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Thankful Thursday | for ugly freebies

This week, I’m thankful:

for abundant freebies

I really love that the internet has provided ways for people to give away their old, ugly items so that people like me can have them. Ha.

Take, for instance, this bookshelf.

dirty white bookshelf.

I am now the proud owner. 😉

dirty white bookshelf.

for my dad’s help with my freebies

I am able to restore some of my freebies by myself. But with others, I need a little help.

That was the case with my table. And I brought that ugly bookshelf over to his house the other night so he could screw down the top more securely.

clamps on a bookshelf.

(I do have a drill, but unfortunately, I don’t have a screwdriver bit yet! I need to get one the next time I’m at Home Depot.)

for my minivan’s carrying capacity

I have put so much stuff into the back of my van in the last few months; it’s such a good thing I own a vehicle with so much room for hauling things.

Minivan with furniture in the back.

Long live the minivan!

for the flowers I see on my walks

white flower in the woods.

I have really been enjoying these coneflowers:

Pink coneflowers.

And in large part that’s because I love watching the bees that are always busy working on the flowers.

bee on a flower.

for the way my brother shares his boat

Kristen and Zoe in a boat.

Zoe and I rode to dinner with him and his family again the other night, and I once again felt thankful for the way that he generously shares what he has.

Zoe riding in a boat.

I’m not ever going to own a boat, probably, but thanks to my brother’s kindness, I get to enjoy one here and there!

river at sunset.

that I got a gallon of Benjamin Moore Advance paint!

There have been some serious supply chain issues with this paint of late, but I managed to get a gallon of my preferred white shade (Cloud White) in my preferred sheen (satin), so now I’m equipped for multiple rounds of furniture rehab.

gallon paint can.

(Cloud White is what I used on my kitchen cabinets, Sonia’s Goodwill dresser, and multiple other projects, including my free Buy Nothing group bookshelf.)

I have never been as happy with any other type of furniture paint that I’ve tried; Advance is the greatest. So I am happy dancing about owning a whole gallon.

for the colorful light that comes through my bathroom window

At certain times of day, the sun shines through and makes some beautiful rainbow colors. I never can quite capture it in a photo, but I keep trying.

prism light on wall.

What are you thankful for this week?

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Beth

Monday 4th of July 2022

A healthy, mostly happy family; a new water heater (realized we needed to replace it when the old one couldn't produce more than 4 minutes worth of hot water); a paid-off mortgage; many songbirds in our yard; rain! (I'll always prefer to live in a rainy area to living in a firezone.)

Melissa

Saturday 25th of June 2022

Iโ€™m thankful for this group for always looking for positivity around your life. Iโ€™m thankful we are in Colorado and not having the heat. Iโ€™m thankful my garden is looking great. Iโ€™m thankful that my teenagers are happy and having a great summer despite them loosing a school parent, grandfather, and student within a week. My puppies are happyโ€ฆ

Julie

Saturday 25th of June 2022

We safely made it to and from Orlando for vacation from Maryland!

Ecoteri

Friday 24th of June 2022

So many things to be thankful for! My friend who just celebrated her first AA birthday - she has struggled getting sober, we started our journey together and she has had a number of slips, so handing her the First Year chip and telling her home group how proud I am of her, and how glad I am that she is on her journey, made my heart swell with gratitude. That my son wanted to paint the loft of the barn (where he is moving) rather than have me hire a painter. He has now decided he really doesn't like painting, and it is going to be a chore to get him to finish, however my gratitude is two fold. 1. That I didn't have to pay someone to do it and 2. that I have rediscovered how meditative painting can be for me. He might hate it, I don't mind. Just need to find a bit of time in the next week to get the last little bits upstairs done. The loft got an expensive makeover when we bought this place, and it is a VERY sweet space. Speaking of, I am thankful that this son will be moving out of his bedroom and my house, and in to the loft. I love him dearly and at 23 he really needs to do some more growing up. Time for a bit of space. He graduated from University in May 2021, with a degree in Chemistry, and moved home. Finding work during COVID has been impossible in his field in our area. He needs to lower his expectations and look a bit harder, IMHO, but I am just his mom so he needs to also find others who encourage him. Thankful that my 92 year old mom is often too busy to fit me in and doesn't want regular weekly visits. She hates the idea of rigid schedules. (go mom) and so is happier if I just tell her the days I am going to be near her and we work something out. she lives an hour and a half away, so it is a bit of a jaunt and exhausts me to go there. Gratitude that she is so healthy and independent! I saw her today on the trip down for the AA celebration. Thankful for that son again, who went to pick up the chickens after they went to freezer camp. He had to bob for them out of a big barrel of water, and bring them home in rubbermaid bins, unbagged. Not sure if I am going to use that particular harvester again, but we have few options these days. Anyway, I was able to take the chickens to the location but was away during pickup time, and #2 son went to do the job. He didn't like it, but he did it. bless him for that. We will be eating salmon for a week, though! LOL. Thankful for my friend who helps me with our big gardens - we have a grand time, and she is covering the watering while I am on my much needed holiday next week. Thankful that my AA friend has invited me to a beach resort (rustic but they will cook for us) for 3 days next week - and that the weather has finally turned reasonably warm after our very very very wet spring. It isn't going to be Heat Dome hot this weekend, but they are sending out heat warnings - and by the time we are at the beach it will be my kind of perfect.

Heidi Louise

Saturday 25th of June 2022

@Ecoteri, So many wonderful thankfulnesses from you! The AA friend's accomplishment is a Big Deal, as is your support for her.

Anita Isaac

Friday 24th of June 2022

oops thankful that my son graduated elementary school this past tuesday and my daughter middle school today. they grow much too quickly but i am thankful ofr every moment i have with them

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