Thankful Thursday | from the cabin
I've been in Wisconsin all week with extended family, at my uncle's cabin, so fair warning, my list will probably be QUITE cabin-themed this week.
This week, I am thankful:
for my uncle and aunt's generosity
My uncle and aunt have people visit at their cabin all summer long; they share the cabin, boats, jet-skis, kayaks, and paddle boards with friends and family, and I am thankful for that!
that I got to come to the cabin for the first time
Zoe's been twice before and Sonia's been once, but I've never gone. This year, though, they were like, "Mom, you should come too!"
And I realized, hmmm, I actually could if I wanted to.
So, I booked a plane ticket.
And I do not take it for granted that my girls wanted me to come along. It's nice to be wanted!
for free flights for Sonia and Zoe
I had enough Southwest Rapid Rewards points to get their flights for free (aside from the taxes and fees).
So, I only had to pay for my ticket, and that makes a pretty cheap trip for three people.
for the lovely Wisconsin summer weather
The air here feels so, so good! Even on the more humid days, it's so much drier than it is at home.
And it's not very hot either. When we walked out of the Minneapolis airport last Friday, it was 68 degrees and I could have cried with happiness.
One day when I am rich and famous, maybe I will spend summers in Wisconsin. 😉
for time with my nieces
My brother has four girls, and it's been nice to spend time with them this week. The ten-year-old has been my tubing and knee-boarding companion, and she has also been giving me lots of temporary tattoos.
The tattoos do eventually rub off from all the watersports, but at least I am temporarily sparkly. 😉
And my tattoo artist is always happy to give me more. 😉
for cousin time for Sonia and Zoe
It makes my heart so happy to hear them giggling (and screaming on the boat tubes!) with their cousins.
for a healthy body that can do water activities
I do not take it for granted that I am able-bodied enough to do things like paddle-boarding and knee-boarding.
for the way my aunt feeds us all
There are 13 of us here, and I would find it a little overwhelming to manage that many guests.
But my aunt is such an amazing and experienced hostess, she gets us all fed three times a day and she barely seems to break a sweat.
As probably all of you parents out there understand: it's so so nice to not be responsible for food for a bit. The luxury of just showing up at the table and having food there is wonderful.
that Lisey is home to take care of the cat and hamster
I'm glad she's home for the summer because I didn't even need to worry about finding pet care!
(Obviously I am also glad she's home for the summer just because I like having her around.)
that there will still be things to be thankful for when I get home
Of course, it's easy to think of things to be grateful for this week; there are so many obvious blessings I've experienced here.
But I know that next week when I sit down to write my Thankful Thursday post, there will still be plenty of things to be grateful for. Blessings do not just exist on vacations.
And that is a serious mercy because we spend most of our lives NOT on vacation. 😉
I'm thankful for a quiet vacation that isn't too crowded this week. I'm also thankful that my boys are old enough to do more things on vacation and that they are past the stage of needing a nap which was always so hard to make happen away from home.
Oh yes, naps do tend to put a wrinkle in vacation activities. But if you skip the naps, the small people are so cranky, no one has fun doing anything anyway. 😉
@Kristen, I have a cute photo of my toddler son sitting on the beach wailing. It's titled "No nap." He was always good about napping and I always made time for them, so I guess it was one of the rare days he refused a nap.
I'm thankful:
*that much of the pain in my face has subsided.
*that a friend came over on Wednesday and sewed all day to help us prepare for the ball.
*that tomorrow, no matter how many costumes aren't finished, the sewing will be finished.
*that my right eye can see well enough for part of the day to sew on the machine.
*that our garden is producing an abundance of cucumbers and zucchini.
*that my second-oldest can use the smoker to make the most amazing meal ever-- melt-in-your mouth smoked pork butt and smoked green beans (from our garden) and mushrooms.
*that there are very kind people in this world who love helping others.
I've been wondering how your recovery has been coming along. Yay for less face pain for you!
@Jody S., I'm glad your face is better. And do let us know how the Regency Ball goes!
@Jody S.,
I am glad to hear that your health is improving. Great News!!!
@Kristen, My update is that my face doesn't hurt as much, but it is still paralyzed. That is a time thing, I guess.
@A. Marie, We are sewing our fingers off over here. (My own contribution is hampered by the eye that's wonky because of the paralysis.) We now have the gown for my daughter all finished, 3 finished cravats, 1 finished waistcoat, 1 finished breeches (the 2 other boys are just wearing regular dress pants), 2 waistcoats in progress, and 3 shirts in progress. It is possible that some boys will wear regular long sleeve dress shirts with the collars turned up. Oldest son is really hoping we'll have ruffles done for his shirt, but I don't think that's likely. I'll post pictures on my blog-- or at least I'm planning on it!
@Bee, Thank you!
@Jody S., Hi Jody can you please share the name of your blog. I'm was an avid regency romance reader for years. Have recently gotten back in to it. I'd love to see the pictures. tia.
@Jody S., Glad you are in less pain!
@Donna, Here is the link for my blog: http://spiceoflifemom.blogspot.com
There is a caveat: I am not the frequently-posting blogger that Kristen is. Life gets in the way. The ball is tomorrow, so maybe I'll have pictures up by Monday 🙂
@Lindsey, Thank you!
My husband’s job is AMAZING and paid his regular hours despite him having missed a full week because of Covid. (This is separate from / doesn’t count as paid sick time since quarantine lasts so long.) Indeed, several staff members reached out to make sure we knew that week was paid—“We take care of our own.” Since my husband wasn’t commuting/paying for gas, we weirdly come out ahead this way! Everyone was glad to see him back this week and made him feel appreciated, plus he got to show off his impressive IV bruises from the ER (he was so dehydrated, four different nurses tried for half an hour to find a vein!). I’m thankful he works with such good people. <3
@N, I'm so glad your husband's company is so good to their employees
@N, Thankful he is better!!
@Beverly, cemeteries are the place to be, apparently! 🙂 The dozen live people that tend funerals and help care for the grounds (of which my husband is one) are a tight group.
@Cheryl Crawford, me, too! I’ve been scared of catching Covid for his sake, not mine, owing to his already full medical bingo card. What amounts to a miserable few days for most people nearly always means an ER visit for him if he can’t keep his meds down for 24 hours, as indeed happened.
@N, We live right next to our church/cemetery, and you definitely see a different aspect of life!
This week we met with friends and it is wonderful to feel the bond of friendship.
I am thankful too for the ability to learn languages. It is amazing to read a simple story in a new language.
But most of all I am thankful for our son's CT scans that showed nothing untoward. Such a relief!
Whew about the CT scans. Yay!
That is a ton of people, where do they all sleep? Is it couches for everyone under 30?
Well, the three married couples have the three upstairs bedrooms. The cousins are all in a bunk room together (six girls). And I'm in a bed in a room that's sort of like an open family room (which is fine! It's just me...not like I need a ton of privacy.)
Tubing on Wisconsin lakes with my cousins when visiting my own aunt and uncle's cabin is a core memory of my own teenage years. It's why I make an effort to get my kids to Arizona to see their cousins, as well as back to New York to spend a week at the lake there every summer. I hope you manage to get home without any complications this time, though!
Thankfuls:
--That my husband didn't get an actual bite from the bull snake he chased down. This snake was (of course) eating eggs in our coop, and he surprised it around sundown in the lane outside the chicken coop. It started to slither into the weeds, but he wanted to get rid of it, so he kicked at it with his foot, and it struck his shoe and WRAPPED AROUND HIS FOOT. He was wearing Crocs (not typical footwear for him . . .), and I guess the snake's fangs got stuck in the rubber when it struck. So my husband had to kick it off his foot (I feel faint just writing that). It coiled up defensively after that, and he was able to kill it with a rock. Insane.
--That I FINALLY came up with a project for my third son to enter into the county fair. Everyone in our family enters something, but he's not quite there with the carving and metal forging and other things his older brothers do. He was excited to make a diorama of a piggery, though, so that's what he did.
-- That the sunflowers have started blooming on the roadsides. They were very late this year, and I missed their cheeriness both on my walks and on my kitchen table.
--For the Russian sage plant planted by a previous owner of our house. There's just one, but it's enough to provide purple for my kitchen table bouquets all summer long.
--For the happy coincidence of accidentally buying a pair of zero-drop shoes online for my husband just as my oldest son informed me that his moccasins that he wears all the time were getting too small and had holes. I was going to send the too-small shoes back, but it occurred to me to have my son try them, and they fit. Alarming, as he's only 12 and they are a size men's 11. Granted, a small 11, but still. That kid has gigantic feet, and it's hard to keep him in shoes he grows so fast, so this meant I didn't have to look for another pair for him or go through the hassle of returning shoes by mail.
--Garden tomatoes! How I have missed them. And I've been staying on top of the horn worms and army worms this year, so there has been much less damage than last year. I anticipate enough to can next month, which I haven't managed since we moved here.
I am feeling relieved with you about the snake. Yikes.
@kristin @ going country, Good lord with the snake. YIKES.
Boys tend to grow into their feet like puppies. My 6'5" son has been wearing size 13 men's since he was about 13 or so.
@kristin @ going country,
I feel faint just reading about the snake adventure!
@kristin @ going country, woman, you have the most terrifying snake stories. I know this is unreasonable, but the next time I pass through NM, I'm going to put the pedal to the metal and keep my windows rolled up. 😀
@kristin @ going country, Oh, my! This summer my daughter had a croc/snake incident as well. The black snake was slithering up the post and into the bluebird house to eat the babies. Well, my daughter tore outside with my pink crocs in hand, but she never got them on her feet. Instead she started hitting the snake with the pink crocs!
@kristin @ going country, Ugh, snakes. Crocs can now add snake subduing to their ads!
@kristin @ going country, I also felt faint reading about your husband's snake encounter. Give me a rake and a hoe and I can kill a snake (pin it down under the rake tines and beat the tarnation out of it with the hoe), but getting bitten on the shoe might make me wet my pants!
@Jody S., That's funny. Although props to your daughter. I won't get any closer to a snake than the end of a very long hoe handle. And even then, it's a last resort for me to be the one to deal with a snake.
@Ruby, You're braver than I am. I have never actually killed a snake myself. I either ask my husband or oldest son to do it, or, um, leave it alone and hope I don't see it again (ha). Honestly, snakes are one of my biggest concerns when both of my snake handlers are gone, because I really, really hate getting within even ten feet of any snake bigger than a garter snake.
@Anne, Actually, the really terrifying snake stories come from our neighbors below the mesa. where rattlesnakes are more plentiful than bull snakes. Imagine my stories, but the snake is venemous. WAY worse.
Love this! We’re about 30 minutes from Wisconsin, and have spent several vacations in various pets of the state. It’s beautiful!
I am thankful that you are having a fun filled, family centric week Kristen!
Over here on the west coast this week, I am thankful for:
- Ceiling fans. We recently put them throughout our house, and they are making such a difference in our summertime comfort level! Sitting and reading a book, playing my guitar, working on a craft project, going to sleep at night; all are so much more pleasant with a fan circulating the air overhead.
- FaceTime. My granddaughters are currently living in Europe, and as much as we miss them in between visits, I am so, so, so thankful for the technology of FaceTime and other video technology to stay in close touch. We read to both girls during our once a week video calls, plus they love doing show and tell. Our calls usually last about an hour, and though they aren't a replacement for snuggles and hugs, they sure help.
- Morning coffee on our patio. Our morning temps right now are in the 68 degree range, which is very pleasant for sitting outside with coffee in the morning, enjoying the sunrise and watching and listening to the wildlife in our canyon come awake.
- The variety of free summer fun outdoor activities around here. Tonight we are attending a free Shakespeare in the Park event, and then a free Concert in the Park on Sunday.
- Summer peaches and nectarines. They were both on sale at a nearby market for 99 cents a pound last week, I bought oodles, and they have been delicious!
I can imagine that FaceTime makes long-distance grandparenting so much easier! When I was a kid, we could really only write letters to our midwest grandparents.
@Tamara R,
Agreed. We do Zoom dinners on Sunday nights with our sons and their families who are in different parts of the country. It includes cooking so we see all the dinners being created while we chat. So much better than sitting still and staring at each other.
Then, we have an individual FaceTime with each during the week. So thankful for all of this tech.
@Tamara R, facetime is what my son does every Saturday night to keep in touch with my husband and I. He's in Singapore.
I am thankful that my husband is babysitting our granddaughter at my daughter's house this week. That means I get the house to myself. I can do the small things around here that I have been wanting to do, without question. Don't get me wrong, I love my husband and family, but sometimes you just need quiet and to be alone in your own house.
Thankful that my husband got a part time job. He will be working 4 days a week and that is perfect for us. I work from home and I like to have all the doors open and my own sound running thru the house while I work. With him at home, he just sits and watches YouTube all day long if he has nothing to do. I am OK with YouTube in small doses, not all day!
Thankful that I got my nerve up to go bike riding by myself 2 days this week. I usually ride with my husband, but wanted to keep riding while he wasn't home. So I did get up and go out by myself. And I did it much faster than I normally do with him. LOL
Thankful to my husband for installing a TV antennae outside the house so I can watch free TV. So much better than YouTube even if they are repeats! I prefer comedies so I can laugh and not worry about anything.
@Maureen, I know what you mean about being home alone. My husband works from home 3 days a week and daughter has off one of the two days he goes in so it's like I get 1 day a week to be home alone.
Today marks 14 years I've been with my company. My job position has evolved over the years, but I truly love what I do and the company I work for. I'm so very grateful for that and right now, it's filling my heart.
@Mary, Congratulations! It's great to have a job that you love.
This week I'm thankful:
- that our son lives nearby so we can help him when issues arise
- that I work close to home so my husband can drop me off while we are down a car (our son's "new to him" car wouldn't start and he has a doctor's appointment and needed to borrow a car)
- that our daughter called me last night to chat. She's been busy with her new job so I haven't talked with her as much the past couple of weeks
- that we finally got enough rain so I don't have to water plants in the yard
- that my son's rescue dog who is incredibly timid came up to me and let me pet him
@Beverly,
I’m always glad to hear that a rescue dog is adjusting to a life of love and caring. My Rescue Pup is quirky but I adore her.
@Bee, And I find it both amazing and somehow humbling that a dog who has been beaten, starved, ignored on a chain, and used for fighting can still trust some humans. When our pound hound comes to us for comfort or attention, I am so happy that he trusts us. And while it disrupts our sleep, there are nights when he seems especially anxious or needy and I am glad he wants to climb into our bed and curl up around one of us.
Good for all of you! I live in Eau Claire, WI and can vouch for the lovely lakes “up nort’” 🙂
Some thanks from me this week:
1) I am thankful a friend and I were able to plan an easy meet up for us and our kids at the pool yesterday late afternoon/early afternoon.
2) I am grateful for flexibility at work.
3) I appreciate that I have resources to share with a friend recently diagnosed with breast cancer.
4) I am thankful my husband was able to see our kids off to summer school this morning while I got ready for work.
Your vacation looks like such fun! I remember the fun of swimming and paddle boating in area lakes back home, especially Kentucky Lake and Lake Glendale. I wouldn't swim in a lake here in Florida for love or money.
The cabin looks really nice, too. The view is lovely.
1. I'm thankful for an excellent report from my granddaughter's back surgeon after her one year visit this week. The rods and cables in her spine are doing just as they should, and the cut ends of her ribs, where some sections were cut out, have grown back together just as they should. Aren't our bodies wonderful? Her ribs sections grew back to make whole ribs again. It's what the doctor expected, but it just amazes me.
2. I'm thankful I was in the habit of cutting my husband's hair for the last few years. The nursing home still can't get a hairdresser to come out there, so I took scissors with me and cut his hair myself because I know how. He looks much better.
3. I'm thankful that we can pull up stuff on the internet to show us or remind us how to do something. Bob Vila and I have done a fairly big drywall patch job requiring wood and a new piece of drywall in my bathroom wall - our old drywall didn't survive being run into with a motorized scooter a number of times - and I'm pretty pleased with how it's turning out. I only have to prime and paint to finish it. I had been dreading this repair for months, but it wasn't bad at all.
4. I'm thankful the nursing home did NOT raise it's private room surcharge. It was discussed, but decided against. For now, at least.
5. I'm thankful that I waited until dusk, when the daytime insects quiet down, to tie up the floppy horse mint plants in my yard, because while doing the last one, I realized I was crouched about 12" away from a wasp nest in the plant, and it was covered in aggressive paper wasps. They stayed motionless, thank heavens.
@JD, Riding one of those water bikes on a lake in Florida, I, of course, fell in. Swimming out, I fully expected an alligater bite any second.
@Rose,
I can imagine! I'll bet you swam really fast!
@JD, ha, about as fast as the time I jumped into the ocean, then realized everyone else was standing around on the sand, anxiously, and the black flag was flying. Shhaaaaaaaaark! Oh well, I remain unbitten.
and apologies for "alligater." sheesh.
We are enjoying the week of calm before school activities begin.
The oldest son has been at camp this week, which makes things even more quiet.
We are waiting on cabinets to be installed in our new home. The end is so close, but so far away! Flooring and fixtures after that!
Enjoying the early morning birds and cooler temperatures outside while I have my morning coffee.
Instead of scrolling aimlessly on my phone, I have been very intentional to use these calm days to read actual books and also learn how to use watercolors. My son cleaned out his art supplies and found watercolor pencils. It is so fun!
I'm thankful that we're OK financially, at least for now. I have a lot of anxiety about my son's job, though, as the company where he's worked is being raided by the SEC. That kid cannot cut a break. First the pandemic played havoc with his internships (super important), now a recession and now this stain on his resume. Of course my son did nothing wrong, but.... I don't know how to handle this. But we'll all eat and be housed.
I'm thankful that a new pain cream I found seems to be helping with the worst fibromyalgia spots.
I'm thankful we're doing pretty well eating up the garden produce and my CSA. Of course I give away half of it; if i had the time or energy I'd do more canning, but I'm tired of beating myself up for not being a perfect farm wife, fulltime worker, and freelance writer all at once. I can barely stand up for 15 minutes.
My son's friends came by last evening and they had some of our dinner and complimented me on my cooking. I didn't know this but my son has fed them before from our house and they loved it. Nice to hear from a pro chef (one of them). It's also nice to see these boys, who were nothing but trouble in high school (I remember the chef's parents coming to our front door crying because he'd been missing for two days), straighten themselves out and make something of themselves. They were always super smart but restless and reckless and zero tolerance policies make for serious trouble for boys like that. I'm thankful.
@Rose, Throw this away in the unwanted advice bin if necessary, but my doctor recommended CBD oil for the extreme pain I was having in my face when ibuprofen/tylenol did nothing. It actually did help quite a bit. The pain was still there, but it was bearable. I know there is a big variation on quality and such, but whatever she had did the trick with no noticeable side effects other than it was stinky.
@Jody S., Interesting. It's not done much for me. I also have a MMJ card and weed doesn't do much either. It's supposed to, but doesn't. Those of us with red hair supposedly feel pain differently from other people. Maybe it's the Neanderthal stuff, ha!
@Rose, I am sorry you feel pain that way. Until this face thing I'm dealing with, I thought I felt pain differently-- perhaps more tolerant of pain than some. But I feel like I can at least empathize a little better now.
I am so excited that you are here in Wisconsin, in my “neck of the woods”, and that you are having some beautiful Wisconsin summer weather! It’s wonderful that your aunt is doing such a great job feeding and taking care of all of you. I am sure she and your uncle are loving your company.
Thankful for (Wisconsin edition):
1. Our wonderful state parks—My husband and I have a yearly senior pass so we stop by just about every state park we pass in the summer. We checked out one that we had never been to before on Sunday and it was great. We had a decent uphill hike to a cave and a natural area that was very awesome to view.
2. Farmers’ Markets—They are a joy this time of year….so many vegetables, flowers, and so much more.
3.Lakes-Almost every lake in northern WI looks like the one in Kristen’s pictures. Beautiful blue water, surrounded by gorgeous green trees, and the most beautiful blue skies and white clouds you ever saw. Most are not crowded. You can even catch and eat fish from them.
4. Festivals, outdoor concerts, baseball games, fireworks, etc., etc.,-there is always something to do outside in WI in the summer.
5.Friends, neighbors, and relatives visiting and going places together—Sometimes in the winter, months go by without getting together because the roads are bad or it is too cold or there is too much snow. The summer gives us a chance to get out and go!
So thankful for this wonderful Wisconsin summer!!
It’s wonderful that you are able to spend this lovely week with your family. This is indeed a week brimming with blessings for you.
This week I am especially thankful that I am feeling better. Covid stinks!
I am thankful that I was able quality time with my month-old grandson while helping my son and DIL. I could see that the new parents were a little overwhelmed. It’s hard to make the adjustment to parenthood. The sleep deprivation and the around the clock feedings seem to be never ending. So I offered to babysit on Saturday evening so the new parents could go out to dinner. My husband went with me. We had a wonderful time and so did my son and DIL.
I am thankful that I may have found a Mother of the Groom Dress.
I am grateful that we had a nice rain on Tuesday night. Our rarely-used sprinkler system was broken by AT&T when they installed fiber optic cables in our neighborhood. It has not been repaired yet. My flowers and lawn were looking stressed. The rain came just in time.
Wishing everyone a bounty of blessings this week.
@Bee, Happy you may have found a Mother of the Groom dress. It was so hard for me to find a dress for our daughter's wedding. Not much selection when you are plus-size 😉
Well, Kristen, in addition to having great parents and siblings, you have a great uncle and aunt. I think some of us would like to borrow your relatives!
Now, TT, Butterfly and Bird Edition:
This is high season for butterflies, so I'm thankful for these, especially the monarchs--which, despite their recent "endangered" designation, seem to be arriving here this year in the usual numbers. (I wish they'd start laying eggs in the milkweed I planted just for them, though. I want to be a monarch godmother!)
I'm also thankful for those other colorful flyers, the birds--the goldfinches and chickadees in my sunflowers, and the hummingbirds I have in record numbers this year, thanks largely to a big planting of red "Jacob Cline" monarda. I was both thrilled and amused this morning when a hummer flew to within about 3 feet of me, hovered for a second or two, and then apparently decided I wasn't a flower after all!
@A. Marie, I had a similar experience of a hummingbird hovering in front of my face - I was taking a picture of a pretty sunrise and he zoomed up to me and just sort of posed for a second, so I have a fun image of him silhouetted against the sunrise. Would love to see your clouds of hummingbirds and assorted flying guests!
(And I agree @ borrowing Kristen's relatives )
@A. Marie,
My sister has two kinds of milkweed planted in her yard and "raises" monarchs almost every year. Don't give up!
Just yesterday I had a hummer come to a feeder I was standing practically right beside while watering a container. I was so surprised and excited and stood very still. It took me a second to remember I was wearing a bright red shirt. Isn't it fun when they get close?
@A. Marie,
I love butterflies and hummingbirds. They are an amazing sight. I have a friend that raises butterflies. Her laundry room is filled with terrariums which house the caterpillars. Of course they will eventually be released into the wild as butterflies. They are fed with milkweed. You may become a Monarch Godmother!
@Bee,
One of my old classmates moved to the Tampa area years ago, and she does that same thing. She raises mostly monarchs, but a few other kinds, too. She videos their releases, which are neat to see.
I am definitely blessed with lots of lovely relatives, and I am thankful.
But as with all families, I could tell you tales of hurt and brokenness as well; if we weren't hanging on the internet, I would share. Just know that we are probably like all of you; a mixture of joys and heartaches.
I love watching butterflies too! and bees. I was busy watching the bumblebees on the thistles when I went for a walk here in Wisconsin yesterday.
Today is the one-year anniversary of the surgery to remove my pancreatic cancer. 365 days later I am in remission!!!!
Thankful for:
-my family who have been with me through every step of the cancer journey.
-my friends who kept me in their thoughts & prayers, wrote cards, drove me to radiation appointments. It definitely takes a village.
-access to top notch medical care.
-the nurses, CRNPs, doctors, administrative staff who took care of me. It is because of their knowledge and expertise that I can say “I’m a pancreatic cancer survivor.”
-God, who apparently has additional plans for me and who provided the circumstances so that this cancer was found in Stage 1.
I am beyond thankful that each day leads to a next day for me.
@Kt, That's wonderful! Pancreatic cancer is a beast.
@Kt,
Congratulations! That is truly a thanksgiving!
@Kt, Congratulations; what a great anniversary!
@Kt,
Wonderful news!!!!! Wishing you continued good health.
@Kt, wow, that's amazing! Big congrats on your remission!
@Kt, That's such good news. I am so happy to hear of your remission.
@Kt, Truly something to celebrate! Wishing you continued healthful days!
@Kt, May you enjoy many, many more anniversaries of post pancreatic life!
@Kt, Congratulations, that is awesome news and a big thankfulness uplift for everyone who hears that this can happen. I wish you many more such anniversaries.
@Kt, huge congratulations on your first anniversary. One of my friends was coming up on his 13th year post pancreatic cancer surgery when he passed away from a non-cancer illness. We think he may have set a record as a Whipple surgery survivor. He was always most astonished and thankful for his amazing second life.
I look forward to your posts so much-thankful for an interesting read as part of my early morning “activities.
Thankful I can still water my lawn and flowers despite this extraordinary drought.
Thankful on Saturday we are supposed to have “cooler” 90 degree weather-a respite from many many 100 and 100+ days.
Thankful I’m able to have a wonderful lady come in every 2 weeks to keep my house sparkling clean-saves my aching back.
Thankful I am able to help a friend out after she had hospital procedure.
1.I am thankful to be able to care for my new granddaughter while my son and daughter-in-love work full time.
2. And I only live one street over from them so my commute is easy on my bike!
3. Fresh tomatoes. Enough said!
4. Just celebrated my 60th birthday and am so thankful to the Lord for His blessings over my 60 years.
@Cheryl Crawford, what an amazing gift to babysit your new granddaughter while your son and DIL work! I have been babysitting my granddaughter and grandson for 7 1/2 years while their parents worked too. It has truly been a blessing on so many levels to be able to help the kids out and bond with the grandkiddos. My grandson starts all-day kindergarten in a few weeks and my granddaughter will start 2nd grade. So, my time to babysit full-time is nearing an end. They live in the neighborhood--so nice they live close by! Of course I will still be able to see them and babysit on occasion. It just won't be the same:(
@Michelle S., What a blessing I know that has been to them and you! My other grandchildren live out of state so this is the first grandchild I will be able to see on a daily basis. I am so happy!!
@Cheryl Crawford, I am so happy for you!! Enjoy your sweet granddaughter! 🙂
I've never been to Wisconsin but a lot of people on YouTube I watch seem to hail from there.
It's been a rough time for me so here's the bright side of life.
* I've stumbled across some good videos lately where people actually are talking about things I'm interested in, things I have believed and acknowledging the world as it is and now how we would want it to be.
* For some good writing materials. I love a good pen and pencil.
* My daughter is doing well learning to tell time on a real clock and she's excited to learn cursive.
* That I have a little bit of time off coming up.
@Battra92,
I also love good pens and pencils - and fresh blank notebooks, too. If you don't already have one, I might suggest splurging on a fountain pen. I love mine and have had it for years.
@Battra92, That's great about your daughter, especially because - isn't she only @ 1st grade? I remember my daughter learning cursive in 3rd grade and it was a big exciting thing. (Speaking of pens and pencils - I think the "treat" was, they got to graduate to writing in ink once they mastered cursive, or something like that...)
@JD, Oh I have several fountain pens. I'm a very analog type of person so they get used a lot.
@Battra92, I am a calligrapher and also love pens, ink, pencils and beautiful paper. In Asia it is a much admired art and personal discipline. I studied calligraphy when I was a senior in college and remember being impatient;it was hard to unlearn the copperplate script and learn more legible Italic script. You might think about helping your grand learn Italic script. It is more legible for longer in life, and probably easier if you don’t have to unlearn copperplate!
@Kristina, oops, meant daughter not grand.
@Battra92,
Somehow, I thought you might 🙂
@Battra92, Learning cursive is very exciting. My kids are 11 and 13. neither one was taught cursive in school. Hubby taught them at home
Welcome back to the Midwest! Even with the MN/WI “rivalry” it’s great to know you are enjoying your time in our area! Friday was a lovely day in the Twin Cities!
This week I’m thankful for…
My son’s clean bill of health after his cardiologist appointment last Friday. He was born with a hole in his heart and has had a murmur for years. None of his doctors have been concerned but at his last checkup it was recommended to get his heart checked since he is active in sports. All is well, the hole is closed, and the murmur I nothing to worry about.
During my son’s ultrasound I was able to see his heart and hear his heartbeat. It reminded me of when I first heard his heartbeat during my pregnancy – 12 years ago! It was a heartwarming experience during a stressful appointment.
Our temps have dipped down into the 80s! It’s been so hot and sticky outside but now I can spend time outside without feeling gross.
There is a walking trail that is on an abandoned railroad bed that has amazing tree cover just a few blocks from my house. It’s easy to take a quick walk or make it a nice long walk depending on my mood. Having such a nice trail close makes we want to walk more!
That I’ve finally allowed myself to make simpler meals. I love cooking, I love meal planning, I love challenging myself in the kitchen, but I’m starting to feel burned out. I hated cooking for 30-45 minutes only to have meals finished in 10. Giving myself the grace to make super simple meals has taken some stress off my day that I wasn’t aware was there until it was gone.
@Geneva, I hear you. I read of an Italian mama who insisted everyone stay at the table at least as long as she had been cooking! I think of her often. I also try to plan leftovers to try to stay out of the martyr mood. My husband has diabetes and home cooking is our best budget/health strategy. I am helped by giving myself permission to invest in quality kitchen tools, and by listening to books on CDs in the kitchen. They help a lot, thanks to our public library.
Recently, my husband and I decided to end a relationship that had been very major in our lives for over 20 years. We knew it was a one way street with this person but hung in there for "reasons". We recently took a trip with this person and were treated so badly, that we knew we were done.
I have been grieving and somewhat depressed for the last two weeks, although I knew in my heart I was just grieving for my fantasy relationship and not the one that really existed. I'm starting to feel a little better now, as the hole in my heart starts to close.
I'm thankful that we understand the real situation, it makes the process easier.
Aww, Anne. I am so sorry. I know it's so tough to really take in the truth about a bad relationship; you have this sense of disbelief at first.
I hope the pain continues to subside for you.
@Anne, It's awful. I was very very close to one woman for about 15 years. I miss her but she chose to stay close to my ex, which just floors me, and she told me to give up on my son because he was always going to be a disappointment. We broke it off. It was another heartbreak. We tried to take it up again about five years later but I almost had nothing to say to her. I mean she literally flew out to spend Christmas at our house after her husband left her and the kids. That kind of closeness. It stinks. I don't want to give up on people but I can't abide disloyalty.
I haven’t commented in awhile, but that was just such a nice post that it made me smile and I wanted to share that. It sounds like you had a great vacation and are transitioning into your new home beautifully! I wish you had the little take it or leave it shed that exists near my house, for which I am so grateful!
Aww, thank you for popping in to comment. I'm glad the post made you smile!
I’m so glad you are getting to do things YOU want to do, especially after this rough year.
That makes me really happy that you have these bright spots (among other bright spots!)
☺️
Well, I appreciate you being happy for me. Thank you!
This is the best part of summer. The lake house/ice cream walks to town/large group meals. Soak in all this with the girls, especially once nursing school starts and it feels like your life is no longer your own. Remember the bruised knees from wakeboarding when you are knee deep in pathophysiology.
I just got home from rotation and I have a much shorter break that normal (which I am salty about) due to a required training, so this will be a good exercise.
1. I am thankful I live in an environment where local figs are in abundance right now and facebook marketplace is full of people trying to unload. I am going to try and do some small batch canning while I am off and I found a recipe for red wine, rosemary fig jam; which will be amazing on a holiday cheese plate.
2. That my husband and I have multiple cars. While the expense isn't great, the area that we live in necessitates it. And certain mornings (like today) when I realize that my milk went bad JUST as I am making my tea, being able to hop in the extra car is a luxury.
3. A long the same lines, that I live in an area where a grocery store is five minutes away. My base for work is pretty rural (like my nearest Target is a 4 hour drive rural), so grocery shopping is planned carefully. Being able to have 6 different stores withing 10 minutes is a blessing.
4. Local bakeries. I have given up on store bought bread forever. I have three local bakeries between work and home and the difference is night an day (Sierra Nevada water makes sourdough magical). I would rather spend the extra dollar or two to support a local business, have a product that isn't full of fillers and is perfect with tea.
5. That my husband's love language is acts of service. This took my awhile to realize. But when I text him that there is massive, gross dead rat in the backyard and I really want to pick my tomatoes, he cleans it up without even a blink. Or details my car. (Also, I realize that I can spend all day covered in blood with seriously injured humans, but I tap out at cleaning up a dead rat. It's a big NOPE from me).
Yes! Sometimes I close my eyes and soak in where I am, trying to put it in my memory bank.
I remember doing this when I would nurse my babies at night and then burp them, and they'd be falling asleep on my chest. I would sit there for a few extra minutes with my eyes shut, memorizing the feeling of warm, soft little human snuggled up on my chest because I knew those days were numbered.
@Heather, I want to thank you for your #5 item. My husband's love language is also acts of service and sometimes I forget to see things he does through that prism. You comment is a good reminder to be thankful for especially the little things that are easy to overlook.
Yay for cabin and family time for you and your girls! It made my heart happy when you said how nice it was to hear them giggling 🙂
--I am also thankful for cabin time! We just returned from a lovely week at our cabin. We spent time reading, sitting on the deck, walking next to the lake, and enjoying the peacefulness of being away.
--For our sweet rescue dog. We adopted him about seven years ago, and he is the first dog I've every owned (I always thought I was more of a cat person!). He is so loving and always so excited to just be with us.
--For the rain and thunderstorm we had at home yesterday. It rained more in one day than it has all the rest of the days of 2022 combined! Everything looks so refreshed and happy in the yard today.
--For our good friends who just moved back to our area from the midwest. We don't have a huge network of friends, so having them back in the area is truly a blessing for us.
--For a few more days of summer break before I have to return to school next week. I appreciate Kristen's reminder at the end of the post today that there will always be things to be thankful for regardless if we are on vacation or at home, since I was feeling rather sad about the end of break!
My thankful list covers two weeks. I’m thankful that after a bad fall my 85 yo father passed away peacefully in his sleep. I feel for those who lose loved ones to painful diseases. I’m thankful that my hubs and I were able to quickly take a “make up” vacation to Montana after we had to cancel the planned one because my dad was hospitalized. I’m thankful that I got to spend time with my daughter who moved there last fall. And I’m abundantly thankful for the brand new twin grandsons we got to meet as soon as we arrived home. I’m thankful that while my dad is gone the Lord handed us his first great-grandchildren to love on. God is good, all the time.
@Wendi, My sincere condolences on the loss of your father. I'm glad it brings you some comfort knowing that he passed away peacefully.
I am thankful for the joy of my morning cup of coffee.
I am thankful for the friends who *just happened* to be on hand when I nearly blacked out at a community concert. They stayed with me while my husband got the car close to the venue and helped me get to the car.
I am thankful that I have a break coming up in my side jobs and I can rest for a few days. I enjoy the work but the break is good too.
I am thankful for cloud cover and cool mornings.
I am thankful for audio books to listen to while I weed.
I'm glad you are all right after your blacking out incident!
I am thankful to be getting well from Covid and Poison Ivy that I have had this past 3 weeks. I am thankful for my children and grandchildren. Most of all for Jesus and the price he paid for not just me but all of us.
Oooh! Covid AND poison ivy. Yikes.
I haven't responded to one of these posts in a while because my mind always goes blank...but here goes:
*thankful for my job right now. Its doing a good job itself of distracting me and giving order to my days. Plus, I get to help others and that feels very nice. Not everyone loves healthcare jobs right now. We are stretched thin, but my employer just gave me a fat bonus and an another small raise.
*thankful for my A/C since we are experiencing a prolonged daily 100+ degree summer. This will make Fall all the more sweet!
*I'm thankful for my new magnifying glass/lamp and the time this week and next to catch up on some quiet stitching at home. Creative time feels like such a luxury.
Everything else right now is really just gravy, so I'll stop there. But hopefully a weekend to the beach is in my future and I will be super grateful for that!
https://cannaryfamily.blogspot.com/
I’m thankful for friends who invited us to spend a couple days at the beach with them- and that we all enjoyed the time.
Thankful to have some days to work on decluttering the house before school picks up again.
Thankful for all the Crepe Myrtles blooming in my neighborhood and the variety of size and color.
Thankful that we already have the bulk of our school supplies we need in the basement, we just need to sort them out and figure out what we are missing.
love your photos. gorgeous cabin. so glad you get to enjoy yourself. we are finally getting a new mattress. ours is ancient. am so happy.
Kristin, I don't think I've ever been a guest where I did not share kitchen duty. Is that something that happens a lot in your neck of the woods or is it an exception? It sounds lovely, either way, God bless your sister-in-law and could I book a week in September, lol?
This week I am thankful:
- that my girls are home from Europe safe and sound and we will all be together for the month of August.
- that my great niece, Evelyn, was born healthy and happy (easiest first baby ever for my nephew and his wife) and that she lives right down the road from me and I can see her quite often (I have 4 other great nieces and nephews and one on the way but none as close as little Evelyn).
- that I continue to have the best medical care a person could ask for - from my local (rural) family doctor to the cancer clinic, oncologists and palliative care to the satellite chemo unit only 20 minutes drive from my house.
- that my veggie garden thrives despite 10 days of neglect while I was away, camping and with my youngest at the Ontario summer games (we must have had just the right amount of rain!).
- that my two cats also survived my 10 days away with the care of an incredible neighbour and my Mum. There were some challenges, to be sure, but in the end they are both good!
-oh, one last one, that I didn't get too sick from the cold virus that the girls brought home from Ireland (a super feat for someone who has been on chemo a year now). And that it wasn't covid (negative PCR test for me, negative rapid tests for the girls).
I am a pretty content person right now, enjoying each day as it comes.
Well, we do all offer to help my aunt, but she really prefers to do most of the work herself. Which I understand...sometimes, when you know your routine, it's easier to be left alone in the kitchen.
Yay for a new great niece! And yay for good healthcare for you!
Looks beautiful there!
I'm thankful for:
- Finishing the school year this week!!! We homeschool and have traveled a lot this year, so that's why we're just now wrapping things up.
- School books, homeschool freedom and flexibility in the US and useful online resources for gathering curriculum information.
- Coffee, salads and icecream...a few of my favorite things
- People who have sent messages recently that have meant a lot.
- The sweet truths in God's Word. When I'm feeling discouraged and hopeless about something, I often find myself craving God's Word even more and its so much more impactful.
Nice cabin!
At the moment I'm grateful for:
* My DD telling me this morning that she no longer feels suicidal or having self-harming thoughts!! Only 2 months ago she was hospitalized for it, so this is a very happy moment for me. I'm trying to stay in the moment, as I don't know how it will be once she goes back to school (new school, socialising is hard). I'm just hoping for this period of her (our) life to be over for good. The meds have changed too, so this might be the reason.
* For medication!!
* For a quietly pleasant family vacation week. My brother in law is visiting for the week and he's a pleasant dude, so it's nice to have him over
* For another vacation week later in august while the kids will be away at their grandparents for the week. One on one time with hubby will be nice
* That the atmosphere at home is so much lighter for the past 2 weeks, due to my DD feeling better. Not constantly living in fear of her hurting herself or running away is amazing!
@Isa,
I'm so very glad to hear your daughter is feeling better!
@JD, 🙂
Thankfuls through the tears. (The tears being for a close friend of my ours who passed away on Monday. Age 60. It was unexpected & sudden, we are all greatly in shock).
For seeing a Hummingbird at the feeder. This is the first one I have seen in 2 years so I'm mega excited. I hope it finds it's way to the Canna Lilly's in my back garden as they put out bright colourful (red) flowers that the Hummingbirds like.
Found a new to me Little Free Library, while out walking, on a street I've never walked before. So I'm happy about this.
For my tomatoes that are doing well this year. Last year was a bust. There is a pot of a Nightshade plant that appeared out of nowhere (that is toxic) growing in a pot next to my vegetables, and so I'm wondering if the toxicity of the Nightshade is somehow contributing to my vegetables doing really well this year. (i.e. no bad bugs on my tomatoes)
For the thunderstorms rolling through here, the rain is much needed. I love a thunderstorm, kitty #2 not so much.
Thankful that yesterday's all day sinus headache is gone, I may like thunderstorms, but my head reacts to changes in the air pressure.
Kristen, as a fellow Southerner, it's on my list to have a summer vacation in Wisconsin. And you deserve to have that kind of carefree family fun this summer.
I am thankful for:
1. Our departmental Supervisor of Awesomeness, who found out about some very unpleasant things inflicted on her staff, and told us, "No one is allowed to talk to my staff that way." We love her and know it will be taken care of of.
2. My amazing family practice doc, who has some suggestions for caring for my arthritic knees that don't cost very much, which is great considering that the next round of treatment from the orthopedist is priced at $1,200. I can't swing that much money and will be doing it the family doc way.
3. My sweet husband, who puts up with the cats using him as a jungle gym at 5 a.m. when they decide they want to be fed way early.
4. For cooler days, although you know your perspective has changed when 87 F. feels very pleasant.
5. For finally making friends with some colleagues after a long period of working alone.
This Wisconsinite is glad you could enjoy our wonderful summers! The weather this year in particular has been really something amazing.
I am grateful for a three day getaway with my husband for his work’s 50th anniversary celebration. It was really a lot of fun, we got to enjoy the beach and a free massage, and delicious catered dinners.
I am grateful for my parents watching our boys for three days. They had a blast.
I am grateful for kids who aren’t picky eaters. I really like cooking and it would be a pain to have to make “kid food” all the time.
Thankful for a quick and hassle free travel to and from our vacation. No delays or issues with the flights and buses.
Thankful for my cast iron pan from my grandma. It makes me think of her and it a such an awesome nonstick surface I use it for everything.
Was so nice to read. The cabin looks lovely. It all looks so relaxing and fun. I'm glad you got to go and have a good time with everyone. Thank you for sharing it.
Man, those ice cream cones and that water fun sound so great right about now! Glad you're having fun this summer.
Let's see...this week I'm thankful:
-that even though I've been stressed and unhappy with my job, that I have one that lets me work from home. I am also thankful it's for a reputable organization that I can be proud to say I work for.
-that I could listen to the chaos of my husband and kids making breakfast from upstairs without having to intervene. It was just french toast...I don't know why my husband sounded so stressed but I'm happy that we're in a place where this is funny and not frustrating.
-that I'm looking at the positive at the end of each day even though I'm feeling negative. My mind knows a lot of good stuff is happening so it just needs to battle my feelings that like to hang out in the space where the not-so-good stuff is happening.
-that I can honestly still say that my kids are awesome.
Although we have avoided COVID for two years, it arrived this week. Despite that, I am thankful
1. My son’s symptoms were pretty mild.
2. I was able to work from home.
3. Yellow beans and eggplant from the garden.
4. Other fresh veggies from local farm stands.
5. Family movie night tonight.
6. Vacation starts in one week!! (Glad you enjoyed yours.)
Ah, Kristen, those are big things to be thankful for! I have never been to Wisconsin, but think it would be wonderful to spend time up there in the summer.
This week we met with the surgeon and his team, the anesthesia crew, and got labs and a comparison MRI for my husbands liver tumor removal next month, and it was a really positive experience for both of us.
1) I am grateful that the surgeon had an amazing bedside manner (surgeons are usually lacking in that), and he and his team were very attentive to my husband AND me. (My husband has some cognitive issues from his stroke, but after living with it for >40 years, he hides it well enough that most people don't realize it. And I usually get blown off when I try to quantify his answers or correct info he gives, despite the fact that we have been married >50 years, and I am a retired nurse!)
2) There was a lot of wait time and a rescheduling, but thankfully, we were able to give a thorough history to the anesthesia team, as well. They were also very receptive and willing to wait patiently while he tried to answer their questions.
3) His labs were all good, and his EKG was normal--both things that could delay or complicate the surgery.
4) The comparison MRI went without a hitch, although we haven't seen the results yet.
5) Part of the process is receiving a 3-ring binder of info for EVERYTHING we need to know for the next 3 months. It is all sooo well thought out and so easy to refer to, because it is hard to remember all that we were told. All we are waiting for now is the actual surgery date.
What could have been a very difficult, frustrating, nerve-wracking week was almost a walk in the park, and left us feeling calm about it all, and HEARD, which is amazing in a large hospital complex.
I'm so sorry that you guys are navigating this challenge, but yes, yay for a good bedside manner. That makes such a difference.
My thankful Thursday is also vacation themed:
-So extremely grateful that I have a family that enjoys vacationing together
-I feel really lucky that my 72 year old father (turns 73 in a week or so) is still able to mountain bike with his grandsons. He rode 50+ miles in two days, in a large group ride, and then took my 15 year old out. He's a fantastic grandfather, and I feel so blessed my kids get time with him.
-That my amazing parents keep our kids here & there for pockets of time throughout the year (a trip to Disney, a few days last week, etc). If your teenage grandsons legitimately want to spend time with you, you are definitely doing something right as grandparents!
-That I got to spend time with my sister & nephews over the past week.
-To be home again. I had an amazing vacation, but there's just something so nice about coming home.
I love to hear about your children's relationship with their grandparents!
We live in Wisconsin, and a few years ago were planning a vacation. We talked about going up to Maine in the fall. Then I realized, why would I leave Wisconsin in the fall?? It's beautiful here. I want to get out of Wisconsin in February when winter has been dragging on forever and I can't take the cold and snow any more. So that's what we did, flew from Wisconsin in -20* and arrived in San Francisco in 50*. Best decision.
All of which to say, I'm glad you enjoyed your Wisconsin vacation!
Yes! And if I lived in Wisconsin, I would never want to leave in the summer. 🙂