Thankful Thursday | January watermelon
This week, I am thankful:
for an out-of-season watermelon
My Hungry Harvest box included a little watermelon! And it was a lovely winter surprise.
I really love watermelon and MAN it's been a long time since I had one. Like...since last summer.
So this one tasted super good.
for a grocery store with a parking garage
Unfortunately, Aldi does not have this feature. But one of the Safeways near me does!
So, if you are willing to pay more for a quick grocery run, you can stay dry by using the parking garage.
for blueberry pancakes
I am on a serious blueberry pancake kick lately.
Pancakes are good.
But blueberry pancakes are excellent!
(here's the whole wheat pancake recipe I use.)
for my front door
It has a textured glass window with beveled edges, and it provides so much beauty.
Here's the sunrise, as seen through the window this week.
And the beveled edges have sent rainbows of color around my house from the sunshine too.
that I get to go to a support group meeting finally next week!
I had to miss out on the live meetings last semester because my chemistry class was happening at the same time.
(This was an unfortunate trade. Chemistry was...not an upgrade over a support group.)
I'm super happy I will get to see my other exiting-a-hard-marriage pals again!
that Lisey passed her orals and practicals
Now she is SO SO SO close to being done. She has just one more big test in after April, I think, and then she's all ready to go work on planes.
I am super proud of how hard she is working at this!
our cat (as per usual)
for the semester off of school
I felt a slight twinge of envy when my girls started back at college this week (ooh, the fresh feeling of a new semester!) but my practical side knows I really need a semester off.
I have a lot of non-school stuff I need to take care of, and this no-school semester will allow me to get caught up on all that.
for my CPA
This is my first year with my blog as an S-corp and my goodness, there is a whole lotta new tax paperwork and payments and logins and such to handle.
I would never in a million years be able to handle this without a CPA; I call her office with questions on the regular. 😉
I also am thankful that there are people in this world who like doing this type of work. I cannot imagine thinking, "Ooh, I'd like to do this for 40 hours a week." and that's why I'm glad we are not all the same!
Who would do all the accounting work if everyone was like me??
Yesterday's post and all its comments had me thinking about how language is not a static thing, but is evolving with changes throughout history and locale. And conversely how the words we use influence our interactions and society in a wider sense. I am just wondering if you can really express your thoughts and sentiments freely if you are "deficient" in your command of language. I am not a philosopher but my thinking was triggered by your post, as usual.
This week I am thankful for
All the advantages I had growing up
People who can switch from the serious to the hilarious and make the serious bearable
People who care for those in society who are feared and shunned
My dear colleagues who took tasks off my shoulder so I could focus on the major project I needed to complete last week
Enjoying reading and writing
My body and mind who recuperated from a 70 hour work week so much faster than I had anticipated
Remaining cheerful even when exhausted
The recognition I received for what I accomplished
I'm thankful we were able to help celebrate my nephew's marriage. It was a lovely wedding and reception and it was wonderful to spend time with far flung family. I am also grateful the weather cooperated, a wedding in MN in January could be an iffy thing. I am grateful for air travel and the fact that there was just one delay while an engine was replaced. It was worth waiting two hours for that.
I am thankful for the ability to cook. The knowledge and skill as well as the access to food and a functional kitchen. Being able to make what you want to eat is no small thing.
I am thankful for books. I have just about finished all the Little House books and it was pretty much work 24/7. I am also near the end of Find Me Unafraid which details life in a slum of Nairobi Kenya.
I am thankful we are at least three weeks away from dealing with taxes. I know at least one document is not expected to be available until 02/17.
I am thankful for this community. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person IRL that is interested in frugality.
@K D, I ABSOLTELY feel like a loner in responsible use of money. Not just frugality but just the use and planning around money. Living on credit for things I think of as luxuries- restaurants, food take out, travel, gigantic houses, clothes, expensive parties (weddings!) And gifts and expecting others to pay for all this besides. Little thought to growing old with no options. It's unfathomable to me.
I’m thankful for yesterday’s FG post and the incredibly thoughtful and respectful discussions that followed in the comments. It was a great opportunity to just learn from and listen to others, which I did throughout the day.
More personally, I’ve been at the mercy of the Worry Monster (TM) lately, with inner stillness hard to come by. Last night during dinner, my husband put on old radio plays of The Twilight Zone available on YouTube. After we ate, we just relaxed on the couch listening for a few hours, with his lap for my pillow while he stroked my hair, our adopted feline trio asleep all around us. That moment was just what I needed and an excellent reminder of all we have to be thankful for.
@N, what a beautiful image of your marriage. Thanks so much for sharing.
@N, your last paragraph brought tears to my eyes. I too am subject to visits from the Worry Monster, and DH used to be the one who banished it in just the way you describe. Of all the hard parts of living without him, that's one of the hardest.
Add me to the crowd that is very touched by your last paragraph. What a lovely thing to enjoy in a healthy relationship; I can just imagine the peace you felt.
@N, Just lovely image of a great marriage, thanks for this.
@A. Marie, So many HUGS, A. Marie.
@N, What a lovely picture you painted of your marriage!
@N, I think you've made a lot of us wistful here today. Sometimes, I felt anxiety creeping up on me so much it felt like my spine was going to shatter like glass. My ex would come up behind my chair, start rubbing my shoulders and head, and ask "What's wrong?" Sometimes I think I would have all his crap back if I could have that back too.
@Everyone, goodness, thank you.
This week I'm thankful--
*for the smell of chicken broth that greeted me when I got out of bed. It was cooking all night on low.
*that I was able to a specialist about my face and that he had two recommendations for facial therapy. (Not thankful that both are out-of-network.)
*that one of the therapists, at least in her online presence, seems enthusiastic about what she does and willing to share her knowledge with others through videos and tips online. And that's she's the closest in distance to me--only about 2 hours? Maybe a little less? (Okay, I confess that I am totally not happy about having to travel that far for therapy, but she will do tele-health sort of therapy things.)
*that our electricity didn't go out yesterday.
*for yesterday's snow and for the owl snow sculptures my daughter made.
*that it was enough snow for the kids to sled.
*for half a box of cornflakes and some leftover granola so I don't have to make a big breakfast this morning.
*for my children-- never a dull moment.
*for my eldest's love of learning.
*for my friends.
*for my church family. We have a potentially (likely) tough week or so coming up with a dear church member on hospice.
I always have trouble with the smell of broth in the morning, and that keeps me from sensibly letting it simmer overnight!
Kristen, if you do it in the crock pot, you can set it outside in the carport.
NB: don't put your crockpot on vinyl flooring overnight: it leaves footprints that don't pop back out. (Voice of experience)
@Kristen, To be honest, it's not the smell of the broth I love, but the thought that I got it done. So often it simply doesn't get done.
My daughter is a CPA and no, I cannot imagine doing her job for the 40 plus hours she does weekly. But neither can I imagine doing my mechanics son job out in the big unheated/uncooled building he works in, either. So, I guess I'm thankful I have the job I do? Somedays I question my own choices! This week I am thankful for
*an understanding co-worker who I can count on to remind me that we will be leaving the hot mess we are in right now and heading to a NEW hospital with very different working conditions in April!
*Omeprazole, believe it or not. I have an ulcer that's about to meet its match. Hooray for health insurance, too, by the way.
*Mild weather and the promise of a sunny weekend!
*breakfast out this morning as a treat for me keeping my mammo appointment!
I am thankful this week for:
-Finding a new position super-quickly after being told 2 weeks ago that my job would be eliminated.
-The gracious and kind people surrounding me and some in positions of power who actually care for their employees
-A snow/ice day off yesterday
-Center: 30 days of Yoga with Adriene FREE on YouTube. I have done yoga every day in January and it feels great.
-That my frugal ways help my household not live paycheck-to-paycheck. This job transition would be MUCH more stressful if we were living right on the edge.
Wishing everyone well this week!
@Heather Mar, Congratulations on the new position!
This week I am thankful for:
1. The respectful manner in which your readers commented on yesterday's post. It can be a tricky discussion to have, but it is a very important one that should not be avoided due to the fear of saying the wrong thing.
2. Even though some of the eggs that were delivered in our grocery order were a bit cracked, they were salvageable. We are having them for breakfast today. Food waste makes me sad.
3. A bit of sunshine this morning after last night's rainstorm.
4. The chocolate pudding for dessert last night. So simple, so delicious!
5. The Mutts comic Instagram account. Mooch and Earl crack me up!!
Thankful for food on the table. We live sort of out of the way and husband and I have been able to put together food for every meal. I'm happy that he takes leftovers for lunch too and that I am not the only one eating leftovers.
Thankful that I got a haircut. I'm very particular about cuts and I think I found someone that did a very decent job. And she is my neighbor! When we lived in FL for 8 years, I could not find anyone I liked. I had 1 decent haircut in those 8 years and when I went back, the lady butchered it. But I'm glad I found someone here in WV that is decent.
Thankful for finally clearing my office/craft area. I was able to open my scrapbook last night and work on a couple of pages. I haven't opened the book since last year before we moved!
Thankful that the part I bought for a light fixture I want to change is the right part, but wrong color. But spray paint will help with that. Hopefully I have some and didn't get rid of it in the move, but I might have.
Thankful that hubby has the next 2 weeks off. We are heading to FL the following week, but he was shocked that he has next week off. He is going to paint his personal space. It was originally a little girl's room in a purple/pink color, so he is looking forward to painting it a light blue.
--Lots of eggs in the refrigerator, thanks to my friend's chickens. I wasn't really rationing eggs because of their cost, but I was thinking harder about places where they're optional. Now I can make custards again with soon-to-expire milk, yay!
--The little store in the village that opened just a year or so ago. It's run by another mom of four, and she stocks the good dairy--heavy cream, Daisy sour cream, whole milk. Must be a mom thing, because I buy out the dairy every time I go in there. And always thank her for it. It's made my life SO much easier.
--The perks of my two-day-a-week job at the school. That includes having access to a library (much of which I stocked myself as part of my job 🙂 so I can get books for my family, and access to a gym my kids can play in on really windy, cold days like last Saturday.
--For the nice lady who always stops at our house with the excess commodities foods on the last Tuesday of the month. She's happy she doesn't have to find a home for all the food that's left, and I'm happy to get sacks of onions, potatoes, dried fruit, whatever. This month, there were even blood oranges, which were a suprisingly luxurious item for commodities. They were really good, too.
--For our UPS driver, who is one of the nicest, most cheerful humans on the planet. He has to have the longest mileage run of any UPS driver in the state, and he's often still delivering at 5 p.m. (with a two-hour drive to just get back to his home base afterwards), but he is unfailingly upbeat, loves children and dogs, never hesitates to chat for a minute, and will always come through our gate and to our front steps to leave boxes if we aren't here. Salute to Ritchie, a prince among men.
@kristin @ going country, your last one! But I have a funny story. We have a super UPS driver, Craig. He wants to be a zookeeper when he retires, so that kind of tells you a little about what he's like. However, in this unpredictably goofy actual-winter (as opposed to the fake winters of recent years), he's been doing some unpredictably goofy stuff. He's pretty sure we all know each other out here, at least marginally, and he's more or less right. So if he's sick of our roads (which who isn't), he's like, "Here, Rick, can you take this over to Mandy?" or "Here, Karen, can you take this over to David?" or "Here, Connie, can you take this over to Karen?" and .... Rick doesn't really know Mandy exactly so he takes it to her mother-in-law, and Connie knows David but not me, and then also kind of forgets she has the package, so then I had to go investigate based on sketchy delivery receipt information .... anyway, we are all getting to actually sort of know our neighbors and it's all Craig's doing. I suppose for the better?
@Karen., The antics of your UPS man totally cracked me up! My dad is a USPS carrier in rural Kansas, but even he doesn't do that!!! TBH, it sounds s bit frustrating... Glad you're finding a way to laugh through it!
Our neighborhood took up a collection for our UPS driver to help him out in a situation. He’s very popular here.
@Karen.,
Your funny UPS driver reminded me of one we had years ago; because I worked three part-time jobs, he got used to seeing me at several places. And he started calling me at my church office to ask where certain people lived. (It's a small community. You know just about everyone, especially when you work for a church, teach, and work for a newspaper.) One day he saw me at my husband's workplace, and asked, "Do you work here too?" But the funniest thing was when he saw me parked in the town cemetery. I was there taking a photo of the azaleas in full bloom for a newspaper feature; I thought it strange to see the UPS truck pull into the cemetery. When he got out, I said, "Are you looking for me?" He said, "Yes, I saw your car. Do you know where ..... lives?"
@kristin @ going country, I have never met a UPS driver who didn't have a wonderful personality. We have loved every one of them and become actual friends with some. I wonder if there is some sort of personality typing test required—must be an Enneagram 7, a sanguine in the 4 types, always an optimist, always an extrovert. . . all of the above?
@kristin @ going country, our UPS guy brought me a package that had been missing for a week because another delivery service had thrown it on a neighbor's lawn and marked as delivered to our driveway. (Not!) He said he knew we'd never find it there in the weeds. I wanted to hug him.
That sunrise is beautiful!
Thankful:
For my neighbor who volunteered to take my husbands responsibility of snow blowing our shared alley while he was at training. Having one less thing to manage after kids go to bed was a relief, and snow blowing isn’t optional in this town, especially with my son’s wheelchair.
For people who are becoming friends and are willing to invite me into their lives.
For the discovery of original hardwood floors under the carpet in one of the recently refinished bedrooms. I am hoping that I can restore the floors to something beautiful and since the room isn't large, it shouldn’t take more than a day or so of work to find out.
For a few days of no appointments in the next few week during which I might have the chance to work on above floor project.
For sparkling water. Or as my kids call it, tickle water.
Ooooh, hardwoods under carpet = a wonderful discovery!
@Kaitlin, Congratulations on your secret hardwood floors! We discovered we have hardwood in our carpeted living and dining room after the cats dug a hole through the existing carpet. Refinishing it is not feasible in the near future, so we just have a pretty rug covering the hole for now. ;P I will say that the two rooms that already had bare hardwood floors turned out splendidly after my best friend helped me refinish them.
@N, we had hoped to find hardwood when we moved here, but hadn’t planned on working on flooring until most of the other work was done. But a series of unfortunate events made it necessary to be forever rid of the carpet in that one room, so it was an extra pleasant discovery that I didn’t need to shell out money to cover sub flooring with a finished flooring. Even if it’s not pretty soon, it’s safe for my son to sleep in there.
@Kaitlin,
"For people who are becoming friends and are willing to invite me into their lives." Oh, I am so happy for you. We had friends like that when we moved to Virginia and the marvel of it was never lost on me... they didn't need us, but were willing to bring us in and help us feel at home? Amazing. I pray that you can find deep, rich community where you've been planted.
@Kaitlin, when looking for our present home I was told by a real estate agent to look for the floor heating vent in the room. Usually, particularly when the room is carpeted they they are easy to pop up. You then look in and can see what is under the carpet. We did this prior to purchasing our home, beautiful hardwood floors upstairs and downstairs covered by white wool carpet$$$ that had been soiled by dogs left in the house too long.
I had the carpet ripped out and the fellow said he would make money selling it in remnants.
Also @kaitlin I tried commenting the week you mentioned using your rower. I also use one and loved seeing your post. It has been a great stress releaser. Sometimes when thoughts worry me I think, “ I’ll save it for when I’m on the rower. Then I do all my thinking and try and leave it behind”. Sometimes I almost need to row more to get it all out.
I’m thankful for my rower in the mornings and evenings when it is dark now. I live in a snowy cold area so really like not having to dress up to go out and exercise.
This week I'm so thankful that I'm feeling way better now than I did this time last week.
I'm thankful for my husband, who brought me breakfast and dinner every day before and after his work. He didn't complain once. It reminded me of when I had surgery back in 2014 and the first night home he helped me get up just about every hour to get my bladder working. My heart melts.
I'm also very thankful that my husband didn't get sick from me!
I'm thankful for this break from estate work. I really have a ton of things to do for my father's estate, but this past week I did not do one single thing. I guess I really needed that.
Once again I'm thankful for my friends and sisters-in-law who checked on me and even sent me the cutest care package. With Feel Better socks! This week I thought about my parents a lot and missed them a lot. I'm glad that, although I've lost them, I'm not alone.
Aww, I am so glad your husband was there for you. And I'm glad you are feeling better!
"The cat, always the cat." I'm especially thankful this week for my Betty, since yesterday was her 8th "Gotcha" day (the anniversary of the day she adopted us at the local Humane Association). She's now 11 years old and still going strong. Needless to say, she got extra treats and fuss yesterday!
Thankful also for the one friend from DH's high school who has kept in touch with us all these years. As I described yesterday over at the NCA, I sent this friend three of DH’s four high school yearbooks via USPS media mail last week. The friend was in the class ahead of DH, and evidently his parents didn’t buy him any of these yearbooks. (I’ve kept only the one from DH’s own senior year, when he was the yearbook editor, a star in debating and dramatics, and otherwise a BMOC.) The friend just received the yearbooks and is absolutely thrilled. And I'm delighted that they went to the best possible person.
And thankful, along with many others, for the insightful and civil discussion here yesterday. So many good points were made--and even at the few times when it could have veered off into something uncivil, it didn't. My salutations to Kristen and all the commenters.
This is such a good place to have discussions like that!
Happy Gotcha Day to your kitty. 🙂
@A. Marie, The Library of Virginia has digitized any yearbooks available. I was able to see my husband's 8th grade picture. He only had his senior year. You might check to see if you have that resource available.
@A. Marie,
I see you are more than just A today!
My husband has some high school friends who keep in touch. They are worth their weight in gold. When he's feeling down, I can ask him questions about those friends and he's off, running through all his fun memories, which is easier for him to remember than what he had for breakfast. How sweet of you to send the yearbooks!
@A. Marie, Thinking of what I have and never look at-- Would giving yearbooks to the elderly care center in my hometown be of interest to residents, I wonder? I'm sure a lot of my classmates returned or never moved away.
@Heidi Louise, there seems to be a pretty brisk online trade for old yearbooks (just Google the year or years and the name of the school, and see what comes up). I was actually thinking of going this route, until I found out by asking that DH's friend didn't have any. But your suggestion sounds like another wonderful alternative, and I think that following up on it with the elder care center would be a great idea.
@A. Marie, “elder care center” sounds so much more dignified than nursing home. I think I’m going to adopt that language.
@J NL, people who care for those feared and shunned. Yes.
This week's Five Happy Things
- Finding $3 eggs at Trader Joe's, so yeah, I finally have eggs in the fridge again! I could afford them at $6, and even $9 (!!), but it seemed crazy to do so, so I haven't.
- One-Pan Wonders by Cook's Country. Every meal from that book (I've made almost a dozen so far) has been delicious, comforting, full of fresh ingredients, interesting, and generous enough to ensure leftovers for DH and me. Last night I made Lemony Turkey Meatballs & Rice . . . so good!
- Dates being in season. Our Coachella Valley (think Palm Springs) grows beautiful, luscious dates, and I brought home several pounds of them recently, which I shared with my DD. I make no-sugar breakfast date bars, and also enjoy stuffing them with blue cheese for a special at-home Happy Hours for DH and me. So moist and delicious when they are freshly harvested.
- Friends in our moving-into-senior years. They are the added spark of life, and with some of them beginning to pass away or dealing with hard things like cancer, I value them now more than ever.
- Local colleges for free, live music. We have several colleges in our vicinity, and I've recently received notifications for a bunch of free concerts, everything from jazz to reggae to classical. Love listening to the concerts, but love even more the energy of students preparing to go out into the world.
@Tamara R, are you willing to share your no-sugar breakfast date bar recipe? Or tell us where to find one? (I'd rather ask you than The Duck or Uncle Google)
@Central Calif. Artist, Surely! Here you go: https://tastespace.wordpress.com/2014/12/02/no-bake-date-squares-giveaway-for-100-best-juices-smoothies-and-healthy-snacks/
They are so delicious, and a great way to kick off the day.
Congratulations, Lisey!!
Thankful this morning for...
* Extra sleep this week. Although I still want to hibernate for the next month.
* Registrations arriving for our Spring Break Code-a-thon for Missions. March will be an exciting time once again as we coordinate teams traveling across the country to Colorado.
* Two professors that are seriously advocating for us on their campuses.
* A volunteer in GA that is tenacious and is helping me with the vast amount of preparatory paperwork.
* For grace when my gift of well-meaning makes life complicated. *Wacky face*
Thankful Thursday
Seeing more clearly because of cataract surgery and sunshine.
Peace, quiet, warmth, COFFEE, music, mobility, friends, family; life.
Mindful for those who suffer, stagger, and buckle under burdens. . .
Friends and strangers who share their thankfulness —
Truly thankful that DH's many doctors' visits and tests have resulted in a problem that can be fixed (they believe) albeit with surgery. He is the greatest guy, funny and helpful in every area of my and our kids' lives, always there for us no matter what.
It has been eating me up with worry until this light at the end of the proverbial tunnel has appeared.
Thankful, too, for your special blog, which has been comforting in these past months, as it always is. Such great writing, topics, and, of course, awesome photography, as well as a lovely community.
Yay for good news for your husband!
@Erika JS, what wonderful news! Praying the doctors are abundantly successful!
I am thankful for you and your blog. Everytime I read the number of your followers, I am in awe. How do I feel like you are talking to me like a dear friend and that we are a tight little group? So happy for you!
I am also happy for breast cancer treatment. I am almost six months into this journey. It's been incredibly difficult at times, both physically and emotionally. Even so, I am happy for chemotherapy and upcoming surgery. My prognosis is great. This wouldn't have been so several years ago.
I'm grateful for my treatment team, each and everyone, starting at the front desk to the doctors to chemo nurses and Rona, the volunteer who makes sure I am comfortable.
Today, I'm thankful for the sunny skies and mild temps.
I am thankful that my minister hosts drop-in coffee chats once a week at different shops around town. And, I feel well enough to go this morning!
I could go on and on. I am blessed and have so much that I am thankful for.
Aww, I'm so glad you feel like that when you read my posts.
I'm so glad you have a good prognosis; wonderful!
@Kathleen Mayin, Happy to hear of your good prognosis and great medical team!
@Kristin I love the image through your glass window! SO beautiful!
This week I am thankful for....
My lovely deep bathtub. It has been a great comfort to my sore muscles after boot camp workouts and I am so blessed to have it.
My husband who has been pitching in even more around the house so that I can go to said workout classes. This ME time is so very lovely and it has been good for both my physical and mental health. It makes me a better mom and a better wife and is my most favorite thing about 2023 thus far.
For the small amount of green I can see popping up in various spots around the area we live in. This is a sure sign of Spring to come and it is so exciting to see amongst all the brown grass and bare trees.
Super thankful that we have a space to plant a garden and that I am in the planning phase now. It is such a joy to be thinking about all the seeds and plants in the Spring, what I will do with the harvest, etc. I know it is nerdy but I just love gardening.
For fires in our fireplace to keep us warm & cozy. Glimpses of a blue sky in the midst of so many days of cold rain. Coffee. My crockpot - the source of many lovely, easy dinners as of late.
Happy Thursday all!
@Angie, Hold up. Gardening is nerdy? I beg to differ. 🙂
A watermelon in January! That would be wonderful!
1. I'm thankful that a granddaughter is starting to grow after starting treatments with HGH. It's not something any of us wanted to do, put a 9-year old on hormonal treatments, but she tested deficient in producing her own HGH, had basically stopped growing, and is several inches shorter than her younger sister and almost a head shorter than her age group's average height, much to her dismay. I'm thankful that her pediatric endocrinologist gave her time to see if she would catch up some on her own first and gave her parents and her the time they needed to make the decision to treat or not treat, without pressure to decide one way or the other.
2. I'm thankful that in the mornings I pass a certain boy on the roadside, waiting on his school bus out in the countryside, because he has taken to dancing to the tune in his earpieces while waiting. He brightens my day as he dances on, oblivious to the traffic going by.
3. I'm thankful that the storm blowing through yesterday with high winds and one tornado didn't damage my work or home. I pray for those who weren't so lucky. Re: yesterday's post - tornadoes definitely do not play fair.
4. I'm thankful that I finally found the small brooch that had belonged to my grandmother who shared my birth month. It has our birthstone on it, and I'm wearing it today. I'm pretty sure it's costume jewelry, not genuine, but it's obviously vintage and in good shape. I love the way it looks. I love the memories of her it brings.
5. I'm thankful that my husband's checkup with a cardiothoracic surgeon went well. He has thick fluid in one lung, but it hasn't made him short-winded and isn't showing any infection or cancer cells, so they are going to watch and wait, instead of performing now the major surgery it would require to remove it.
@JD, re: your #5, I do hope that surgery can be avoided. You probably already know that general anesthesia knocks anyone with cognitive problems for a loop, so the less surgery the better.
I’m thankful I was able to go to my Homebuilders Class at my church. I missed quite a bit of it in November and December due to illness (my kids bring home all the germs) so it was nice to be back.
I am thankful my back is feeling better. I somehow compressed the sciatic nerve when I was in bed with fatigue due to a virus. I was able to see the nurse practitioner and was able to get steroids to reduce the inflammation, so that I was able to move again. And I am very thankful I was able to get in on Tuesday rather than Wednesday. See below.
I am thankful for my washing machine and dryer… I’m thankful for those every day, but especially yesterday. My son got hit with a stomach virus and I did many loads of laundry trying to keep up with a mess.
I am thankful my daughter was able to fend for herself last night for dinner since I was dealing with her little brother being sick.
I'm so grateful for all the readers who responded to my about-to-be-empty-nester question. I appreciate the generosity and the thoughtful answers (Thank you, Kris- I meant to respond to your comment, so here it is :)). I work full-time and have hobbies but the INFJ+ empath part makes it challenging. Kristen helps me a great deal, I loved the wistful post and I'm amazed to see how she's doing it. Much love, Xx.
I'm grateful for-
My job, it's just the right mix of money, ease, growth, and blessings.
My friends' cats!!! I never thought I'd be a cat person but the cats are so happy to see me that I had to be one.
For $5 sushi.
Yesterday’s post brought a lot to the surface. I’ve always felt I had a lot to be thankful for, but today I am especially grateful for my wonderful parents. They left me with a strong sense of self, opportunities galore, and lots of love.
I’m thankful that I was able to grow up in a place in time where I had friends from all walks of life and races. Perhaps this happens in small towns. I went to a school where there were people that were Black, White , Pacific Islander, Hispanic (Mexican, Cuban) Filipino, Portuguese and Middle Eastern. We were all friends and many of us still are.
I am thankful that I was able to experience childhood in sleepy beach town in Florida with long golden summers. Things just aren’t that way anymore. They found paradise and put up a parking lot.
I am grateful for my found, calico kitty and Rescue Pup. They have provide me with lots of company.
I am thankful for my beautiful children. I hope that I have successfully given them the gifts of a strong sense of self, opportunity and love.
A huge congrats to Lisey!!! Woohoo for being in the home stretch!
1) My husband & I work for the same company, and avoided being laid off, in a huge batch of layoffs. I'm planning to leave work in the next six months or so, but that's not at at all in his plan, so I'm grateful. Also grateful I have the next six months to continue to save.
2) My husband has been a champ, and made dinner every night without fail, while I dealt with a lot of work drama. He is a great cook, but we have pretty clear "swim lanes", and cooking is usually my task. He jumped in & relieved a bunch of stress, which I really appreciate.
3) For the lack of rain. We needed a lot of rain (although, less than we received), but I'm grateful for some sunshine.
4) Watching high school sports. Grateful for a flexible job that allows me to leave to watch it, and grateful that one of my sons made it on the team. I love the camaraderie & friendship that comes out of high school sports, and it's really hard/competitive to make a team in our area. Getting a chance to see him with his friends make me happy.
5) That I was able to get into a doctor (in my office building, no less). They just opened a clinic where I work, and I've been on a wait list to see a doctor for my knee pain for close to three months. I happened to check the new clinic, and they have an opening for today. What a gift, and I don't even have to leave the building. Fingers crossed that he's good, because I actually have several appointments that I need to book.
I got that same mini watermelon in my HH box. My son has been using it for smoothies!
So many things to be thankful for:
1. . . . a plumber was available yesterday when there was a messy malfunction.
2. . . .the money to pay him.
3. . . .access to my neighbor's washer and dryer (so very fancy!) to finish the load that was interrupted by the malfunction.
4. . . .lettuce seeds in 6-packs sitting on the mantel over the wood stove (the continual triumph of hope over experience)
5. . . .yesterday's thoughtful and respectful discussion that was absent the ubiquitous dissension and condescension all over the interwebs.
6. . . .this very civilized, thought-provoking, entertaining, and helpful blog—THANK YOU, KRISTEN!
Boy I hear ya on the accountant thing. My husband and I are both self-employed, working from home, which makes it a little harder than just receiving a W-2.
Today I am thankful for modern medicine. I have had a hard year health-wise; diagnosed with diabetes in April, and Psoriatic Arthritis in July. Yesterday, I found out I have Ankylosing Spondylitis and will be receiving once-monthly injections to slow its’ progress. (This latest diagnosis is typical in people with Psoriatic Arthritis.)
But I’m still working; grooming dogs and eBay reselling. It’s all ok. I can get depressed about it later. Lol
Sump pump battery backups. 🙂
The fact that I'm finally over this cold. Every now and again I cough but I'm fine now.
For some good online friends.
For some events (date nights) with my wife to look forward to.
I just love how much comfort and joy you find in your house. It is a lovely place.
As always, I am thankful for my sweet husband and son, and for our tribe of rescued dogs and cats. So very thankful that our middle dog, who has congestive heart failure, has improved after a very bad speĺl. She is the sweetest little dog. Also thankful that our most recent rescued cat, who had never lived around dogs, has gradually made friends with ours and feels safe with them.
I am thankful for many things, including having excellent tenants in our rentals, which is going to be the point of this comment. When we have good tenants who we know are taking good care of the place and love it, we tend to go lighter on the rent increases, because we like them and want them to stay. It works. My suggestion is you share these lovely photos and all of your posts extolling how happy you are in their house. It could save you big in the long run. We were even at the point once where we had a solid (unsolicited) offer on a property. We didn't accept it because we knew how much our tenant loved the house. Not all landlords are miserly meanies.
@Dicey, I think that's a great suggestion for Kristen. And I also appreciate "Not all landlords are miserly meanies." My DH wasn't (in fact, he often went above and beyond the call of duty to assist struggling tenants); I know you aren't; and I'm sure Rose and our other landlords/landladies here aren't.
This week I'm thankful:
* to be in the sweet spot of parenting for snow days. My kids are young enough to love playing in the snow for hours, but old enough to be independent about it and last more than 15 minutes.
* that our first snow day of the year was LEGIT. Deep snow that's great for building snowmen! Yay! And playing in 30 degrees is so much more enjoyable than 0 degrees.
* for my sweet friend that always gives my kids books for their birthdays and holidays. She's heading out of town for a few weeks, so she stopped by today to deliver a birthday book early. Her thoughtfulness touches my heart.
* that two of my kids were cheerful about their job list for snow day #2. The third kiddo eventually realized that there will still be plenty of time to play in the snow and came to accept that the jobs need done (and done well) and her attitude improved - bonus that she apologized for having a bad attitude initially. It means so much to me
when my kids apologize for things like that on their own.
* for community.
Sorry... that was Ruth T, not Ruth. My computer stopped auto-populating it.
On this snowy, snow day Thursday I am thankful for
1. The snow day (meaning the school buses are cancelled)! First day of exams for my grade 11 kid and she struggles with organization. Thanks to covid restrictions, she's yet to experience a normal exam period. She had a photography exam to do this morning and now it is rescheduled to next Thursday giving her more time to study for her French exam tomorrow and her Accounting exam on Monday, putting Photography on the back burner for now. She is very challenged/stressed by the back to back-ness of these exams.
2. For my neighbour's son who came and dug out our driveway and walkways this morning. He even cleaned off the car for me.
3. For my new chemo - I was so sick a few weeks back from the advancing cancer and new chemo seems to already be knocking it back a bit and I am feeling a bit better. Less shortness of breath and less ascites.
4. For my parents (in their 80s) who still love me and care for me like I'm their little girl. Mum was here yesterday doing some household chores and made me lunch. I am so lucky to still have them both and that they are both still so well and active.
5. For my 16 yo daughter's improvement in mental health/stress level/coping. It's been such a hard time for her being here with a sick Mum and her sister living 2.5 hours away, 16 yo is hard enough without adding this kind of stress. She also is challenged by ADHD for which she doesn't want to take medications. She's had some really tough times, I'm not going to lie but she has some good supports now, seems more able to talk to me about her feelings and her behaviour/attitude has improved immensely. I hope she continues to do well and not be angry at the world for the things we can't control.
I have so many things to be thankful for like our silly cats but these are the 5 at the top of the list this week. Love to all of you!
I am thankful for A. Marie, who tipped me off to Kristin and this wonderful blog and community in her posts on Katy’s Non-Consumer Advocate blog. Thanks, A. Marie!
I am thankful that my dog, who figured out how to unbuckle her seatbelt and climb from the back seat into the driver’s seat and honk the horn, is too small to reach the gas pedal and lacks the opposable thumbs required to release the hand brake. As Scooby Doo would say, “Ruh roh!”
I am thankful I had the forethought to order an extra cord of firewood back in July, because this has been a cold, cold winter and I don’t have central heat but I do have a wood-burning stove that heats my entire passive solar adobe house.
I am thankful for 5 amazing friends I met relatively late in life but have now known for almost 19 years, and particularly thankful that one of them who had hip replacement surgery in early December and then, two weeks later, a lumpectomy for recently diagnosed breast cancer, is now doing well in physical therapy and is cancer free and does not need radiation treatment or chemotherapy. And particularly thankful I was in a position to help her and to celebrate our late December birthdays (1 day apart) together.
And every day I am thankful that, unlike 6,600,000 people, I did not wake up this morning in a refugee camp, or in a basement bomb shelter in Ukraine.
@JDinNM, and apologies to Kristen for misspelling her name.
@JDinNM, your dog honking the horn is really making me laugh; I'm thankful you shared that !
: )
Thankful for
Discharge from the hospital!
Being alive and able to walk! (weak as a kitten though)
Not thrilled about
Six weeks of physical therapy! I will start crying if they make me do TRX! Not good for people without a strong core! My core is made of green jello! Not even sure it can legally be called a "core" if it's made from animal by-products and lime flavoring! I'm probably the only one who still thinks this is funny!
I have more to say re yesterday's post but I am tired of my own thoughts!
Unhappy
One of son's oldest friends died today and I feel awful and like the Grim Reaper.
@Rose, (a) I'm glad you're home; (b) I hope that your PT folks will accommodate you, even if your core is Lime Jello Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise; and (c) you are NOT the Grim Reaper. I'm willing to repeat (c) as necessary.
@A. Marie, I'll shake hands then with great cordiality, as it's sadly all I can remember right now from Jane, except my favorite, the cut direct. Actually I say someone gave me the cut direct all the time and no one except my daughter (sister, mom) have any idea what I'm on about. Should probably join JASNA but I'm already a member of three societies I don't have enough time for, sigh.
Also I would kind of like some jello but we don't have any. So sadly ungelatinous.
@Rose, Keep laughing. It strengthens the core, right?
And you aren't the Grim Reaper; these things happen sometimes. I've felt that way, too. (My grandmothers died nearly 24 hours apart PLUS one of my students died the same week. I was the only connection. ) It's NOT you. It's just hard when it happens.
@Rose, Yippee for release from the hospital!!
@Rose, this week sounds like an emotional slide: Yay! She’s doing better! Boo for potential of TRX for a green gelatinous core. Gut punch for the loss of a dear life and watching son grieve. You are not the grim reaper. I’m sorry there’s been so much hard for you.
@Kaitlin, I feel so bad for Son. He spent time showing me pictures of himself and his friend together over the years. He says he was the first one to make friends with the kid in middle school when he moved to our town. Apparently Brendan's (the friend's) father himself died last month and they haven't done anything about a memorial for him yet either. I told him how I thought about, missed, and cried about BFF every day. I am thinking about writing a book about our friendship. But it can't be too soppy. We're not the soppy types.
Another newer friend of hers I hadn't met wrote me a note which I got today. I haven't quite had the nerve to read it, because sad. But BFF and I laughed about her (lovingly) quite a lot, because she was so sweet yet so hopeless. I told BFF's brother today that when I drove to her house after a grocery trip (BFF was tired enough to prefer for me to drive), she pointed out that now that a neighbor had removed a political sign from their yard, Toni (the older friend) wouldn't be able to find her street again. We both laughed so hard tears streamed. "BFF was always exasperated but loving," I told her brother.
@Rose, love the "cut direct."
I've never seen a parking garage for a grocery in all the places I have lived. That's great!
My middle aged son has made some really bad financial decisions and ended up moving into our back bedroom, with his cat. He is way past the age of making those kind of decisions and I'm really torked at him. I was tearing my hair out the last few weeks.
What am I thankful for, you ask? Well, I'm coping a whole lot better. I'm not going to change him, but I can, and I will, set up boundaries for the future. I'm trying to remember just what I can control here and what I can't.
Also, he brought his newly acquired cat. At first it was one more burden to deal with as we already have a complicated cat household. But husband and I have fallen in love with the furball, his antics and his struggle to win over the other two furry inhabitants. We're going to miss him when they move out.
@Anne,
I have a child in his mid-30s who has been in and out of our house since graduating from college the first time. I can’t say it’s easy. He is my messy child, and so hard headed. But, I love him dearly. From his perspective. I know living with your parents at his age is hard and embarrassing.
I hoping he will figure out the correlation between doing dumb things and being broke. I do try to concentrate on the positive. He is wonderful company and a great conversationalist. He had a really good heart.
Currently, he is back at graduate school several states away. Keeping my fingers crossed!
@Anne, Can you let me know what the age of allowable stupid decisions is? I think I'm past it, and yet..... 😐 People make stupid decisions all the time--sometimes financial mistakes are less bad than others. I rented to sketchy people and lost a ton of money and had my possessions stolen. Thought I was too smart for that. Live and learn.
@Rose, yours was not a stupid decision. You clearly did not know your renter's character. That's a different matter. My son screwed up last spring and it cost us thousands to get him straightened out. He knw exactly what he had to do to not get into financial trouble again. He chose not to do it and this time he lost his truck and his home. He's into us for $15,000 and we know we'll never see any of it.
And we're seniors.
A short-lived, and fairly mild, stomach bug that only affected 3/6 of our household
That my kids were well enough to play in the snow yesterday with no school!
Even though we had to cancel some plans, it's been nice to be home a lot and have downtime to read with the kids, keep up on laundry, etc.
That our chickens have been safe in their coop after a fox got many of our flock two weeks ago (they used to be free range...), And that they're still producing enough eggs for us as well as a couple dozen a week to sell
A warm, dry, safe house with plenty to eat, loving family nearby, my 4 beautiful kids.
I am thankful...
For a warm, free, cute snowsuit
- a grandma at church gave me baby clothes, including a fuzzy pink suit with wooly bear ears. My toddler can march outside in stylish comfort.
For our heating to be back on
- It goes out. A lot. Especially when it snows.
For LEGO Harry Potter on Playstation.
- Everyone here is sick. Looking forward to playing a game after baby's bedtime has kept me going.
I am particularly grateful that the Pope of the Catholic church has said that non-charitable acts against others is the bigger sin and believers should treat all others lovingly and being GLBTQ is not a crime. I hope for other religious leaders to begin sharing this message.
Thankful that:
1. This week my youngest sister survived having a huge part of her colon removed without getting a colostomy bag.
2. My brother, who is often thoughtless and self-absorbed, responded to my sister's surgery by calling her every day, sending flowers and offering to drive down and help care for her. She was so thrilled with this unusual burst of his attention.
3. Pound hound saw a raven and jumped out of the moving vehicle to chase it. We opened the window because pound hound farted and we were about to be asphyxiated, so even though it was 11 below zero it seemed like an okay thing to do. He ended up standing in the middle of the road, terrified by traffic and barking like a maniac. We finally managed to circle around and get him but I was sure he would get run over before we reached him. Thankful he survived. The raven was probably in a nearby tree laughing at the dog.
4. I found another cache of letters my father wrote to me when I was about 12 and in boarding school. He was 17 when I was born so would have been about 29 at the time. Of course at that age I didn't realize how young he was; by then he had endured one son dying of the birth defect I have, plus another kid added to the family. As if spending part of his youth laboring in Nazi camps and then displaced person camps in Germany were not enough anguish for one lifetime. In his letters he sounds old and weary...
5. The husband, always the husband, who had to spend several days listening to my memories of my father, triggered by the letters.
Congratulations to Lisey.
Enjoy your time off.
Thankful for my new handmade coffee cup and candlestick holder. My coworker does pottery and was cleaning out old stock. I was not at work when she brought the items in; but one of my coworkers put 2 pieces aside for me. I just love her work and her colors. I want to figure out a way to use the base for an electric candle.
Children's rooms in libraries. After 2 days of rain, our grounds are muddy and there are puddles here and there. I had told my grandson we would use the library on days that we could not be outdoors. Today was that type of day.
Time to whittle down club papers. I reduced 3 expanding folders down to one and that will go to my friend, who is dealing with the history of the club. 6 years worth of minutes and newsletters and a bag of rubbish.
I saved a chicken from a hawk yesterday. My daughter let the chickens out because the dog was not home. I saw chickens running so I went out. The hawk had one trapped. I picked up the poor chicken and hugged it. It was not harmed physically.
My husband is an accountant and I am similarly turned off by his work! I cannot imagine doing that type of job, but I am so grateful there are other people who are good at it and find it interesting.
I am grateful for SNOW! We are in Wisconsin and this year and last year have been very dry and no fluffy white stuff. But the last three days it has snowed and we have been sledding and playing and taking advantage of the weather.
I am thankful for our warm cozy house on snowy cold days.
I am thankful for podcasts. It is such a neat way of absorbing information and can be done while you fold laundry or make supper and has such a variety of helpful info.
I am thankful my son is doing well in swim lessons. We had stopped doing them over a year ago because he just wouldn’t pay attention and focus and actually make an effort to do the strokes, so we were wasting time and money. We started back up and he is doing great and is motivated and will probably get to move up a level. I am breathing a huge sigh of relief because swimming is something we all have to learn to be safe!
Hopefully your CPA doesn’t bill for those calls. Mine does and adds it onto my tax bill in April.
Have you ever pickled the rinds? That’s our plan for this summer!