today ...

 ... drinking my coffee with my eyes closed ... so good ... this is my first "real" coffee (the kind I make at home ... not that must have SBs coffee from last week, which was good, delicious, but not first thing in the morning at home doing whatever I want delicious) since I stopped putting sugar in the cup ... one bag of yellow is enough ... with cream ... coffee good ... top five on a deserted island list good ... I close my eyes to concentrate/savor ... leaning in.  And then ... I open my eyes, smiling ... and I see ... red leaves, right there.  Right outside the window.  The dogwoods are turning.  Everything was green yesterday from up there, unless it was blue.  Yesterday was ... excellent.  I thought to make today as good as the coffee ...

 ... and I saw the last thing I brought home from the pottery studio ... and I wondered if my hands could still throw a pot like they can fly a steep turn ... or better still, more like that power off 180 that settled down precisely where like the slow curving of a satisfied smile ... I got to keep so much more then I lost ... I got to keep the joy.

 This is my pretty good pot ... thrown today ... this stuff doesn't delight my heart, but ... my kids like it ... everyone wants a pot or two (for Christmas I think).

 Then I went on a wild goose chase for some fasteners ... to here.  This is a very old building.  It warehouses a zillion boxes of screws, nuts, and bolts and one sorta grouchy, almost silent, old guy who keeps the whole shebang in pristine order and his dog, who met me here on the dock/entry.  Yeah I see it now as I look at the picture ... not so tidy, but the inside was I promise.  I think along with his advice on finding another way to put my "stuff" back together he has gifted me with another wonderful insight ... if all the junk stays outside the inside can be pretty close to perfect.

And this ... because someone who loves me cares way too much about chicken salad (H).  She actually said, "Chicken salad to die for" and while it was meant as an enticement to her favorite "chick diner"  I actually heard it as a culinary challenge.

 Lunch at home ...

left over grilled chicken precisely cubed

celery hearts cut ... yeah precisely chopped  

...'cause that's just how I roll ...

white onion

uh huh, not dainty but delish

toasted walnuts

red jalapenos 

for color and kick

and a dollop of 60Cal Mayo

and salt

I'm gonna call it ...

open your mouth and close your eyes chicken salad yummy surprise 

That's today ... I decided to give myself the day off.  'Cept for meals and dishes and ... errands.