Thankful Thursday | a good spot for a leak
This week, I am thankful:
that my pipe leak was right above my utility sink
I am not thrilled that a pipe sprung a leak this week. But I am happy it was right above my utility sink; the drips just went straight down into the sink.
If you're going to have a leak, there is no better place!
that the pipe issue is not my problem
This is a perk of renting; the plumbing issue is not my responsibility. It got fixed and I did not have to pay for it. 😉
that my class is almost done
This is week seven out of eight. (!!!!!!!!!)
And I already did next week's assignments, which means I just have to get through the group project that's due this week.
OH YESSSSS.
I can't believe I have almost survived this one. I may shed a few tears of relief when I submit the last assignment.
that my dental insurance actually covers some stuff this year
Last year, I still had the self-pay dental insurance, and I tell you, I don't think they paid a cent toward my dental care!
But this year, I have the insurance through my hospital, which means I am not covering 100% of my dental bills. Yay!
Honestly, this is one of the best perks of my job: better health insurance.
that my glasses prescription did not change this year
Yay! This means I can keep the pair I have.
that I'm unlikely to be put on call at work
When our census gets low (as it does if a bunch of our surgical patients get discharged all at once before a weekend), sometimes the charge nurse has to put nurses on call.
Being on call is pretty annoying; you have to be available to come in if necessary, but you only get paid $1/hour to be on call.
So you can't go and do anything much with your day, but you are also not really getting paid.
Anyway, since I am a new grad, I am in the lowest-paid nurse group. The upside of this: I am one of the last to get called off because I am fairly inexpensive to bring in for a shift. All the higher-paid people get put on call first, so the charge nurse is basically never going to get to me.
We take a win where we can. 😉
that the winter solstice is about two weeks away
You guys! Two weeks from Sunday is the day! Then the days will start getting longer instead of shorter.
That's so close. 🙂
The darkness is making me grateful for my little $5 lamp that I bought with my fun money.
Also, I know I say things like this all the time but I looked at this photo and felt all happy inside, thinking about my rental house that is my own space, filled with things that are so very me.
For instance, in this photo there's a secondhand bed frame, a curbside-picked, rehabbed table, a free mirror from my Buy Nothing group, and a $5 Ikea lamp from Facebook Marketplace.
I honestly think this makes me happier than a house filled with new things!
for my divorced friends
My friends Kristin and Maureen were in an online group for women leaving marriages such as mine, and we met back in 2022 when I joined.
The group has since disbanded, but the three of us have stayed fast friends ever since, texting regularly. And every now and then we do a Zoom call to catch up with each other.
I'm so grateful for their friendship, and grateful for how we all have navigated this mid-life transition together.
The friendship is the very best thing we got out of that group experience!
1. For my daughter’s generous spirit when I made a scheduling mistake that affects our Christmas celebrations.
2. For writer Heather Lende’s daily advent posts. Her words so often bring me a sense of wonder and peace.
https://www.heatherlende.com/blog/
3. The way the rising sun shone through the ice on the tops of the trees yesterday morning, and the way a picture of it stayed in my mind all day.
4. That I can still help people as a therapist, despite not always having the perfect response or intervention.
5. For the day I will have with my granddaughter today. For her chatty voice, her love of a story, her thrill of discovery, her absolute confidence that she is important and loved.
@JaeFi, Thank you so much for the link to Heather Linde's blog. I am a big fan of her books and had no idea she had a blog, too
@JaeFi, #5 precious
@JaeFi, thank you so much for sharing that blog. Her very first post took my breath away. Thank you.
@JaeFi, To item #4. I have a friend who has a tough job, she is basically responsible for ensuring compliance for Medicaid programs, but also considers it her personal responsibility to help others who deserve and need the care to get approval. Two-way street. Very rare.
She takes her job very seriously and recently was unable to get help for someone who had been erroneously cut from Medicaid (They were qualified but there was an issue about timing and paperwork.) She was devastated. She felt like a failure and was truly upset.
At the urging of one her work colleagues (also a friend of mine), I wrote her some hopefully words of encouragement.
I plan to send her #4 above, something I basically had said, but it means something coming from a care provider such as yourself. As I told her, we can only do what we can and yes, it is daunting and discouraging. And I reminded her that every day there are individuals such as ER staffers and other medical professionals who do their best but know that they do not control the outcome.
When you care, life is a lot more challenging, especially when outcome is dependent on factors you do not control. But what is the alternative? None that I see.
$1/hour for on call is crazy. Never thought it was that low.
Love your cute little $5 lamp, I can see why it makes you smile. 🙂
Thankful for our house & HEAT! It is currently high for the day 18* (feels like 9*) & dropping. Temperature expected to be at 0* & below today into tomorrow. The furnace has been doing great job of keeping us warm & gas wood stove picking up in back room where only 1 vent in big room.
Thankful that the big beautiful full moon is shining & with the snow/ice outside it looks light outside at this early morning hour.
Thankful that rescue dogs are potty pad trained as they will get frostbite going outside today.
Thankful for teen's still playful behavior, especially when bored. I love that teen still likes to be silly & do funny things that make me smile. 🙂
Thankful for time with people that I have had. My old neighbor (still in semi regular contact with) passed away. She was like family (almost 20 years of friendship) & was like a grandma to teen. We just visited neighbor in hospital (again) & was glad that we were able to see neighbor still in good spirits.
Thankful for No long distance fees & video calls with our family (in Florida). My Aunt does not know how to make video call, but knows how to swipe to be on one when I call her. Sometimes we just need to see their face. 🙂
Thankful I have Christmas gifts done. I have enough stocking stuff on hand already, just need to get candy canes for teen. And I need to mail my Aunt's box by end of weekend to try to guarantee delivery for Christmas (to Florida from Michigan) even though Priority mail. Apparently there is No delivery gaurantee anymore from USPS. I'm hoping that will be delivered next week, but I do have additional week cushion/time if not.
Thankful for semi good health. I pretty much know how long I can be outside before my coughing & wheezing start up. Though I was wheezing yesterday inside for short time. Hoping I am able to stay in decent/good health over winter.
Thankful for Kristen and her blog where we can learn & share with each other. <3
There is not a lot I can say today, because I would be a Negative Nellie.
However, I am thankful that I could see the full moon rise last night. On a cool winter night, this super moon lit up the dark sky. I also was able to see it set this morning which was absolutely beautiful.
I am thankful for my dear friend, A. She is such a kind and wonderful person. She makes my life better just by being in it.
I am thankful that the moon will begin waning today. Sometimes I wonder if some people really do get crazier around the full moon? That would explain s lot this week.
After getting stuck in 5:00 o'clock traffic last night, I am beyond grateful that I no longer have to commute.
Wishing you all the peace, love and hope of the season.
@Bee, Wishing you peace as well, Bee.
@Bee, The moon does make some of us a little off, but I was thankful for the full moon last night when I was driving home. Me+dark does not equal fun driving. (I hope next week is better.)
@Bee, I love seeing full moons. I hope things get better soon.
@Bee,
It was a beautiful moon, wasn't it? I'm glad it gave you joy.
@Bee, Some days or weeks are tough. Thinking of you at this time.
@Bee,
As a newspaper reporter, I never met a cop or an Emergency Room worker in a hospital who did NOT believe in the full moon. Even the head of the local blood center believed that they got more orders for pints of blood during the full moons.
@Bee,
I'm glad that even thru tough days you are able to see beauty.
Yes, as an E.R. nurse I can tell you the full moon affects some people,not just animals.
@Bee, I'm pleased that your good friend and I share an initial! And I hope along with everyone else that things improve for you soon.
@Bee, As a geriatric's nurse, I can attest to the full moon affect. I do hope your days become brighter...
@everyone - thank you for all the words of encouragement. I am really thankful for all of you.
I am thankful for parchment paper. As I was unloading the dishwasher this morning I thought about how wonderful it is to be able to use parchment paper so baking cookies, bars, roasted vegetables, fish, etc. does not result in a big mess.
I am thankful for a warm house and proper clothing for being outside on cold days. We had a couple days of sunshine this week and I am thankful for those as well. We have a heated mattress pad on our bed and this is the first year I have preheated my side of the bed (now that hot flashes are in my past I am chilly at bedtime). It is wonderful to get into a warm bed at bedtime.
I am thankful we were able to help a neighbor that was having a rough week. Her husband has a chronic illness and sometimes she needs some extra attention.
I am thankful my yoga studio now offers a weekly Pilates class and the instructor, while new to teaching Pilates, is good at teaching classic Pilates. The class is at a time I don't usually attend a class but it is good for me to get out of my comfort zone.
@K D, Reynolds makes 12 inch width parchment paper you can compost or recycle.
That is the best place possible for a leak! And I do covet your lamp, Kristen. It's lovely.
Thankful for many things:
1. My nurse aide training course is done! It was an intense four weeks with two days working at a long-term care facility, and while the first day I knew I could have done some things better, we lucked out with really lovely residents and were able to check off a lot of skills. And both DS#2 and I got As in our professional evaluations, and the residents thought it was just charming that my son and I were working together. It was a great experience, and I felt like it was where I belonged. I can honestly say I enjoyed just about every minute of it.
2. My last bio exam is today; I feel pretty prepared, and then I get a BREAK.
3. My family has been so supportive; this was a tough month with me and DS#2 being gone a lot, and not having DS#2's car all month (yeesh), but we made it work. DH has been a rockstar. Everybody pulled together.
4. That the car place called and said DS#2's car is ready to pick up, and they're claiming (though DH is extremely skeptical, given that they've had the car for a month now) that it will cost us "only" $1000. Will update after they pick it up today.
5. For a warm, cozy house, working vehicles, and warm clothing and hot tea. It's going to be cold tonight.
@Karen A., I am truly sorry to admit that when I saw "A good place for a leak" my first thought was not a broken corroded pipe over a laundry room sink.
@JDinNM, I had the same thought. It reminded me of a line in one of my parents' books on walks in the countryside which says 'a good spot to empty the flask'.
@Sophie in Denmark, @JDinNM, and @Karen A., I'm chuckling too. DH always insisted, and Dr. Bestest Neighbor still does, that one good leak outside is worth three inside. It's a guy thing. And I'll add "empty the flask" to my list of useful Britishisms.
@A. Marie, I haven't heard that line but I have got very good at finding spots to 'empty the flask' over the years 😉 I don't think the author intended a double meaning but my parents and I always quote it to each other!
@JDinNM, oh my gosh I thought I was the only one; I also did not think of a broken pipe over a laundry sink. Sigh. Oh well....
@Linda in Canada, Great minds ....
@A. Marie, when we were looking for a house a few years ago (moving back closer to the Twin Cities from the country), one of my husband's requirements was a place where he could still take a leak outside in his own yard without neighbors seeing him. And we found it! Our Realtor got a kick out of this aspect of the deal.
@MB in MN, I have "facilities" that meet this requirement, down at the foot of the backyard where my compost heaps are. Dr. BN and my yard/snowplow guy have my personal permission to add nitrogen to the heaps as they feel the need. 😛
I have been particularly happy with my peaceful home lately. I look around at all the improvements I have made and think "I did that". I earned the money for that, put in the sweat equity, maintained it. It is a mix of pride and satisfaction and I am grateful today for being physically able to do what I need to do.
p.s. $1?! I know every hospital is different, but xray techs at my small pedi hospital get $5 an hour and call is pretty much 1-2 days every week.
@Gina from The Cannary Family, you describe perfectly how I feel about my house too (“I earned the money for that, put in the sweat equity, maintained it.”)
--For a successful FFA fundraiser last night, even though we got our first snow of the season during it and the roads were not great getting home. Given the distance many of our families have to drive from their homes to the school, I'm grateful so many people came despite the weather.
--For a daughter who wasn't nervous at all about starting off the elementary talent show by getting up on stage completely by herself and singing "The Star-Spangled Banner," a cappella. May she always be so brave. (Also that she got almost all the notes right. My husband thinks I was being too nitpicky correcting her when she was practicing, but I really wanted her to do well, and I do not like to listen to off notes in singing. She really did learn almost the whole song properly. Just gotta work on that very last line . . . 🙂 )
--That I am not working at the school anymore. Had I been, I would have been at work all day yesterday instead of home visiting with my parents. I also would have been exhausted and peopled-out before the talent show after working all day, which makes it harder for me to actually enjoy things like that. Hooray for temporary retirement.
--That my son with a nasty sinus infection made it through the whole fundraiser. He was feeling really terrible but needed to be there to help out, so he took some medicine and stuck it out.
--That we are online for school today. I typically loathe online school days, but my parents came for the fundraiser/talent show and are leaving tomorrow. With the kids at home all day, they'll have a chance to spend time with their grandparents before they leave without actually missing school. I was going to pull my younger two from school this afternoon for that, but the older two had things they didn't want to or couldn't miss, but now they don't have to worry about that.
I got all sorts of warm fuzzies when you talked about how looking at the things you've sourced free or heavily reduced makes you happy. YES, YES, YES. The sense of satisfaction is high and it feels like there's a story behind each object. It adds a (good) emotional weight and connection to our things, instead of it being a very cold financial transaction online.
A few years ago my husband found a really good record player at the end of someone's driveway during a big garbage pickup. It works perfectly and I think about it so fondly because of the price and surprise of finding someone so good for free (that he had been looking for).
Our house is full of thrifted items and I remember where almost all of them came from because it's like finding a treasure!
@Elisabeth, I feel the same way you and Kristen do when I look around my house and see all the things DH and I got secondhand, picked off the curb, etc. And as I think I've noted in the past, this is, for me, a pleasant way of remembering DH.
@A. Marie, @Elisabeth, yes yes yes to the satisfaction of admiring salvaged/second-hand/thrifted/inherited items that give a room such a great personality!
Like Bee, I have had a certain kind of week so far. (I am only sitting at the computer and typing now because I am enjoying vertigo and can't be up and moving around easily.) So. This week I am thankful:
*that the kitchen renovation was started. That the loudest work is done. I think. That the contractors are really nice guys.
*that my daughter's driver's ed. class is nearly over. Driving the almost hour home after 9 p. m. makes for a late night.
*that my next daughter got a big doe her first day of hunting. Also, she's been taking piano lessons and does quite well. I asked her a few weeks ago if she's like to play at church, and she wasn't ready yet. She told me on Tuesday that she'd like to play for the Advent service this week. She played last night and did well (from what I heard....but I was not there because of driver's ed.)
*that my son didn't tell me beforehand that yesterday's flight lesson would include stalling out on purpose in the air. I wish my husband would have waited to tell me until my son landed.
*that my father didn't hurt himself badly when he fell this week in the middle of the night.
*that it was easy to reschedule an appointment this week because of the weather.
*that my boys will be heading home in a week. That my sons' friend's father owns a tire store and can get my son's car in for new tires so he doesn't have to drive two days on bad tires.
*that the cold air outside doesn't seem to be causing me as much discomfort as it did the previous couple of winters. Yay! I thought it would always be like that.
*for the first 3 Little Britches books by Ralph Moody. We got them from my grandmother-in-law's house, and I've been reading them aloud to the kids. My youngest son wants me to buy the rest of his books. (Kristin@going country, have you and yours read these? I can't remember if I've recommended them to you yet.)
*for the joy of my youngest when she finished her math book last week. For her eagerness to start the next one.
@Jody S., Oh yes, those are a common find here in the west! Our school library has them, the bookmobile has them, and we own at least the first one. They are good. I hope this coming week is calmer at your place. And that you vertigo goes away. Yuck.
I am so excited for you to finish this class!
My thankfuls:
1. I am able to travel home for Christmas earlier than expected and I got a cheap ticket (well, not that cheap with necessary add-ons, but still cheaper than it would have been)!
2. I spent a lovely evening with a friend and we went to the cinema. The film was Small Things Like These, which I can highly recommend, and the cinema was a lovely independent place. The ticket was also halfprice!
3. I am done with Christmas shopping apart from a few small things.
4. I had to deal with an extremely gross explosion of fruitflies, thanks to a mouldy orange, but they're finally all gone!
5. My sister got me a beautiful advent calendar with cats on it some years ago which I'm enjoying seeing every day. This also counts as a frugal thing!
@Sophie in Denmark, That book was so, so good. One that you don’t forget and are sorry when you’ve finished it. I didn’t realize it had been made into a film.
@ErikaJS, The book is on my TBR list! I hope you get a chance to watch the film.
@ErikaJS, Have you seen The Magdalene Sisters? That film is harrowing but so important.
@Sophie in Denmark, I can’t wait for you to get the book and for me to catch the film
@Sophie in Denmark, I have not but I will look for it based on your recco!
@ErikaJS, The Woman in the Wall is also about that and looks interesting! I can't watch it here but I'm going to check it out when I get back for Christmas (it's on BBC).
I'm thankful today to all the folks who reflected yesterday that 21st-century dentistry may be expensive, but it's vastly preferable to having no teeth. (Or to early 19th-century dentistry, for that matter. Jane Austen accompanied three of her nieces to a dentist in 1813, and she described "the two sharp hasty Screams" when the 12-year-old had two teeth pulled. Without anesthesia, of course.)
@A. Marie,
And today, we no longer need to say "I'd rather have a root canal than do (unpleasant thing we abhor doing)." They can be painless these days.
@JD, well, I wouldn't call the one I had a few years ago altogether painless, but it certainly was less painful than poor Marianne Knight's (the JA niece mentioned above) two extractions without anesthesia.
And I'm further pleased to report that today's routine dental appointment (the cause of my thankful today) turned up no major issues, and only one minor issue that can wait till my next appointment.
Finally, good luck to all of us out there preparing to confront the first polar vortex of the season.
I am grateful this week for
1) Sunsets! Yes, this one, at this time of the year, gets an exclamation point, because they are so, so beautiful in November here along the West coast.
2) Farmers markets. We have two nearby markets, and walking thru them, seeing the beautiful offerings, and chatting with the vendors always lifts my mood without fail. I like to buy one item at a time and fully enjoy it before purchasing another item. Yesterday I purchased a small loaf of fragrant garlic rosemary bread.
3) Gluhwein. Aldi's is currently stocking this festive, mulled wine, and it's so lovely to warm up in a mug and sip while outside watching above sunsets on a chilly evening.
4) How booked and busy my mom is in her new 55+ community. So busy I'm now calling to check in on her instead of vs versa, which makes me deeply happy.
5) My full December calendar. It is going to be a wonderful month and I am here for it. 🙂
I always find this exercise useful, especially when it's been a week!
1) Grateful that DS18 will be home again in another week or so
2) That there are only 19 more days until I'm off for 10 days
3) That even though I have to drive to the office at zero dark thirty this morning, I have flexibility on many days to only go in 1x/week or so. More than that is...a challenge for the schedule, due to my very early meetings with London.
4) That I didn't have to go to the team dinner last night, and got home early enough to have dinner with DH.
5) That DH is so involved in the planning for our NZ trip - it's making it really a fun thing for us to train and plan for together.
I'm grateful for the 20 inches of new snow on the ground. Our snow total for the year prior to this was 0 inches -- it's beautiful and welcome.
For the firewood we spent the year cutting, splitting, and stacking, which is now keeping the house warm and cozy.
For the two choirs I'm singing in during the holiday season.
For so many books in my TBR pile -- library books, books I've purchased, and books from friends. So much reading ahead.
That I'm not (yet) feeling stressed about the holidays and am so far really enjoying the preparations I've begun to make. I have a habit of trying to do too much, and I'm trying to rein that in this year.
1.Every year I have a brunch on the first Monday of December- 68 friends came. It was fun & festive & I am so grateful for all of them.
2. For my daughter & my closest friend who helped me pull off the event this year. My daughter decorated my entire house while I was OOT in November- talk re: a gift
3. For my return to yoga. I love it & don’t know why I let my membership lapse
4. I love this frigid weather! It is so crisp & clean & it makes me feel fully like myself
5. My first grandchild will arrive in May 2026! I probably should have led with that!! We are all so happy
@Diane, Congratulations on the upcoming arrival of your first grandchild. Being a grandparent is amazing experience!
@Diane, you had SIXTY-EIGHT PEOPLE in your house??!!?
That was my thought toooooo! Diane, you are amazing.
@Diane, Wow, I am not sure I know 68 people! At least not that I would want them to know my address...
This week I am thankful . . .
-for only two more class meetings in the semester. I am just exhausted and ready to be done. Almost there.
-for an invitation from a friend for lunch today. She is getting takeout, and we are eating it at her house. I appreciate her friendship so much. And I need a relaxed lunch in good company about right now.
-for a good job interview yesterday. I may not get a job offer, but it was a reminder that I am competitive in a very tough job market. That gives me hope that I will be able to find something when my postdoc runs out this summer.
-for our upcoming home exchange next week. It's going to be a lot of work--cleaning the house, planning everything out, packing and covering one thousand details. But the payoff is that I get to see Christmas in NYC with my boys and we make some amazing memories.
-for the progress we have made this year in so many areas of our lives. I have spent the year healing from the cancer treatments that saved my life but wreaked me physically and emotionally in 2023/24. Our daughter went from failing in school and having seizures to being placed at a school that can finally serve her needs. Financially we ended 2024 with a business in bad shape and too much debt for our income. Incredibly, the business has recovered, which allowed us to pay off some debt. We also rented our office to bring in more income. We're not out of the woods--and really we aren't on any of these situations on which we have made progress this year--but I am so proud and so grateful for the progress of 2025.
@Amanda in VA, I'm so happy this year has been kinder to you!
@Amanda in VA, feeling vicariously thankful with you! Your list is wonderful!
@Amanda in VA, cheers on your and your family's progress on so many fronts. It sounds as if you all have had a truly tough time, and I'm glad that you're seeing light at the end of a few tunnels.
I love looking at the second hand things in my house, too, like the little Fenton frill-edged bowl that had belonged to my sweet grandmother. I just love it.
Here are my thanksgivings:
1. Another granddaughter's birthday! This one turned 20 this week, and she's the one who made DH and I grandparents. She was a surprise - her parents were 19 and 18 when we found out she was coming - but every single one of us on both sides is so glad she is here. She has dealt with some health problems with courage, humor and optimism, and her kindness to others has never flagged. I am sure thankful for her.
2. We are getting some more rain! It's a chilly, wet day, but I'll take it. Our drought had become extreme.
3. I ordered a gift for the granddaughter in #1, and it was due to come two days after her birthday, rats. Instead it arrived the afternoon of her birthday, so I was able to give it to her at her birthday dinner that night.
4. My bosses are good to their employees. They came to me this week and asked me what days I want to work, since I had said earlier I wanted to start reducing my hours in December. It is totally my decision which days, and how many, to work. I'll be working Mon-Thurs this month.
5. Like Kristen, I'm happy that my eyes just needed the same prescription when I had my checkup yesterday, and no cataracts are forming so far. My doctor said that the lack of cataracts was unusual for someone my age (!).
@JD, teeheehee, my optometrist and I keep hoping for cataracts so that I can get those lens inserts!
This week I am thankful for….
• The many years my grandpa had on this earth. He passed away the Monday before Thanksgiving while holding my grandma’s hand. He lived well into his 90s and leaves behind a wonderful legacy.
• How beautiful everything looks with the beautiful blanket of snow on the ground.
• My division hosting our year end retreat at an off-site location that was all fun. We had an afternoon of bowling, karaoke, foosball, tacos, and lots of laughs with great coworkers. I really feel that my company values all employees.
• Four nights of snuggling on the couch with my husband while watching the newest season of Stranger Things.
• Audiobooks and podcasts! Snowy roads mean longer commutes, but when I have a good audiobook or podcast to listen to the commute is less stressful.
• What a wonderful young man my son is growing up to be!
@Geneva,
A gentle passing in the presence of loved one(s) is something for which one can be truly thankful. I wish peace for your family.
I have enjoyed reading all the lovely comments and all the various ways we are grateful.
I am grateful that I am retired and don't have to slog my way to a workplace on a day like this (polar vortex).
I am grateful for the furnace in my building that pours out the heat. A year ago, our furnace failed and had to be replaced. It took nearly a week. So grateful that such a scenario is no longer a worry.
I am grateful for my good friend of forty years (can it be?) who has been there for me through so many ups and downs.
I am grateful for my family, far and near, and the way I can be proud of their basic decency and humanity.
I am grateful for my snug little condo, filled with thrifted treasures.
I am grateful for the community I live in, where people are overall kind and generous, and I never fear for my safety.
I am grateful that even though I may have wants, my needs are always met.
Thankful for:
* To have a flexible manager who lets me switch my shifts around if needed
* My DD asking for help to deal with her mental health issues. She's now hospitalized, tweaking her meds
* Having a husband that is acting like an adult and doing everything he is supposed to do (as opposed to all the crappy/childish ones we hear about on social media)
* For good books. They are my solace, very precious to me
* Having money aside for stuff like my washer breaking suddenly and needed to be replaced. Not stressing about money (thanks, frugal ways!)
1. I'm thankful that our son's elderly cat is out of quarantine after his thyroid radiation treatment and is starting to gain weight.
2. I'm thankful that my grandson and daughter came to the Santa and cookies event at my office. It was fun for my long-time coworkers to get to visit with my daughter and meet our grandson.
3. I'm thankful that husband's long term insurance company is providing assistance for him social security disability application. We had expected that we'd need to hire an attorney to help us navigate that difficult process.
4. I'm thankful that most of my Christmas shopping is done.
5. I'm thankful that our grandson is having his first sleepover at Nana and Papa's house tomorrow.
Most thankful my husband is back after being away for a month.
Also that the salmon didn’t stick to the stainless steel pan when I cooked it for dinner last night and that the eggs didn’t stick when I made them for breakfast.
Piggybacking on that, thankful the house didn’t smell like fish when my husband came home.
For the flexibility at work and for the raise that will kick in on Jan 1.
That my daughter is trying to eat better. It’s still a struggle but she is trying. I’m proud of her for that.
Thankfuls:
• A good start to a mural that has been in the conversation stage for three years
• Husband keeping the home fire burning so I can get warm after a day of painting in the cold (and seat warmers, the ultimate luxury in my “new” car, for the 35 mile drive home)
• A fantastic pastoral candidate recently submitted his resumé to the search committee
• Great variety of interesting work right now
• No broken window panes despite an inordinate amount of birds slamming into them recently
@Central Calif. Artist Jana,
Wait - that last one: you don't have Tippi Hedron and a couple of love birds there, do you?
1. Thankful for the sweet lady who sits on the covered porch outside of our drugstore playing Christmas carols and other songs on her portable piano. It is a lovely thing to hear and makes the season bright! She does this for the Salvation Army. Instead of ringing a bell, she plays music from 10 a.m. until after 6 p.m. five days a week. Always with a smile on her face. Her music puts people in a festive spirit. They even took her picture and printed it on the front page of the newspaper the other day!
2. Thankful that we got my natural gas fireplace (actually a fancy space heater) working again. I had to call a plumber, and that set me back $100 (although he gave me a senior discount). But it's worth it to have heat in the den.
3. Thankful that Snuggles has learned to lie down on Miss Lucy Dog's old floor pillow here in the den while I'm on the computer. I love the doggie companionship; Snuggy is thankful for the cookies (dog biscuits) I give him.
4. Thankful I got my grandmother's brass candleholder fixed and affixed to the dining room wall. Just like she had in her house. I'm also thankful for the invention of battery-operated taper candles. Now, I can have a little "candlelight" -- but not burn down the house.
5. Thankful for the new bedspread and window treatments. The flower petals on the fabric's print exactly match the paint on my walls and look very pretty.
Leaks are awful. We discovered a leak in our sewer a few years back and since we had never had problems before, were not registered as a customer anywhere. You can imagine it took several phonecalls and polite but desperate persuasion to get registered as a customer and get the sewer repaired. I could kiss the repairmen when they were finished! I am happy to list as a thankful for today that we have not had any sewer problems since. And in the vein of yesterday's discussion (that I missed due to work) it was well worth the cost of the repair, and more.
I am thankful for:
Holiday movie season. So mindless and entertaining.
A pretty great December work schedule with lots of time off (but I do have to work Christmas: my family is OK with this as they are big kids).
My dad is settling in to life in an apartment in the city where I live (he sold his country house).
Wonderful colleagues.
Even better friends.
Interesting re: being put on call. We are guaranteed our scheduled hours at my hospital. If we are overstaffed, they may offer the day off, but you have to use vacation time!!
While the polar vortex is here, the sun is shining and looks very beautiful. I am (sort of) looking forward to getting out after being confined to home with an amazing head cold/upper respiratory thing since Saturday afternoon. I am thankful that the first thing I noticed this morning was NOT coughing (that has changed since) and read a text from a dear friend saying she was praying for me.
I am thankful that God answers even the smallest prayers. I had misplaced my reacher. (I am diligent about replacing it and my keys to the exact same spot for keeping.) And for some curtains my friend's Mom had given me that I had run across in looking for different pieces of linen-think cloth napkins, dresser scarves, doilies, tablecloths-when freshening up the house. I looked in all of the "normal" spots, finally asked the Lord to help me find them and promptly went on about other business. Last night I found the reacher in the craft room, hanging in an obscure place, right where I left it. I took some linens to the closet to set in a tote, and thought, I'll look from the outside of the tote and lo and behold, spotted the curtain fabric! Thank you! for answered prayer! The curtains are just right over the lower half of the green glass ware collection in the window!
Thankful for my cheery plant corner.
Thankful for my cozy home. I am frugal with the thermostat, but I am warm enough when I layer clothes.
1. For my warm clothing as the season really starts to turn here.
2. That my husband is so safety-conscious and a good bike handler. It does help me worry (a little) less when he is cycling before the sun is up.
3. For all sincere contributions my colleagues and boss have made to our team.
4. For being forced to have the "higher tier" health care here, with access to specialists who have time to give me preventative exercise programs.
5. For my (mostly online) friend, who, despite mostly working in Spanish now, spent 1 hour getting bit by mosquitoes to talk 50/50 English/Spanish with me this week. We've been doing this once a week now for probably 7 years, and he is one of my most treasured friends.
I have a HUGE Thankfulness Thursday today! My eldest daughter learned she passed her pediatrics certification board today. She prepped for this test for TWO years after residency and it's very hard. For the first time since starting medical school 9 years ago she will have free time to just be. We are so very proud of her, and this has been a journey for all of us.
Yayyy!!! Congrats to her!!
Thankful for being low-censused today--the weather was good, so I went to a town about 40 minutes away for fun Christmas shopping. The downtown is charming, and puts me in the Christmas spirit. Thankful for my husband, who is helpful in so many ways. For the double-dumping of snow that we have had recently--I realized I'm not in the majority with my opinion, but I enjoy the snow, and we have enough (over 26 inches!) for fun outdoor recreation. Thankful for warm clothes and a warm house to offset the chilly temps!
For those of you who love your homes, I really urge you to listen to this song about your house welcoming you home. When I get released from my various hospital visits, the husband has it set to go off when I enter the house. Makes me weep every time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdIrrL_cK7I&list=RDpdIrrL_cK7I&start_radio=1
1. That as my illness progresses, my husband's singing quartet and his two golf buddies are giving him so much support. Six men in total, all of whom are caring for wives at various stages of dying, finding time to help each other with a weekly lunchtime date. Sometimes practical support but often just silently listening and acknowledging how difficult it is to watch someone you love diminish each day, forcing you to pick up more and more of the burden of caring for the chores and then having chores related to serious illness added to the daily list. They are angels and I am so very thankful they exist for him.
2. That for Christmas, the golf guys got together and gave the waitress who has served them for a few years now, $100 from each man as a Christmas gift. They did it as a group, so it did not come across as creepy.
3. For the guy across the street who never speaks with us but comes over and snow blows our driveway after each storm. He will not take any money and barely acknowledges our thanks.
4. For the little neighbor girl who was telling us about their family fire drills. I said they were welcome to come here and she said she already knew that because her parents had already told her that if there was ever an emergency she should run to us because we are "kind and can be trusted." I never think of myself as kind, so that really made me laugh!
5. For the peacefulness of long nights and tons of snow.
@Lindsey, let it be said that I love your posts (as do many of the commentariat I am certain). I am sorry your illness is progressing but happy that you have strong support systems and are clearly beloved by many.
I need to restart this weekly practice - So I am thankful for
- My younger DIL who has a birthday today and who radiates enthusiasm in all she does.
- That our newly 9 year old granddaughter likes to come spend Friday nights with us and sleepover. She has commented that I'm not boring and that being with us is fun lol.
- That I received an access coupon to the local Columbia employee store and suggested to DH that we go there to look for Christmas gifts for him since clothing replacement was high on his wish list. He found 5 items all 50% off this week. Merry Christmas Hubby.
- That our home is so much more comfortable this winter since we spent the money to have the floor above the crawlspace and the attic air sealed and insulated to current standards. Our first two winters in this house were chilly.
- That my hope to enjoy this holiday and birthday rich season is working out with out too much stress.
The kitchen sink in my rental apartment sprang a leak. First, thankful that my home health aide could clean out all the items under the sink so there was access to check for a leak, which she did and found.
We have a terrific super with whom she and I have a good relationship (It helps to thank people profusely and to tip during the year, not just as end, for services.) and luckily he was literally across the hall in another apartment and was right over to see what we needed to fix.
After purchasing some pipes, etc, he returned and fixed and by mid-afternoon, back in business. There is nothing as valuable as professional and caring staff in an apartment building (especially in a major city). Super grateful that this is done. Fourth time since I lived here that pipes had to be replaced, so it averages to every 10 years or so, new pipes.
I got super sick this week (Severe nausea, vomiting, stomach pain). Been there, done that before, but this was out of the blue when, otherwise than a painful to use right shoulder and arm, which made it excruciating to get in/out of the wheelchair as I must do at least once every hour for bathroom trips (OAB)...I was OK. But I must have eaten something because, first the nausea, then the pain, then the vomiting.
My PCP is part of my OneMedical membership and he's great, but the system to get to him is sometimes annoying. However, the 24/7 service gives you access to other medical personnel who can expedite things like scrips and orders (I needed a bed rail, which became a saga that ended when a friend said: Hey, let me just get this for you as an early Christmas present (She's a nurse and she knows all about paperwork for insurance, etc and how it can be so challenging.) when it could not be obtained locally.
Two different NPs helped to get the DME order (Too long a story to tell how alleged medical supply stores did not have the simplest basic item either available or not covered, which it is.) and put me up for a video visit with my PCP. Most important: Having been through this with my stomach multiple times, including ER and hospitalization, I knew what anti-nausea meds I needed and I got the scrip sent out.
Then, again, my aide to the rescue to pick up lidocaine patches, pedialyte and my meds.
So, thankful to many angels this week who worked on my behalf. I could not have done it without them. (My aide, the multiple OneMedical folks, my PCP, my super, and my case manager nurse/friend as well as my other pals who texted me while I was in agony.) Also special kudos to those medical folks who listened to my convouluted discussion about how/why I could NOT go to the ER, and didn't argue with me, but accepted my determination.
I am also grateful that I can go online and look for items I need and can then order for pickup or delivery on same day. (My aide usually shops for me, but sometimes you don't know exactly what you want and, worse, in store prices are often substantially higher than the online prices for same product!)
Finally, I am grateful that I can and do have a pantry stocked with chicken broth, chicken noodle soup and saltines. These are pretty much all you can ingest when recovering.
$1 an hour? Is that even legal?
I thought maybe it should be $1 an hour extra.
Everyone should be paid their rate + if on call.
Didn't understand how higher paid people were on call first? Is that because they need most experienced? Because those folks want to be on call? Confusing.
I worked almost 20 years as a lab tech and took many nights of call for $2.00 an hour. Good extra money when you got called in but I do not miss it at all! I found an IKEA lamp for myself and I love it! I love lots of little lights for the for the long winter nights.
Ironic that they are most quickly willing to let go of the higher paid (aka most experienced) nurses first. I’ve been a healthcare provider for 26 years, so sadly I’m very familiar with this