Thankful for ... easy changes.

What little shifts in life or work bring you joy? What micro-changes disconcert you? Is it sound, color, touch, smells (you'd hate Indonesia if you react to this - oh the smells on our walk through the neighborhoods today!) or taste (you'd love it here if you're an adventurous eater, though.)

Today I'm going to talk about the constant where we live - the weather. How do I mark the flow of the tropical year? With minor, external changes.

Since the temperature has no dramatic shifts, people are aware of only 2 seasons where we live - wet and dry. Dry season is actually cooler - the nights without clouds allow the heat to escape. These mountain mornings are refreshing (68o/20C) and the days are perfect (about 80o/28C).

In rainy season, we may still have 2 sunny periods pm most days. The night-time cloud cover prevents the ground from cooling off so the drop is less. We might cool off to 72o/22C at night, with hot days. (It was 90o today/32C.) We can live outside all year long.

Growing up with 4 distinct seasons of spring, summer, fall, and winter, I only liked two of them anyway. Spring brought the hope of warm weather and green surroundings, and summer - heat, color, green, swimming ... those were my favorites.

This is the first time in decades that I have enjoyed autumn. I loved the color of the leaves when we visited the Pacific Northwest in October. That was because I wasn't depressed: I knew I wouldn't have to live through the cold dark winter ahead.

I watch weather reports of the falling temperatures in my hometown with dismay - how can people enjoy the short days and the cold? My college roommate Bonnie, on the other hand? She hates the heat of summer and can't wait for snow and frost. Love you, gal - and glad there's room on the planet for us both.

So how do the seasons change for me? In Indonesia, I mark the seasons by changing the house around. We felt the end of summer a few weeks ago ... the bright greens and purples with black accents kept things light.

and now Christmas is coming. So we feature reds, greens, and a few blacks and creams.

What would I do without a #Beddinge IKEA futon and a plethora of covers? The IKEA model was discontinued in the USA years ago, but not before I had gathered white, beige, red, pink, purple, brown, grey, and black covers for it. Every time the "as-is" section had a returned cover @$20 or less, I'd buy a different color.

I've only brought a few of them here, but the change of color marks my changes of season. Black for reflection as the new year begins, cream in dry season when the flowers pop. Then purple in -ber months, when the clouds gather and rainy season starts. And red for Christmas.

In our windowless Seattle basement, white covers the 2 futons in the living/sleeping room. We bought many of the same IKEA models of Craigslist when we lived upstairs - and sold most of them when we left. They have amazing versatility with the change of a cover.

I used red covers and an enormous oriental rug the last year we celebrated Christmas in Seattle. It felt too dramatic with all the events and people we see. Calm white with a bamboo rug remains my favorite for that space.

And no, I don't miss cool or cold weather - ever. Updating the decor is all the change this visual person need. Thanks for asking.

What changes are you looking forward to as the year draws to an end?

Read more:

*Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success! Psalm 118:25

*It is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Philippians 2:13

Moravian Prayer: God, through you all work is done! Let our deeds grant us success in magnifying your name. Amen.