It's Still Life

I. Solar

Thankful that the solar panels went onto the house and garage roof on Monday, and we are now generating roughly twice the electricity we use. The National Grid pays us for the excess that we export to the grid.

II. Charged

Thankful that I no longer have to join the queue at the petrol station or watch the price climb past £2 a litre. We just plug the cars in overnight, and by morning it is quietly full and ready to go.

III. Older Than the Technician’s Son

Thankful that the alarm technician came out immediately. The solar panel installation set off our house alarm, loud enough to scare the neighbourhood. He took one look at the system and told us it was older than his thirty-year-old son. Sometimes gratitude arrives carrying a toolbox. 

IV. The Return of the Post

Thankful that our postman has finally caught up with the backlog and letters are appearing again after more than two weeks of silence. Our new postman is called Stewart. He seems very nice, although speed is not the first quality one would list in his favour.

V. Cookies

Thankful for cookies. Any cookies. A mug of tea and cookies. Far superior to tea with beef jerky. Or grilled mackerel. Some combinations simply know their place in the universe.

VI. Homemade

Thankful for warm homemade bread, even when the sunflower seeds abandon their posts halfway through baking. A homemade loaf should look as though hands were involved; perfection would only make it suspiciously store-bought.

VII. Small Bird, Large Voice

Thankful for wildlife in the garden, especially this sweet little Marsh Tit with a voice quite disproportionate to its size. Some creatures seem determined to make sure the world notices them.

VIII. Two Stories Running

Thankful for Denise’s Six Sentence Stories, and for the strange delight of having two very different narratives running side by side: Dead Men Don’t Drown and The Alcove: A Heist. One keeps pulling me toward danger, the other toward shadows, and somehow both keep asking what happens next.

IX. Only This Moment

Thankful for a walk in the forest where, for a little while, nothing mattered beyond the path, the trees, and the next breath. A hedgehog followed me for a short distance, then vanished as quietly as if the woods had simply taken him back.

X. Tidying Up

That Peder picked up all the rotten apples from the ground, so I didn’t have to swat wasps and ants and whatsits. Thank you, love!