Thankful Thursday
Things are hard in the world right now for multiple reasons, so we've been doing weekly thankful posts around here. Even in the midst of hard times, there is always something to be grateful for if we hunt hard enough, and this weekly post is our chance to hunt together.
Sonia got her learner's permit.
Multiple things to be grateful for here:
- the DMV opened up by appointment (they were closed for a long time!)
- now we can spend some of Sonia's free time this summer working on completing the required driving hours
- now that she has a picture ID, I can register her for fall college classes
And in related gratefulness, Sonia starts virtual driver's ed next week.
Sonia likes driving!
I'm not going to have to drag her out to practice; she might be the one dragging me out. 😉
I have been having fun kayaking.
We've lived by the water for 15 years but have never had any type of boat.
We can afford kayaks now, though (so not true when we moved here!), and we've been enjoying being OUT on the water instead of just looking at it from land.
Sonia & Zoe are really enjoying seeing friends.
We are still being pretty conservative, but now that restrictions have loosened a bit, they've been seeing a friend here and there and I am so happy for them.
Not being able to see friends at all for so long really makes you appreciate them!
Our mortgage hit a nice tipping point.
We've now paid enough extra principal so that our regular payment is made up of slightly more principal than interest.
And every month from here on out, that ratio will get better and better!
I'm not gonna lie; the mortgage is still a depressing amount to think of paying off. But we have knocked many, many years off of it by paying extra principal from the start of the loan.
So, I'm going to focus on that. 😉
One of my affiliates started paying me again!
Because of the pandemic, a lot of blogging affiliates stopped working with bloggers (either because they had no business, or because they had so much business, they didn't need bloggers to help them).
I send this particular company a lot of traffic from an older post that people find via Google, and I am delighted that they are paying me again now.
We haven't needed heat or cooling this week.
It's been a week of perfect weather in the 70s, which is seriously unusual for June.
Some 90s are coming next week, but this week has been unbelievably cool.
The weather has been amazing. We had windows open the past 5 days, that never happens.
I was able to get a haircut and the stylist did a really good job.
Next week Sam's Club will start offering curbside pick-up. I have been avoiding going in stores so I'm looking forward to this.
While walking in the early morning yesterday we saw a gorgeous complete (double) rainbow. We turned the corner and there is was in the southwest. There was no obvious explanation for it (there had been no rain/storms). We did not have our phones with us but it lasted most of the final 15 minutes of the walk and I was able to take a picture of the remains when we got home.
I was able to walk with a friend yesterday.
Also, I'm grateful for the person(s) in the next neighborhood that is sharing their mask making talents. They leave out cloth masks, you donate money, fabric, and/or undershirts (cleverly used for tying the masks).
Thankful the covid rates in my state are knock on wood really low.
Saved $150 by taking insurance off 1 of our cars for 2 months due to no one driving.
I did not plant a lot but my garden is growing nicely.
A friend from work wanted ferns and I have a lot of those. She sent pictures of them planted in her garden. I'm always glad to share plants.
Our rates have been steadily going down and I'm hopeful that will continue. And I'm really hoping that the mask requirement stays in place so that our numbers continue to be good. I know people will not wear masks very faithfully unless it's required, you know?
The awful, wretched wind that has been blowing non-stop for almost two weeks has finally abated. So have the high temperatures for now, and I am SO RELIEVED. I really dislike being hot all day.
We've started harvesting cabbages and giving them away to people, which is the whole reason we plant so many cabbages. I love giving away garden produce to friends and neighbors.
The wildfire that threatened us all last week is almost completely contained. Many of our neighbors and friends lost a lot of fencing and grazing for their animals, but there were no deaths or injuries and no one lost a home or any of their livestock, which is something to be very grateful for given the size of that fire.
Kristen, I enjoy reading your blog so much and you are inspiring me to maybe start my own just as a little family record. I love seeing what life looks like with your older kids. We have one six month old at the moment 🙂
I’m super curious about the kayaks! My SO and I have been talking about buying a pair for us. We live in the land of 10,000 lakes so finding a place to go is very easy. My friends recently purchased inflatable kayaks and I’m thinking about looking for used ones. I’d love to read about your kayak buying process!
Used ones are SO HARD to find right now because everyone is buying them during the pandemic! So it's hard to find a good deal on one right now.
We bought sit-in kayaks that are fairly basic; not inflatable, but also not super fancy.
Mr. FG has a fun money account that he hadn't touched in a long time, so he's using that money to buy the kayaks. I believe the first one he found was around $300, and the other is closer to $500.
I used to have hard plastic kayaks but they weighed 40 pounds which gets hard to lift the older you get. I sold them and bought an Intex inflatable off of Amazon and i love it. Easy to inflate and sturdy...
As an alternative to the hardsided kayaks Kristen just replied with about, we have inflatable kayaks that we bought new via Intex for about $70 each. They've served us well now for a good number of years, we average five to six miles per trip (as and FYI), and we've been very pleased with them. If you do a general online search for Intex kayaks, a good number of inflatable options should appear.
I am thankful that Hubby and I are doing well financially, we still both have meaningful and busy jobs, we are able to go and do on the weekends, we have fairly good health, and all of our adult kids seems to be making their way in the world. I don't know what else I could want, personally. Sometimes the days still feel sad in a larger universal sense. You know what I mean?
That last comment - Yes. Absolutely.
The world feels upside down right now filled with sadness.
I could have written this post myself !!! This is exactly how I feel too 🙂 I've been teary eyed more lately, but it has to do with the larger picture than with my own little world.
Grateful for:
1. My fur babies one dog one cat during quarantine. Much entertainment.
2. I am cooking with lots of fresh herbs again. Growing nicely.
3 I amDONE with online teaching for awhile. I like face to face teaching much better.
4. Dental and Vision insurance. We have had many appointments lately. Our insurance is not great but it is helpful.
5. Haircut after 16 weeks!!!
This week I am thankful for:
- The beach at low tide. I did a seven mile sand walk yesterday, and it blew all the 'blah' clear away.
- Our June weather. Marine layer in the morning, keeping walks and hikes nice and cool, then sun @ 2PM, just in time to perk up my mood for the rest of the day.
- Farmer's markets being open once again. Though, truthfully, I visit the bread vendor, the tamale vendor, and the hummus and pita vendor far more often than the produce vendors.
- Trader Joe's. I loved them before COVID-19, but I practically worship them now. From being entertained while waiting in line to go inside, friendly, chatty employees everywhere within the store, to being given free flowers on the way out, I always leave more uplifted than when I arrive.
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I love reading these. It makes me feel hopeful.
I am thankful for so many things.
The weather in Northern Florida has been so wonderful. The high temperatures this week have been around 78 degrees. This is a rarity. It’s like God put on the air conditioner.
My eldest son dropped in for coffee this morning and my daughter is coming from out of state for a nice long visit next week.
I live close to the water and am able to walk to the beach nearly everyday. The sound of the ocean, the breeze, the fresh salt air, and the sunshine sooth my soul.
1) Grateful to have sunny weather (mostly) at the beach, which is never guaranteed, even in June
2) Feel so lucky that my parents are healthy & are spending a few weeks with our kids. It's so much better for the kids to have the chance to mountain bike, hang out with my parents, cook & enjoy, vs being stuck inside with us, while we do calls for 8-10 hours/day. With minimal summer camp options, feel super grateful this worked out.
3) The boys favorite summer camp has found an option for opening. (Lots of changes to make it safe & allowed), but they are thrilled. This camp is all based on outdoor activities, like hiking & they are so excited it will happen, even if it's much shorter & doesn't include some of their favorites.
4) We will have more time than normal at our vacation house (thanks to working from home flexibility), so we've used this as an opportunity to get a bunch of stuff done.
5) I'm getting a bit of time alone with my husband, and given we've been primarily with our kids 24x7 since the first week of March, this is such a lovely way to reconnect.
Yay for Sonia!!!!
Several things to be thankful for and we are.
1) Our mortgage, too, is past the tipping point = $114,000 and ca $230,000. equity. (Lowest real estate estimate) mind , we only paid $155,900 for the house but the value of the house has gone up.
2) No heating or cooling needed and Windows all wide open, day and night. So grateful always that we bought a house with upstairs bedrooms for exactly this reason--safe to have bedroom windows open at night.
3)Both grandchildren have begun in jobs they enjoy, with bright futures ahead. Daughter doing very well indeed in hers. They only need one salary to live comfortably. Son-in-law, despite serious chronic sickness, now selling all the woodwork he can make and getting a state-wide known name for himself in this field.
4) two old friends have reconnected, because of pandemic I think, and we have all picked up our memories again after many years.
P.S. And I didn't mention the biggest--such a surprise! My 20year-old granddaughter has begun to email me in earnest. She lives in Texas and we are in Delaware. She has always written to us on birthdays but now she writes every week or so, long emails about personal matters, including, also, her reading. Things she does not confide in her mother--her relationship with her boyfriend, sexual questions, religious questions, and so forth. I treasure this and respond. It is such a big thing and I am being very careful not to destroy it.
Aww, I love that! So wonderful that she is confiding in you.
Erika W:
What a wonderfully welcoming, mentoring person you must be, to have been offered and trusted with such confidences!
Thank you for doing a grateful post - I needed to refocus my thinking in that direction. This virus thing has made me rather cranky and that's not my nature at all. But I'm tired of not being able to go and do as before. My husband and I had several elective surgeries scheduled in March (him mostly) and all cancelled. Doctor and dentist appointments - cancelled. Movie theaters and restaurants - closed. 🙁
But now things are getting a bit better so I need to stop feeling sorry for myself. I'm grateful for the absolutely perfect weather we've had. It's been so nice to have the window in our bedroom open all night and hear the wind blowing through the Aspen trees right outside the window.
My son gave us medical scare with a bout of pneumonia. We nearly lost him twice before they stabilized him. He has ALS, so pneumonia is a very serious thing for him. I'm SOOO grateful that he is finally at home and recovering. We're trying to keep him well and healthy until there's a treatment or he just gets to live a long time (like Stephen Hawking). A cure would be fantastic but he at least wants to live long enough to see all his kids grow up (he has 6 - ages 5 to 22).
I'm grateful my husband still has a job through all the layoffs and company closings. And I'm especially grateful for our general good health and that, at our age, we can still walk and hike and enjoy physical activities.
Joan, how scary. Glad your son is doing better.
Grateful for friends visiting on our patio ... Breakfast on the beach with my kids yesterday (and super efficient drive through service at Tim Hortons!) ... An eye doctor who got me in quickly a couple of weeks ago for a problem I was having and who got my daughter in today to check out her new vision problem ... Gorgeous weather!
That must have been so scary. I'm glad he's home and recovering.
I am so glad your son made it through the pneumonia. Whew!
1. Things are starting to move in the direction of looking like the new normal routine soon. My husband is in the process of returning to working at work; my son has started 1/3 of his therapies each week, and we are getting appointments that were cancelled rescheduled.
2. Access to clean water. We live in a hot place, and my body doesn't do heat very well. I've been running a lot, so I am easily drinking a gallon of water a day. It's a luxury that's permitting me to keep going outside without dehydration or heat stroke.
3. Sleeping through the nights. We've had more nights of good sleep in the past 2 months than we've had in the past 3 years. My husband hasn't been coming or going from/to work at zero dark thirty, and we've finally figured out how to get my medically complex son comfortable enough to sleep more than 6 hours at a time. Sleep is wonderful!
4. My husband's garden is blooming flowers and starting to yield tomatoes, peppers, and arugula.
A good night's sleep makes EVERYTHING else easier!
My church family is in a period of change right now with our pastor having left. We have a wonderful group of pastors we consider family who have been leading our worship and I'm in the third month of running a weekly trivia night that brings some of us together in a more informal setting than our Zoom services. I'm glad people keep showing up and that we can still sort of hang out together.
My husband and daughter had to travel two weeks ago to empty her dorm room(finally!) and my daughter was incredibly anxious about getting infected during the trip and passing it along to me as I have asthma. Today is day 14 and there's no sign of illness, so I think she'll finally be willing to hug me again!
It's finally warm enough in our shady PA yard for my family to get in the pool. I don't go in much myself, but seeing my husband and big kids playing in it and being goofy brings me joy and helps everyone's stress levels.
My son turned 18 yesterday and when I told him how very glad I am that he's ours he said he's glad he's ours, too. Can't ask for much better than that!
can you daughter register herself for her courses? would that be a good learning for her to take of that?
I'll help her with her first semester registration (she'll need some help figuring out which classes to take), and from then on, she should be good to go on her own. That's how I handled it with my older two, and they were independent after the first go round. 🙂
I always do a Friday thankful post on my blog. Yes, some weeks it is hard to think of five things. But I work at noticing.
I am thankful for perfect weather here so we can walk every evening.
I am thankful that our stores and farmers market are open.
I am thankful for online books because our library is still closed.
I am thankful we can attend church in person.
I have to say that Sonia is simply not old enough to drive a car! Isn't she, like, eleven or twelve?? (my memory of her!)
Thankful for our Creator allowing His word the Bible to survive till these days..His name is Jehovah and His Son, Jesus Christ has given a wonderful opportunity to live forever as he said in John 3:16 as those who exercise Faith in him who wont be destroyed but recieve everlasting life and as some Bible say, eternal life...but as some of you know the Lords prayer...
Have you been taught what ye meant by it. Thee Kingdom to come...do anyone of you believe it will come?
Some say no! But of that was the case why would he say it for us to pray for it to come...
So yes I'm thankful for life itself and all the spiritual TRUTHS that the Bible spells for us to know God personally, not just as a loughfty God but who cares for us deeply...why else would he send his Son to die for us. Matthew 20:28...
We can find many things or promises of His in the Bible at least one comes to mind at Psalm 37:10,11 where it says in part that the wicked will never done away with but those hoping in Jehovah will possess the earth.
Isnt that something...just like Jesus Christ said in Matthew 5:5 that the meek will have the earth...isnt that amazing, both Father and Son agree with each other..
So what am I thankful for...
Well being alive for one thru Gods Grace or underserved kindness...as we say...
But theres so much to be grateful for...or thankful for... the food he blesses us with or my hearing. To be able to hear the birds in the morning or to hear the rain falling when it comes down hard outside...or being able to be not sick for now...or having the ability to not have to be homeless, even tho I pray for those who dont have a home of their own. Or food that wont make them sick...or those who dont have clean water to drink...I'm truly grateful for everything I have even the obvious, like be able to see with my own eyes or having the ability to see color or to be able to cloth myself or so much more...
And well it wont be always that way, I will grow old, but as we have our youth we should give praise to the God above everyday and pray for the Kingdom to come and to wipe away the suffering he has promised...so that is enough of what I'm thankful for...
I hope everyone is doing ok..stay strong and dont give up...!!
Although it's been very hot during the day I'm thankful that it's been cool at night. When I get up I've been opening every window in the house and cooling things down a couple of degrees. The fresh air early in the morning feels wonderful.
My neighbor's two year-old has learned to ride a scooter and is happy to ride back and forth in front of our houses. I'm happy and thankful to cheer her on.
My CSA box was cancelled but the farm is upping the amount of produce they deliver to the natural foods store that's within walking distance. Yesterday I found lettuce, spinach, sprouts and strawberries!
Congratulations on all the things but especially the mortgage. It is borderline criminal that, unlike car payments, mortgages don’t put a steady amount to principal every month. It seems to me that should be changed.
I am thankful for:
-our neighborhood pool reopening
-food options (grocery shopping is so much less stressful than in April and May)
-a spouse that I communicate well with (sometimes I take that for granted)
-the bird who has taken a liking to my new bird feeder
-health (these days I cannot forget to be grateful for that above any frustrations I might have about limited options)
It does seem super unfair to front load all that interest! It really benefits the mortgage companies, since so many people sell after 5-10 years (having just paid most of the interest for the entire loan).
I wish it were different for sure.
When I went to the lake this morning, they added a three months’ extension to my state park pass due to having been closed during the pandemic.
Today, I am being consciously thankful that I do not have to live in fear.
It is highly unlikely that I will ever be deported, fired because of circumstances in my private life, stopped without cause by local officials, die from a mysterious disease (even if I do catch it), have to decide whether to uproot my family or stay in horrible conditions, run out of clean water, run out of money to buy food, not be able to feed my son, have my house invaded, have my vote invalidated, and so on.
I am thankful that so much around me is good.
And (posted too quickly!) I am thankful for those people who have worked and work now to address these issues so others do not have to live in fear, either.
Thank you for your perspective. I’m feeling much the same. It’s a heavy gratitude.
"Heavy gratitude" is an excellent descriptor. Thank you, Cathy.
1. We went to the library for the first time yesterday! It was so good to browse shelves and get new books! The librarian was so happy to help my 6yo find a book that she cried happy tears. It's been a long time apart!
2. On the same visit, my 3yo crashed into a wooden bench corner and got a massive goose egg and black eye. But it could have been worse and wasn't, plus he doesn't seem bothered by it today.
3. We've had a lot of hot days the last week and a half, but haven't needed to turn on the a/c on the first floor more than once. Nights have been cool.
4. I'm thankful for my husband's levelheadedness.
5. Our house has always had a huge back deck, but didn't have a door connecting it to the house. It was a bit of a hike to get to. So my husband added a door and just finished wrapping the deck around so we can get to it from the sunroom. It's been so fun to see how much easier it is for the kids to take toys out there to play and we really get to use the space a lot more now. I'm thankful for the resources to make it happen and for my husband's awesome skills to do it himself.
I've been struggling these last few months. So much so that I've spoken to a doctor about it. He wasn't much help (basically told me everyone is suffering) but I'm just angry and disappointed a lot. I'm trying to look for the good but I'm coming up empty most days.
1.) I have a week off of work. I can't go anywhere because, of course, even that basic thing was taken away from me too but at least I won't be at work.
2.) I got some new work tools which make my job easier.
3.) My garden is growing.
That's about all I can think of.
Aww, Battra. Could you get a second opinion? That first opinion sounds awfully dismissive.
So much love to you.
Please get a second opinion. You deserve it and owe it to yourself and family. I finally did fir some health reasons. It made the world of difference and was so easy after I finally asked for a second opinion. I keep asking myself why I didn’t do it earlier.
I'm sorry you have been having a hard time. Your doctor sounds a little tone deaf.
Congratulations on hitting that tipping point - it's kind of exciting to see how quickly the principal portion will shrink now! Today I'm feeling down in the dumps and kinda grumpy so while my mood is fighting wanting to talk about thankfulness, my mind also knows it's exactly what I need to think about to get out of this funk so thank you for the well timed post!
1. I'm super thankful for my parents. They came from nothing and neither had much love, affection or support growing up. Yet instead of pushing that on to my brother and me, they supported us, believed in us and respect us. Even now in their golden years, they think of us first. For me, that's a luxury.
2. For my body. It's amazing to me that I can still get stronger, even as I age. Like your goal of doing a pull up - you just have to stick with it and you'll get stronger. Pretty awesome that I'm not stuck.
3. My toaster oven. I just baked a 9 inch cake in it yesterday. I can put something frozen in there and in a few minutes, I have something delicious to eat. It transforms dough to bread. Man...I love that thing.
4. Plants vs. Zombies. It's such a silly series of games but I love them.
5. Crossword puzzles. They bring me joy/satisfaction/entertainment, expand my vocabulary and spark interesting things for me to research.
What a lovely testimonial to your parents!
1. Fewer wildfires this year. Some summers the sky is pewter and the sun orange from the heavy smoke.
2. Garden is growing so fast you can almost see the plants getting taller over night.
3. I have not had to use my wheelchair for almost a month.
4. The chickens have started producing eggs. They are not cheaper than store bought but the entertainment they provide is worth it. And the eggs really do look and taste richer.
5. My husband has taken over doing the laundry, a chore I detest. I am taking over weed wacking, which he hates.
Kayaking is a lot of fun, and great exercise as well. We have two Ocean Kayaks, a 13’ two person and an 11’ foot single. Both are sit on, versus sit in kayaks, they can be loaded on the back of the truck to transport to the lake nearby. Hubby did some modifications to install hatches to access storage underneath which is great for stowing Towels, bags and other things to stay dry out of the way. He bough them a good eight years ago, but they are stored under the deck, so they are still in excellent shape. It is great to go on the small lakes, rivers, and the big lake midweek. We don’t take them out on the weekends there as there are too many boaters from the big city that hang out, get drunk and then drive like idiots. We went out with a neighbor on his boat with his wife a few years back, we drank iced tea, while he continued to down beer after beer and got drunk. Hubby volunteered to drive back rather than our drunk neighbor and both his wife and I insisted he do so. Hubby has had boats for years, so he got it back and parked it nicely in the slip the first time with no trouble. Drunk neighbor was impressed he did it the first time, much easier when the driver is sober, who would have thought. We haven’t been out with them since, as I don’t want to go through that hassle again.
Our garden is growing nicely, plenty of flowers on the berry bushes formed green berries. I think we will have a good crop this year. Fruit trees are three years in the garden, a little fruit this year, more next year.
Hubby kept me and my two teen boys on schedule with our hair. I had a couple friends visit a couple weekends ago to grill on the deck and sip wine. My best friend asked hubby to give her a trim, no big deal, he does that every 3-4 months. My other friend watched him and asked if he could cut short hair, it is far tougher to to than just trim long hair. She complained that her bangs in her eyes, hair over her ears and the mullet thing on her neck was bugging her, it had been months since her last haircut. I mentioned that hubby gives my boys their haircuts and I nudged him to give her one when she asked him to cut her hair.
So he got the bag of barber tools. She took a seat, he caped her with the pinstriped barber cape and a neck strip. She said cut is short on the back and sides, then leave it a couple inches longer on top. He asked her if she was ok with him using the clippers, she said go for it. So he did. She felt her head and commented that it felt good to have all that hair gone. She inspected her hair in the bathroom mirror and was pleased. Hubby is not a fan of short hair on women, but cut hers because I asked him too. He mentioned that this was just to tide her over. She posted pictures on Facebook and she got likes and her stylist commented that she really liked the haircut, but felt jealous that she had cheated on her. She plans to see her in July, so it wasn’t to steal her customer.
My stolen phone was returned within the hour!
Husband and son back safe from a work trip.
Girl time with my daughter while they were gone.
Good health.
My adorable niece was born!
Grateful for so many things at the moment!
* Public library is re-opening today!!
* I've been without a shower and with issues in an adjacent wall since march 2019 preventing the repairs. The wall is FINALLY repaired, so we can now focus on the shower! (Yes, I have a bathtub!)
* Being able to pay a substantial lump sum on the mortgage, which means that, if everything goes accordingly to plan, we will be mortgage free in less than a year! Then we will finish paying off the 2018 car and will be totally debt free!! Frugality does pay! (And steady jobs with good wages, of course. Also very grateful for this)
* Canadian health care system. It's not perfect, and we pay an enormous amount of taxes for it - so NO it's not "free health care" like some people seem to think - but when my daughter has to get an XRay tommorow I won't be paying for it out of pocket for the next 3 months!
* My house, my backyard, and generally quiet neighbors
That my daughter is able to visit next week, I haven’t seen her since January and am very much looking forward to her company.
To have received the final probate paperwork to wind up my late husband’s estate.
That I am on hand (and fit enough!) to look after my twin grandsons when their parents need help.
That my routine colonoscopy went well and that I won’t need to do that again for another three years.
To having enough cash to be able to employ a plumber to fix a leaking toilet, as plumbing is not one of my skills!
OK, the virus numbers here in Arizona are getting very scary.I had ventured out to Trader Joe twice ,since March , but now I am staying out of all public buildings again, AND I AM GRATEFUL FOR:
1.The Cloud Library.I can borrow books from our library and read them on my ipad. YAY!!!!!
2. Grateful I have a comfy home, wiht a pool in the backyard,many birds who sing me awake every morning, and blue skies.
3. Grateful I love to cook. Cooking and making nice meals has become an important outlet for me during all this stay at home time.
4.Grateful for the LARGE parks nearby—we can get out many mornings for our hour walk and still avoid other humans. WE wear masks!!!
5. Grateful for tech. I can facetime,Zoom,Skype and call my friends and family. EVen if I can’t see them in person.
6. Extra: I am grateful my sweet 34 year old niece is on her LAST week of chemo treatments.She gets a month break before surgery and is, overall, doing well with treatment.
I heard it's terrible out there in AZ. Stay safe! <3
It is VERY bad in Arizona, and many not wearing masks and still crowding our restaurants,casinos and public places.It makes it all the more important for people in my age group (65)to stay home. I am very healthy overall, on no meds, but I want to stay that way. The sooner the rest of my state starts behaving responsibly, the sooner me and my husband can get out and start enjoying some of the things we love again..till more people are careful here, we’re just having to really stay mostly at home. Over 3000 new cases per day lately.
1) For some reason I've had a burst of energy the last two days and have completed a lot of little niggling things (getting label printed for the modem I had to return to my ISP, getting my hair cut for the first time in at least 4 months, returning library books, shopping for healthy food instead of junk, opened up a new Bottle Drop account so I won't have to wait in line to drop off my returnable bottles and cans)
2) I only have 3 months left on my insanely expensive cell phone plan contract, and will be switching to Google FI in September.
3) Was able to buy 3 pairs of pants with pockets from Amazon, so I don't have to do laundry every other night so I can have clean pants for work.
4) Really like my new job (been there about a month now) and I'm making more money than I've ever made in my entire life.
5) Being able to fix the little and big things around my house now that I have more money.
6) My yard and my irises lift my mood every single day.
We were able to see our son and grandchildren for the first time since March. Unfortunately, our daughter-in-law had to work, but we hope to see her soon as well. The girls spent two nights, which was so much fun.
I am thankful for your English muffin bread recipe. I made it for the first time recently and it was delicious. I shared a loaf with our wonderful neighbors, who enjoyed it as well.
The hibiscus in our yard blooms every day. I love seeing it out my kitchen window. From there I also see the squirrels at our squirrel feeder, the birds at our bird feeder, and the marsh rabbits that come out of the preserve behind our house each evening to munch on our grass.
I appreciate that we have plenty of everything. Our hard work throughout our lives has paid off and we are blessed.
I am SO thankful that I found my hearing aid ($2000!, specialty one due to disease hearing loss), which I lost today.
I'm thankful that I got a lot of sewing done today and that things are selling well (super, super thankful). https://www.etsy.com/shop/FabricSpeaks
I'm thankful that it cools off here in the evenings.
I'm thankful that I could visit my parents outdoors.
I'm thankful that we are nearing the end of our kitchen remodel, and that it looks nice. The kitchen was inhabitable and we had been managing for 6 months. We ended up buying cabinets through IKEA without seeing them in-person, since stores were shut. So it was a slight leap of faith!
Even in the midst of the darkest days, there are always things to be thankful for. Let's see... I am thankful for my son who is always a joy. He is 17 and will start his senior year in high school in a few months, so I am soaking up every moment with him this summer. I am thankful my family and I are healthy. Texas has seen a big jump in COVID cases, so we continue to be on high alert. I am grateful for unemployment benefits (furloughed since April 3rd), a few rainy days recently and a comfortable, happy home. Stay safe, everyone!
It's been a little (lot) difficult--being stuck in for 3 mos., and then the Minneapolis and Atlanta issues and having a family member in law enforcement, it is strained and stressed. After letting all of the emotions out in the backyard the other day, I
cleaned out the basement and took a lot to the transfer station
went to my daughter's and son-in-law's for lunch and took a walk with my 17-mth-old grandson.
next week I will be returning to help care for him, which will help the parents because both are working from home now. I'll get in some exercise because we take a walk all around town.
have decided to get my bike tuned up and I'll go out on some area bike trails by myself.
the vegetable garden is looking good. I am experimenting with growing corn. I was able to get a starter tray and I am trying the 3-sisters method--corn, bean (although I did peas) and squash. I have 3 plants in 2 raised containers, one with mulch and the other with a growing medium (no dirt). We'll see what happens. There are a lot of strawberries but we are fighting with the slugs.
Everyone: Be well.
One thing I think that is interesting about this period of time living through this pandemic is how all the people I know are reacting to it. Some people never missed a beat, got together with family and friends and as soon as the restaurants opened up they were there.
Some people are living in a bubble. They will not leave their house, order everything (including groceries) online. And state they will not be coming out until there is a vaccine.
And then some are a blend. I just think it is so interesting. I wonder what makes people react the way they do.
I am grateful for my health and my family's health.
The lovely Spring weather which made staying at home so much more bearable.
My community garden. Lovely group of people volunteer there.
A husband who is my best friend.
That my children are independent. All that gripping by them about how strict we were did pay off in the end.
Things for which I am especially thankful this time around:
- Got a haircut for the first time since February. (I was beginning to look like one of those troll dolls from my childhood.)
- Had a meal inside a lovely local restaurant with my husband for the first time in months. Real dishes, utensils and glasses. Delicious food. I nearly wept with gratitude.
- Bought the clematis plant I wanted for the garden.
- Preparing for a baby shower for my out-of-state niece. So eager to see her and her growing baby even if we can't get too close.
This week I am thankful:
That I love my home-since we are there most of the time now!
That I am very easily amused, and so is my kid
For neighbors who like to trade plants
That my MILs cancer is operable
That none of us have gotten COVID
That I like to cook
That I have enough projects. To keep me and DH busy for several pandemics!
Lol
That DH goes along with all my crazy plans.