Gratitude Monday: Thankful and blessed

thankful Where to get fragrance samples
Happy Monday, dear Posse folks!! Hope all of you are doing well, and that those of you who celebrate it, will have a wonderful Thanksgiving week and holiday. I know it might sound a little trite at this time of year, but I’ve been having a challenging few months, and it’s comforted me lately to take a deep breath and be thankful, counting my blessings, so to speak.

So many things to be grateful for: my faith, my family, good friends, health, and sunshine (after days and days of rain), and having the basic comforts of life (including perfume). And of course, all you wonderful Posse folks! Perfume people, I’ve come to realize over the years, are among the kindest, most generous and thoughtful folks around. And through the Posse and various other fragrant avenues, we’ve formed friendships, often without ever having met in person. Maybe one of these years we can have another Posse meet-up, so we can celebrate our readers and perfume pals face to face.

Anyhoo, what are you most thankful for right now?

P.S. In recent months, we’ve been on an intense cleaning jag at our house. Quite a bit of stuff piled up and clutter accumulated while we were both working intense, 40-hour-plus weeks with long commutes. But now things have changed; my DH is at home and I’m working less than full-time. And in less than a year, we will have an empty nest. So next up: our formal dining room. This space has been a repository of sorts for much of my perfume stash for quite some time. As you can imagine, I’m loathe to tackle this project, but it’s got to be done. And in a way, it’ll be a blessing, helping me to be thankful for my favorite scents, as I whittle the collection down to my must-haves. So in the future, I envision myself sharing lots of fragrance love.

  • hczerwiec says:

    Ann, your posts are always like a warm hug — I’m sorry to hear things have been challenging for you lately. I’m grateful for writers whose work I’ve admired for years, and whom I’ve been lucky enough to meet and get to know better recently. And I’m grateful for the Posse and for how something as beautiful and useless as perfume can make this magical space. As always, I remain grateful for cheese.

  • Dina C. says:

    I’m thankful for the Posse peeps here who continue to teach me so much about perfume, food, gardening, books and living fully in the moment. You peeps are lovely, wise folks. Right now I’m particularly thankful that my SIL and her family in California are safe, and their home was spared. Prayers for them and all those that are still in the path of danger, or mourning the loss of their homes. Grateful for my faith, family, home, and health. And lifting up Verbenaluvvr — may you celebrate many more Thanksgivings in the years ahead.

  • Gwenyth says:

    There is much to be concerned about in our world and it is very easy to become fearful and uneasy. Stepping back and really thinking about blessing in our lives is so very important and it brings me a sense of peace. I echo Ann’s second paragraph in the post today… I am so grateful for my faith, family, friends, fur babies.
    Verbenaluvvr — I hope for your continuing healing and a good life.

    Even though I don’t post very often, I read everything here and am grateful for the community of perfume lovers I have discovered.

  • Tara C says:

    Verbenaluvvr, I wish you a complete healing and a long life with your children.

    As for me, I am grateful as always for my health, my family (both human and furry) and my perfume community friends. Praying for rain for California to help end the devastation.

  • VerbenaLuvvr says:

    I am as thankful right now as I have ever been in my life. In October, I was told that a lung scan indicated metastatic cancer of a melanoma that I had removed in 2016. I am not afraid to die myself, but I have young children, and went through a similar scenario with my own mother. However, unlike my mother, I have no family to step in for me. From the time my mother received her diagnosis until her death, it was two weeks and six days. I was terrified. I got my affairs in order and planned as best I could to make things as easy as possible. A follow-up scan indicates the tumors have stopped growing. We don’t know what they are as they are too small to biopsy, but in any case, not likely stage four melanoma. Will continue with quarterly scans and hope for the best. Thankful!!!

  • Brigitte says:

    Thankful for having a job that can support my family, thankful for health and well being of family and friends and thankful for the extraordinary generosity of several of my perfume pals.

  • Shiva-woman says:

    We’re on fire in California. I’m a Butte Fire Survivor 2015. I’m grateful to have a home, to be warm, inside, with my six (yes, six) cats, to see deer, quail, and turkeys outside, fall leaves changing, and possibly….RAIN on THANKSGIVING DAY.

  • Firstly, I’m grateful for your Monday posts Ann. Always something interesting going on for you. News, views and fragrant anecdotes. Can’t wait to read what exciting things you find at the back of your collection that you can bring out and rediscover with us.
    Thankful for life, love, home, friends and pets today.
    Portia xx