(Thank you for the beautiful heart)

Just bumped into another friend today that I hadn’t seen for years (Hello Mary! Wave, Wave! Thank you for the coffee and yummy scone!). It’s my first day back at coffee shops and I’m in Avoca. There are beautiful things to buy but at the knitting and stitching show I bought the makings of most things here so I’ll be getting ideas not buying (note to family – it’ll be handmade this Christmas….. again).

(Thank you for the buttons under glass)

Lots of people come here to meet friends but some also seem to arrive on their own. There’s a man reading the Irish Times, the paper version. There’s a woman writing on paper, no computer – which is an advantage. I notice she has left, but her pen and paper are still on the table and her coat is on the chair. She might be getting another coffee. Her advantage is she can leave her stuff behind, unworried by the possibility that someone may steal it. I, on the other hand would have to pack up all my worldly electronics under my arm and then risk my table being taken (well not exactly my table..)

Oh, she’s back with a new coffee and glass of water. I think she may be writing her christmas list…. good idea. No, she’s writing thank you cards! She has a big pack of them and every now and then she lifts her head to consider what to write next. I wonder what she is thankful for? Birthday gifts? Good wishes for recovery from illness? Friendship? Retirement? New grandchild gifts?

(Thank you for the cute label)

This lady and her thank you cards have just reminded me that today (Thursday) in Ireland is Thank You Day, in aid of the Hospice. (And also Thanksgiving Day in America.Happy Thanksgiving, Kate!) What am I thankful for? Health. Contentment. Electronic equipment (!). Energy (mine and electricity). Family. Friends. Completion of my course. Coffee shops. Life. Irish Weather (really!).

What are you grateful for? Mairead.

Ps technology hasn’t been working so well for me this week, maybe better next week.