30 Days of gratitude--Day 30

This should be the last of the 30 days of gratitude posts, but I noticed yesterday that along the way I left out day 16.* I  haven't quite decided what to do about that.  In fact yesterday I was so flummoxed by the omission of the 16th day that I neglected to post.  Twenty-nine days of gratitude should be adequate, but I feel that it's just not right.  I set out to do 30 days, so there will be a belated day 16.   


Today, I'm grateful that I live in Austin.  Sure the traffic sucks, city government is often kind of a joke, and property taxes are awful.  That said, it's a heavenly green oasis in sea of scary, Baptist, gun-toting, right-wing, creationist-myth-believing Texas.  This state is red.  

Ah dear progressive Austin, with your beloved Barton Springs, many city parks and pools, beautiful greenbelts, Lady Bird Lake, hike and bike trails, fragrant blooming fruit trees, honeysuckle, wisteria, and mountain laurel in the springtime, breakfast tacos, brilliant music, flourishing art scene, passionate gardeners, kick-ass grocery stores with organic produce, farmers markets, casual, relaxed restaurants and bars, and buy-local attitude.    I can go from the farmers market to Hill Country Weavers for some yarn, to the Stitch Lab for a screen printing class, and from the Stitch Lab head over to the East Side and Domy to browse books, then to Tacoba for dinner without changing from the jeans and t-shirt I started the day in.  (I'm not saying I would do that, but I could.  If I wanted to.)

Morgan on hike and bike trail at Lady Bird Lake

 Austin is the seat of state government and home to The University of Texas.  Those two entities have provided jobs to folks like me for years.  Our economy is still stronger than that of many U.S. cities.  

me in front of the state capitol

People read here.  Smart people live here.  Progressive ideas take wing.  This is one of the greenest cities in the country and getting greener. Today I'm very grateful Austin is home. But if it gets much bigger, I'm moving to progressive West Texas!




*As it turns out, I did have a "Day 16."  I just somehow skipped over it.  Doh!