;)
I am Dani Smith, sometimes known around the web as Eglentyne. I am a writer in Texas. I like my beer and my chocolate bitter and my pens pointy.
This blog is one of my hobbies. I also knit, sew, run, parent, cook, eat, read, and procrastinate. I have too many hobbies and don’t sleep enough. Around here I talk about whatever is on my mind, mostly reading and writing, but if you hang out long enough, some knitting is bound to show up.
Thank you for respecting my intellectual property and for promoting the free-flow of information and ideas. If you’re not respecting intellectual property, then you’re stealing. Don’t be a stealer. Steelers are ok sometimes (not all of them), but don’t be a thief.
Saturday, November 2, 2013 at 2:09PM It’s November. I’m grateful. And yes, I’m recycling Facebook posts. With photos.
I am grateful for sunshine, sidewalks, Saturdays, and a silly excuse to wander around town with Dan for a little while.
;)
My feet. Green grass.
Friday, November 1, 2013 at 1:43PM It’s November. I’m grateful.
Sitting here plotting in our pretend graveyard on this gorgeous morning, I am grateful for all of my Creative Instigators and the cool stuff they inspire and enable me to do. And also for butterflies. There’s another one! And another!
;)
The pretend graveyard in glorious sunshine.
Thanksgiving in People, World Friday, December 2, 2011 at 12:55PM I bring you Dani’s Second-Annual, November list of Thanks (Better Late Than Never). Chockablock with over-earnestness, a smidge of cheekiness, and an occasional disregard for paradigms (even while enthusiastically participating in larger hegemonic structures).
Day 1: I am thankful for my muses, all of them and all of you, but most especially for Partner. Somehow when I bounce words and ideas off of him, they come back to me making sense, and sense is good.
Day 2: I am thankful for the opportunity to watch people learn to read. There is so much magic in watching a person figure out how to untangle the squiggles and have the power to decode the textual communication that surrounds us.
Day 3: Today I am thankful for cold wind, especially those cold fronts that blow in during the night, giving us a break from the hot hot hot.
Day 4: Today I am thankful for Body Armor. From the top of the head to the reinforced drawers, may it always protect our soldiers (including my brother) from harm.
Day 5: I am thankful for cake. And bakers.
Day 6: Today I am thankful for Legos and for our local library’s Great Lego Build Off. The Sonars have been spent MANY hours this month building amazing things, trying to figure out what their entries will be.
Day 7: Today I am thankful for proximity—living close enough to walk or ride bikes in most of our day-to-day activities.
Day 8: I’m thankful for the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Day 9: I am thankful for our health insurance. With allergies, infections, asthma, eyeglasses, teeth, hernias, and regular old bodily maintenance and prevention, I don’t know what we’d do without it. I wish everyone had affordable access to adequate coverage.
Day 10: I am thankful for the agitators, the skeptics, the questioners, and the people who just wouldn’t shut up in the face of something wrong. Change, progress, and improvement only happen when people are willing to stand up and say something.
Day 11 (Veteran’s Day): I am thankful for those who have chosen to serve our country, who fulfill the promises that our government makes in our name.
Day 12: I am thankful for packed Saturdays. For the many enrichment opportunities for the kids, and for the teachers, coaches, and volunteers who make these opportunities possible.
Day 13: I’m thankful for my seventh-grade keyboarding teacher, Mrs. Horcasitas, who taught me to touch type like the wind. Zoom zoom.
Day 14: I’m thankful for eyeglasses. Four out of five occupants of this house are now eyeglass wearers. Sonar X6 should really watch out.
Day 15: I am thankful for our fabulous piano teacher. Our days are now filled with bits and pieces of music. Tanya is structured and patient, and has given The Sonars a gift that they can carry with them for the rest of their lives.
Day 16: I am thankful for Librarians! They know how to find almost any bit of information you could want. They organize and protect ideas. Fiercely. Some might poetically call them the Guardians of the Flame of Knowledge. That sounds so sexy. Which is great, because librarians ARE sexy.
Day 17: I’m so thankful for small kindnesses. For holding open the door for someone, for smiling and exchanging a few words, for compliments that are small coming from the giver, but huge for the receiver, for simple, warm-hearted gestures that cost nothing, but feel priceless.
Day 18 (I told you I’d catch up): I’m thankful for all of you. Whether it’s something you’ve read, the music you’re listening to, your thoughts, observations, or actions, you challenge me, you break my heart, you make me laugh, you make me dance, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. You people Rock My Socks Off!
Day 19: I am thankful for fruit loops. And friends to share them with.
Day 20: I am thankful for ICE. From the polar ice caps to the jingle in a drink to an ice pack for an injury (or sore typing wrists), I am so grateful for cold, solid, water.
Day 21: I’m thankful for internet access. Without it, I could not share this list with all of you quite as efficiently.
Day 21: I am thankful for antibiotics. We live in a world where they are often taken for granted and misapplied, but they quietly and unglamorously prevent serious illness and save lives every day.
Day 23: I am thankful for frustration. Weird, right? But when I get frustrated, I know I’ve reached a limit, I know I have a challenge to face, I know that I need to alter my course or bear down and push through to (hopefully) find the satisfaction of accomplishment on the other side.
Day 24: I’m thankful for holidays and vacations, chances to set aside the routine and be with people we love and do things we wouldn’t normally do, like make pie and marshmallows and roast turkey and stay up too late.
Day 29 (Bonus): I’m thankful for NaNoWriMo and the inspiration, motivation, and excitement that gets me to write down fresh ideas every fall.
Day 30 (Excess): I’m thankful for readers. And writers. And idea-sharers. And inspirers. And you. I’m very thankful for all of you.
Thursday, November 25, 2010 at 9:13AM
Every day in November, over on Facebook, I posted something for which I feel grateful. Here’s the list.
Have a really fabulous Thanksgiving everyone!
November 1: I’m thankful for music. It moves our bodies and our minds, inspires, calms, excites, connects, and funkifies.
November 2: I’m thankful for Buttered Toast. What? They don’t all have to be profound.
November 3: I’m thankful for Books to read and Authors who drag my brain and heart to new places.
November 4: I’m thankful for Generous, Loving, Compassionate People who see a need in their community and pull together to fill it just because it will help someone.
November 5: I am thankful for all of YOU, the community of family and friends, old and new, that make up the fabric of my life and my experiences.
Bonus November 5: I am thankful for teachers who inspire kids to FLY!
November 6: I am thankful for Time. Time to write crappy novels, time to make them better, time to make things with my hands, time to run, time to be where I am needed by people I love.
Bonus November 6: I am thankful for toes in the sand and lovely friends with beautiful beaches.
November 7: I am thankful for knitting. The action of my hands soothes my manic brain and allows me to wrap the people I love in the warmth of a hug that can hold them even when I’m not there.
November 8: I am thankful for running and what it does for the body and brain, especially how it produces a really sharp pair of tibialis anterior muscles. (I’ve always been a sucker for those tibialis anteriors).
November 9: I am thankful for caffeine. Without it, I could still do all of the things I do, but I would surely be less enthusiastic about it.
November 10: I am thankful for the kitchen timer on my desk. It pushes me through my day, reminding me that I can do anything for fifteen minutes.
Bonus November 10: I am thankful for Hands. Hands to feel, to hold, to touch, to type, to push, to probe, to pull, to grab, to wave, to catch, to press, to test, to wiggle, to point, to emphasize, to speak, to write, to pinch, to direct, to shake, to tickle, to poke, to caress, to let go. Those suckers are really—um, useful.
November 11: I am thankful for my Veterans. To all the veterans and their families that I don’t know, thank you for the commitment and sacrifices you made to serve. The payback does not always justify what you gave or continue to give, but for this day, I hope we can do right by you, and remind society and government to do right by you always.
November 12: I am thankful for Partner because—among many other very cool things—he makes me oatmeal-raisin cookies for no reason.
November 13: I am thankful for Sonar X10, Sonar X7, and Sonar X5. Their jokes, their compassion, their creativity, their silliness, their struggles, their independence, their fierceness, their capacity to soak up ideas and push at the world around them. They make me growl sometimes but watching them grow is the most awesome thing I’ve ever done.
November 14: I am thankful for chocolate. Preferably dark and bitter, but also creamy and sweet with a swirl of caramel. Melted into hot chocolate with a crumple of dried chile and a splash of whiskey. Drizzled over ice cream. Chipped into a spoonful of peanut butter. The last melted bit sticking to my fingertip.
November 15: I am thankful for all of the people who have sheltered and lifted me when I have been broken, who have guided and forgiven me when I have been wrong and stupid, who have loved and laughed at and with me when I have been worthy. You rock.
November 16: I am thankful for beer. This one doesn’t need elaboration, does it?
November 17: I am thankful for the good job that provides us safe shelter, a full fridge, everything that we need, and many things that we want (including chocolate, beer, internet access, and buttered toast).
November 18: I am thankful for social media. I came to FaceBook kicking and screaming, and I used to think Twitter was stupid. But social media has allowed me to build a diverse community of writers and strivers and friends, and has allowed me to connect and reconnect with amazing people (That’s YOU!) across miles and time.
November 19: I’m thankful for electricity. I’m stealing this one from Sonar X10, actually (and another friend mentioned it too!). His science homework the other night asked him to list twenty things in the house that use electricity. My favorite electric things include the fridge, the Mac, the air conditioner, the washing machine, the radio, the stove, and lamps. But there are so many others. What’s your favorite?
November 20: I am thankful for bread, especially hot & fresh in my kitchen. Knead the dough, watch it rise, shape it, and wait. Sandwich bread, baguettes, buttered rolls, cinnamon buns, tortillas, naan, breadsticks, foccaccia, soft pretzels, bagels, pizza balls, whole wheat, rye, sweet, savory, sliced, stuffed, dipped, rolled, & TOASTED. Bread demands patience, but nothing feeds the stomach or the heart better than fresh bread.
November 21: I am thankful for Crys M., who convinced me to do NaNoWriMo in 2005. I am thankful for Cassie T., who introduced me to Crys. I am thankful for the English Dept at Penn State, which introduced me to Cass. I am thankful for Dan P., who told me to go to grad school somewhere else. I am thankful for the English Dept at NMSU, which introduced me to Dan P. I am thankful for all of the people in that chain of learning who taught me things and let me teach them.
November 22: I am thankful for the health and well-being of everyone I love (that includes YOU again). Let’s all take good care of ourselves and each other!
November 23: I am thankful for Popcorn. With finely crushed salt. In Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving, they eat popcorn with… Anyone remember?
November 24: I am thankful for laughter, good humor, and fun. Laughter can be a light in the darkness, a spark between lovers, the glue between friends. Thank you for laughing at me. Thank you for laughing with me. Thank you for making me laugh. I love, love, love YOU.
November 25: I am thankful for so many more things. Clean water, awesome crossing guards, warm blankets, fresh grapefruit juice, pumpkin pie, comfortable shoes, blooming flowers, love, compassion, honesty, wide open spaces, reliable highways, soft kleenex, hugs… I could go on and on. I am so grateful for the richness of my life. Thank you for putting up with my list this month!
10 Things, Thanksgiving, Writing in People, Words 
