. Not the only one, you understand, but the one where I said to myself 'Look, you just HAVE TO.'. Once I started, I really quite enjoyed it. But oh, the things I did to avoid it. Surfing, arranging, tidying, sorting, cleaning, washing up, eating, drinking maté, going food shopping. All sorts. Finally, I kicked it off. It's not hard, as such. It just has to be done.

In the interest of changing my habit and doing next year's earlier, I have already listed and classified all my invoices for the coming tax year so far. I'm on last year's expenses now. That's a little bit more complicated, but good. GOOD.

I also managed one or two small other things, including cooking supper for me and Ruth. It's only supper if I cook it for me and Ruth - otherwise it's dinner or tea. Anna Levy and Andy Hix were debating that the other day and I said I never say supper. Evidently, I lied.

Sausages. Grilled (but I tipped the fat into the gravy, so it kind of evens out). And sweet potato mash with a few stray carrots in it, and sprouts. Beautiful, dangerous and very green. Steamed, sprinkled with dill, still quite firm. Heavenly, heavenly sprouts.

And then I went to see a room in a housing co-operative in Crouch End, predominantly lesbian (as in entirely lesbian, unless I move in, in which case a bit less so). Both the people who live there must be in their fifties. God, I hope I got that right. Beautiful house. Lovely feeling. I liked them both very much. The room is fabulous and there's a garden, a roof terrace, affordable rent including all the bills.

No dog, but I have high hopes for neighbouring hounds or maybe I'll finally have to get off my arse and volunteer/advertise to walk someone else's dog. And I've been thinking. The dog is secondary to the location. I'd continue without a dog in the right location, but even the ugliest of English Bull Terriers or the bounciest of Viszlas wouldn't persuade me to move too far away to swim. I'd have second thoughts about the Viszla, but I'd see sense in the end.

I hope the ladies say yes. I hope I can move in there. It's really very nice. You feel it in your stomach, don't you. I know if they said no, I'd be terribly disappointed, whereas everywhere else I've been and seen, I've had no qualms. I've pulled out (sometimes before actually visiting).

And to top it off, yoga. A whole series. Start to finish, including warm-ups and relaxation. I am happy. It wasn't the longest of sessions, but it was thorough and focused, for the most part. And I did it. I also drew some little pictures to remind me. Where to stretch, where to focus, what - if anything - to clench.

I laughed many times today, often on my own. I make a commitment to carrying a little notebook, to better remember them in.

I'm grateful for the taste of a nice place to live. Perfect location. Very suitable energy for where I'm currently at. I think it might just be the place. I'm scared, of course. When you want something and you say so, are you silly if it doesn't work? No. It's good to want something. It's very good indeed. Tonight, I shall dream of lots of other things to want, in the fullest and happiest of ways. Let's see what happens.

Images today are courtesy of the phrase 'no cat'. This first one, in fact is 'omg_no_cat'. The middle one is not a cat at all. But it is wearing a batman mask. You decide.