Autumn Skies

One of the most useful things I have learned over the years is the value of writing gratitude lists. Every single one of us has things to be grateful for - and actually the point isn't even which things you choose to include on your list - the point is remembering to focus on them. My lists include everything from the good health of my children to simply enjoying a cold drink or watching the fire on a chilly autumn night.

Today I spent a fruitful, but long, day in Helsinki.

We were all up early this morning and I got my first blast of winter as I went out to the car and saw that it was minus five degrees. Yuck. The heavy traffic meant that I spent three and a half hours in the car getting to the capital and back.

On the plus side, I had the time to listen to lots of music and also talk to friends on the phone. However on my gratitude list this evening I have also included that living in Somero means that I do not have to fight the Helsinki traffic every day. And I am certainly grateful for that.

Once I'd picked the children up from nursery, we went for a drive to take a few photos and we were rewarded by some magnificent skies above Somero.

I stared at the pinks and blues and oranges in the sky and thought how beautiful the world is when you just remember to look at it sometimes.

So here is how Somero looked just a couple of hours ago. Peaceful, autumnal and not a traffic jam in sight. In my book that's a lot to be grateful for.