Tuesday 11 November

This is Jo’s kitchen shelf. She and I have been friends for 24 years. We’ve changed lots over that time but our friendship hasn’t. I’m thankful for that and for getting to read a bedtime story to ‘Little Miss No’ otherwise called Tabitha!

Wednesday 12 November

An empty train at Northfields! I got to sit down all the way to Green Park and on Wednesday I was tired and the train was slow, I was so thankful for that seat!

Thursday 13 November

Thursday was a running about sort of a day. Work was busy and frustrating, then to Ma’s and the prospect of painting. It’s tough to be thankful when your day has been eaten up by petty frustrations. When I first did ‘Thankful’, I didn’t have a job, I was worried about money all the time and I was beginning to think that no-one would ever employ me again. My world felt very narrow and scary.

Now, I go to work, which can be frustrating and tiring and eats into my reading time but I can pay my rent and the world isn’t quite so scary, so I’m thankful for that!

Friday 14 November

Pizza at Ma’s after Day one of the painting.

Saturday 15 November

We painted and then it was mostly done. Thankful I could do it, thankful that Ma has a secure place to live, thankful I will never have to do this again!

Sunday 16 November

Home. To a tidy house, so I didn’t have masses to do. I am always thankful to have this place to be, to rest, to shelter and re-charge. It’s easy to take home for granted but there were times when I nearly didn’t.

Monday 17 November

I didn’t shop over the weekend and I didn’t shop on Monday and there was still enough food in the house to make dinner. I promise that this was tasty despite how it looks in this picture. I watched this yesterday and Ma volunteers at her local foodbank. I’m thankful that I didn’t need to shop to have enough food for dinner, I’m thankful that I am one of those lucky people that can find some food in a cupboard or freezer. I have noticed this month, that more people are feeling stressed and closer to the edge, it’s a feeling that Christmas intensifies. Sometimes I feel like that, aware of how close to the edge my life is but it’s not that close. Because there is food in the cupboard and I have the ability to cook it.