May 25: Number 13

Over the past few days I have been accompanying Gavstar around the countryside. Four days ago, I took a photo of us and the plane having a stop-over at the farm on our way to Albany (where Gavstar is judging the HIA housing awards or something) - I wanted to commemorate a moment that signifies who we are and what we do together.

Three days ago, I found a chef who was willing to cook me a gluten-free breakfast so I took a photo of the cafe to commemorate how one act of kindness can inspire compassion and happiness. I realised that on that day I was experiencing "mixed blessings" - on one hand I am extremely grateful that I discovered that gluten was the cause of my constant exhaustion, fuzziness and apathy that had me going to bed twice a day. That was last November. Since eliminating gluten from my diet I've been on a high with enough energy to go for a daily walk, and "go the distance" each day without falling into a heap at any time. On the other hand, it's next to impossible to order a take-out meal from off-the-menu. I walked into four cafes in Albany that morning looking for some breakfast. I was just resigning myself to living on extra-tall flat-white one-sugar stirred-left coffee, when I came across the Book Cafe. The chef came out of the kitchen to see me personally and work out a tailored brekky to suit my dietary requirements. I was overwhelmed with gratitude for that simple act.

Two days ago, I came across a street that reminded me of my best friend in San Francisco, so I took a photo to commemorate friendships that make life joyful. You know how some places remind you of some other place? Like, the green roadsides of Tasmania remind me of the emerald hills of Ireland. The icing-sugar-sand on Esperance beaches remind me of the velvety-suede sand on Broome beaches which in turn reminds me of the gritty dirty sand on Malibu Beach... Anyhoo, two days ago in Albany I found a very crooked street that took me straight back to the "Crookedest St" in San Francisco. Seeing as this is the home of one of my BFFs, of course I took a fabulous journey on Associated-Memory-Highway.

We were in her car (a convertible) sitting a 4-way stop sign at the top of a very hilly street. Looking DOWN the street (literally) we could see layers of streets crossing ours, all the way down to the wharf, and the magnificent Bay sitting between the skyscrapers. What a setting! Then, just as Track 18 of Moby's "Play" CD came on, an enormous cargo ship poked its nose out from behind a skyscraper and begin to float across our "screen". Well I tell you, we were mesmerised. We stayed motionless at that stop sign and watched the cargo ship sail from one side of our view until it disappeared behind another skyscraper to the right of our view. As the tail of the ship slipped behind the building, Track 18 ended.

We couldn't have scripted a scene so natural and magical. That day, I was very thankful for that memory.

And yesterday I took a photo of my favourite coffee place in Albany - they roast their own beans sourced from "Fair Trade" growers, and it's obvious - there is sooooo much love in those beans! (I had plenty of time to think about the lurrrrve.... I had so much coffee yesterday I got insomnia, and not just any insomnia, but INSANE insomnia. One of the questions rolling around my addled brain was, "do horses have eyebrows?") So yesterday I was thankful for ethical organisations that bide by fair trade standards, and I took a photo to commemorate an act of nobleness that represents the "kind" in humankind.

Whereas I had been planning on holing myself up in the hotel room for the entire three days to finish my next manuscript: "The 7-Day Chakra Workout", instead I began writing a gratitude journal based on the simple photos I had taken. And then I thought, "what if I do this every single day for a year?" By taking a photo of what I was grateful for, looking for and recognising things to be grateful for becomes a conscious act. Being grateful becomes an intentional state of mind as I constantly search for "daily blissings" and take photos of them.

And so, my Daily Phlog (photo log) was born. Which brings us to today's entry...

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Friday night in our household generally means "Number 13" at our favourite Thai restaurant. It has been a staple part of our diet for the past six years -- ever since Boy Wonderful and I moved to Bunbury, in fact.

Of course, since moving to Perth late January* we rarely get back to Bunbury to eat at the "W.E." anymore. Today presented an opportunity to pig out there though, so we ordered a BIIIIIIIGGGGG number 13! (Boy Wonderful stuck with his usual "bird's nest")

Today I am thankful that the number 13 came into my life. This dish was Gavstar's first introduction to Thai food, and thanks to it being a positive experience we now get to eat Thai at least once a week! ;-)

* After 6 years of patronage at the W.E., we moved to Perth on the last weekend in January 2007. The restaurant closed on the Monday. I'd like to flatter myself and say this was because of our lost patronage, but no... the sign in the window read "closed because the chef can't keep his dick in his pants". Caused quite an uproar locally!