weekend gratitude.

A few little luxuries and reasons for happiness from the weekend:

A clean fluffy dog. I am a procrastinator by nature, but I am especially bad when it comes to bathing my dog/indoor pony. Bathing an 80 pound dog (who is a HUGE baby about bath time) is a hard job for a single mom, and not one that I relish...particularly when there's no hose to do it outside. I try to look at this as the perfect excuse to finally get around to deep cleaning the guest bathroom, since no matter how many towels I layer on the floor or how quick my reflexes are in blocking Charlie when I sense him trying to escape from the tub, the bathroom is always in near post flood condition by the time our tussle is complete. Charlie really, really isn't a fan of the bath, and my lower back really, really isn't a fan of the stooping required for it. Still, it always feels worth it when my damp Airedale is bouncing and spinning around, high on cleanliness and freedom and full of goofy antics...and when his Mom is changed into dry clothes and collapsed on her couch with a cold beer to reward herself.

Sleeping in. Enough said.

Dinner out with friends, both new and old. I love, love, love dining out. Love it. And not just for the food. Eating out is a fantastic experience for so many reasons (when you do it right, at least), but one of the best parts is the conversation stimulated by a good atmosphere, good food, good drink, and good company. I was lucky enough to have two fabulous dinners out over the weekend...one with a family I've known for a long time but haven't seen since Christmas, and one with a mixture of people I've known for years and some I've just met. Both were packed with banter, laughter, stories, and commentary on everything from World Cup to pollution in Shanghai to local gossip to Southern culture. For whatever reason, conversation across a restaurant table just always seems a little richer.

Patriotism. Sure, the American guys lost on Saturday, but it was still worth it to enjoy the scene at The Blind Pig. Little boys with faux-hawks and American flag capes, homemade tee shirts reading "AMERICA" on the front and "F*** Yeah!" on the back (the shirt used asterisks, that's not my edit), a frat boy leading the packed room in a jolly rendition of God Bless America, a pretty female bartender sprinting up and down the length of the bar with the Stars and stripes streaming out behind the flagpole she carried. Pretty great when your team loses, a storm knocks the power out and repeatedly interferes with the satellite, and you still have a super fun afternoon.

Speaking of the storm...finally, I am thankful for blessed cooling rain. It's been awhile since Oxford has seen more than a sprinkle here and there. I just saw that the high tomorrow is 87, and that sounds heavenly compared to the sauna we've experienced for the past several days.