So dull and dark are the November days.
The lazy mist high up the evening curled,
And now the morn quite hides in smoke and haze;
The place we occupy seems all the world.
~ John Clare, November ~

Last year, throughout the month of November, I vowed to think of at least one thing I was grateful for, throughout the month. Too often we concentrate on those things which are sad and stressful, without remembering all those things which bless us in our lives. I decided I will keep the November daily gratitude journal this year too. Since you already know that my husband and my children mean the world to me, it's not necessary to mention them in these daily entries - as I am thankful for them every day of my life!

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“If a given combination of trees, mountains, water, and houses, say a landscape, is beautiful, it is not so by itself, but because of me, of my favor, of the idea or feeling I attach to it.”
~ Charles Baudelaire ~

The last few days went by very quickly. Steve was off from work and I loved having him home with me. We took care of a lot of errands together, and went for a drive up the Steese Highway on Tuesday. We also had a most wonderful dinner at Lavelle's Bistro later that evening, using a $100 gift card that Steve got from his company, as a reward for not losing any time for accidents for the last quarter. Every employee received this gift card (a Visa card that could be used anywhere), and we decided to use it on a splurge, rather than something sensible.

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I have been very busy over the last week. (I can't believe it's been almost a week since I've updated this journal!) I've spent a lot of time mounting, matting, and framing photos, and also working on my gallery website - which needs a total makeover since I have new photos to add to it, and photos to remove from it.

On Friday (the 8th), I originally made plans to run errands, but then seemed to lose my energy - opting instead to stay inside and do house chores and photo work. However, the day turned out even better than I anticipated, and I didn't have to look any further than my yard.

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It's sure been awhile! Let's start with all the gratitude entries I missed:

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I apologize immensely for my absence. It has been a rough couple of weeks for me. I have literally stayed up all night long working on my new web gallery and organizing photos to display at First Friday. For all intents and purposes, my Gallery is finally published to the web!

www.susanstevenson.com/Gallery

If you find any glitches, or broken links, please let me know about them. Also, if you're on dialup, you're going to find some of the gallery pages slow-loading due to all the thumbnails there. I'm using a feature called "lightbox" to have my photos display in a slideshow. Unfortunately this feature won't work if all of the thumbnails haven't loaded. In that case, you can still see enlarged versions of the thumbnails, but they will open up in another window, rather than in a neat and automated slide show.

I've eliminated some photos from my old gallery, and added some more to this gallery. I hope to keep this one better updated as time goes on. However, if you see a photo here in this journal, but it's not in the gallery, that doesn't mean it's not available for print. Just ask!

Anyone local who reads me, I would love if you could stop by WILLOW CREEK CLOTHING, located on 12th - between Lacey and Cushman. Just stop in and say hello, and introduce yourself if we haven't met. My photos will be on display from 5pm - 8pm, but Steve and I will be there setting up at 3pm.

I still have tons to do between now and next Friday, and I still have to compose my Christmas newsletter for friends and family, as well as get holiday cards and packages ready to go to the post office. I fear I will never be done!

Steve and I took a little drive around town today. It was the first time I've left the house in a week. Needless to say, I had to get out and breathe some fresh air and feel the cold against my skin. We even stopped at Birch Hill to watch the snowboarders. I took some photos, but don't have time to download them yet. I will probably post them next month (hard to believe that tomorrow is NEXT MONTH!)

Thank you for your patience. Once January 1st comes I hope to be back to regular journaling and photo posts.

Until next time...