Friday, July 7, 2017

Ten Things of Thankful

It is that time again when I begin thinking about what I want to share for my Ten Things of Thankful post which I link to Josie Two Shoes' site. She manages the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop and welcomes bloggers to link their posts. It really is interesting to read the variety of things for which people are thankful. Be sure to click the link and read others' posts. 

Since bloggers come with their own beliefs, experiences, knowledge, and ways of expressing themselves, reading their posts can be educational, motivating, and faith promoting at times. On the other hand, you might find yourself laughing out loud, and possibly thinking, "I've done that!" Some bloggers have such a gift for writing, you might feel if you keep reading what they share, maybe you will soak up some of that gift for expressing oneself.





It is time for me to begin my list.

1. The July 4 breakfast at the church - I tried a new (to me) breakfast casserole to take to the event. It is called Overnight French Toast Casserole and is prepared and refrigerated the evening before and baked in the morning. Not having to do very much preparation in the morning was a real plus in my book. 

2. Blueberries are beginning to ripen. The berries can look like they are not quite ripe in the morning, but with the warmer temperatures, are ripe by evening. If I pick some blueberries that are not dark blue and leave them in a bowl on the counter, they ripen by evening or by the next morning. This method of picking also allows us to eat more of the berries than the birds.


In the photo I am holding with my left hand a medium green plastic cereal bowl half full of blueberries. Some of the berries are close to being the dark blue color of ripe berries, while others are partly a reddish-purple color indicating they are not quite ripe.

3. Shade - Even the resident lizard decided to come up on the ramp to find some shade on one of those 100 degrees plus days. He didn't even care when I got a foot away to snap a photo.


This fence lizard was in a shady spot between the railing on  our ramp and the actual ramp. (Because I needed to use the flash to get a better photo of him, it isn't apparent that he is in the shade.) I love how his brown skin resembles rows of rickrack like the zigzag trimming that used to be sewn on little girls dresses or on kitchen curtains.

4. Crunchy Detox Salad - I typically do not do a lot of baking of breads and sweets, but I do enjoy the taste, which is all the more reason not to indulge. After filling up on pastries, and breakfast casseroles on July 4, my body let me know I shouldn't have done that. After the breakfast, I steered clear of most food until that evening and then just ate a very light meal. A couple of days later I found a recipe for Crunchy Detox Salad, and since I had all the ingredients I needed, I made a big bowl of it. There was enough left over to last a few days. I didn't follow the recipe exactly as far as how much of each vegetable I used. We have a favorite salad dressing that has ginger and sesame seeds in it, so I substituted that for the dressing called for in the recipe. We both like this salad, and I know that I will be making this again.

5. The fawn visited and let me take its photo! 

The spotted fawn came to visit, posed perfectly and looked right at me.

6. The good news is that there will be no charge to fix my Mom's broken hearing aid. The company decided to honor the warranty even though technically it had just expired by a week.

7 - 8 Just a black eye, bruises, scrapes and tenderness, but no broken bones this time and there was no charge to fix my glasses - One day this week I was doing some watering outside and managed to trip as I was trying to step around a boulder and between some shrubs. Although I did a face plant, at least I didn't face plant on the boulder. This was my first time to get a black eye.

The black eye is from the impact of falling while wearing my glasses. The bottom spring on my glasses broke and caused the scrapes on my face as the glasses bounced off. Fortunately the lens wasn't broken, but does have a few scratches not in my field of vision.
9. Togetherness plan - My husband has some concerns about my mobility, so he strongly suggested that we be together when I'm doing anything outside that is going to require me to be walking on uneven ground, which is just about everywhere on our property. Since I haven't been spending more than 30 minutes to an hour weeding per day, he thought that perhaps I could pick a project one day and we would work together, and the next day, he would pick a project and we would work together. After giving it some thought, I conceded that this plan is probably for the best. I'm also going to make an effort to strengthen my legs and balancing capabilities. 

10. Educational music for kids and for adults who want to feel like a kid once in a while - Maybe I should learn the words and sing as I pick. HaHa








Have a wonderful week!

24 comments:

  1. I'm so sorry to hear about your fall, I hope you're okay. Maybe you could tell people you're an amateur boxer, that would get them thinking! What a beautiful picture of the fawn too, very cute :)

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    1. If I told someone I was an amateur boxer, I'm sure they wouldn't believe me, or else they would humor me and start asking people if they had noticed anything strange about me lately.
      I'm glad you enjoyed the photo of the fawn.

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  2. Ouch! Face plant. Never good. Take care.

    Thanks for the descriptions of the berries and the animals you caught on camera. Love the visual descriptors of the colour of the lizard and deer too.

    Summer means berries and other fresh things. I had peas and now am eagerly awaiting September and the apples I love available at our local market, in big bags. So crunchy.

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    1. Thanks, Kerry, I'm trying to "take care," but I must be a slow learner.
      I'm glad the visual descriptors were helpful.
      We enjoyed some snow peas or snap peas that one of our neighbors shared with us. They tasted so good!
      Fresh crunchy apples are delicious. Gala apples are one of my favorites.

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  3. I am sorry that you fell-ouch, that black eye looks painful. Wonderful list of thankfuls. I am happy to see you here, I used to read your blog when Feeling Beachie did the fill-ins then I couldn't find you. I run some fill-ins now with Mcguffy's Reader, please join us on Fridays, I list them on Thursdays.

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    1. Thankfully, my eye doesn't hurt, but if I press on the bone high on my cheek it is a little painful, but only if I press it.
      I've missed the fill-ins. I'll look for this on your site.

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  4. Oh, your poor face!! That had to hurt a lot, not to mention that it happens so quickly. I join you in being thankful that you weren't hurt worse, and that that your glasses were repaired at no charge. My balance is very iffy too, so I how scary it is, especially when you've fallen before. I like your husband's plan, it is so kind of him to offer to work with you rather than trying to prevent you from being outside doing what you love to do. You and I would make quite a pair if we went walking together, we would probably trip over each other! :-)

    On much brighter notes, the blueberries looked wonderful and had my mouth watering! I saw that French Toast casserole recipe on Facebook. Was it good? Would you make t again? I love brunch casseroles that can be prepared ahead of time, so no morning rush!

    Shade is so precious on these hot summer days! Sunset is my favorite time because it finally gets comfortable to be outside. I love this lizard that has come to enjoy your shade, and isn't about to give up his spot despite the camera! Rickrack sure brought back memories of home sewing projects and the cover-up aprons I used to make for my Mom, and yes, the lizard's skin really does look like that! :-)

    The crunchy detox salad looks and sounds delicious. I forwarded the recipe link to my daughter because she is always craving something crunchy for her healthy diet that she can take to work. I think I would love it, Papa Bear might be a harder sell. :-)

    Oh, that sweet little fawn! And it just stood right there as if to say, "Ok, you can take my picture!" I know that made you smile, it did me too. Nature gives us such precious moments of beauty like this!

    Hallelujah on the hearing aid company honoring the warranty that had just expired. That kind of customer service is so rare nowadays, and repairs are expensive! Were you able to renew the insurance? Mine is renewable and am so glad, I live in fear of something happening to them, especially when I was working and couldn't do the job without them. Your mom doesn't need more confusion in her world, so I am grateful it got fixed.

    Prayers for rapid healing of the bumps and bruises, and a gentler week ahead! XOXO



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    1. The Overnight French Toast Casserole was good. Since the store I was in only had round sourdough bread rather than an rectangle loaf of sourdough, I may have used more bread than what I should have. Next time I will use less bread and not fill my 9" x 11" pan so full. It would have been a little more moist had I done that. Of course using more syrup when serving would probably have helped. I try to avoid too much sugar in my diet.
      I would make this again, but only when there would be a crowd of people to help eat it.
      I hope your daughter enjoys the salad as much as we do. Fortunately, my husband does like salad, but probably because he knows it is better for us to have more salads than carbs and a lot of meat now.
      The photo of the fawn would have been a lot better if I'd not had to take it through a dirty window. That is another chore to add to my list. Maybe I need to set up the photo blind and wait for the deer to come, but they don't always show up every evening.
      Mom doesn't have insurance for her hearing aids. The only reason she had a warranty at this point was because she'd had some repair work done on the same hearing aid last year.
      I'm not sure if she ever had insurance for her hearing aids. I didn't come across any paperwork indicating such.
      Bruises seem to take a while to go away. I don't know what to expect for healing time of a black eye.

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  5. ""...if you keep reading what they share, maybe you will soak up some of that gift for expressing oneself." I totally concur and I would say, with the skill level exhibited by most participants, I feel encouraged each week.

    Nicely captioned photos!

    "...his brown skin resembles rows of rickrack like the zigzag trimming that used to be sewn on little girls dresses or on kitchen curtains." I trust that 'rickrack' is not an archaic term for lizard skins.

    Item 7-8 ayiiee... however, hailing from Y Chromia, I will say, "not bad, well-shaped shiner, good pattern on the scrapes" You should not do this thing, falling will throw a day's schedule way the heck off.

    That said, I can personally recommend t'ai chi as an exercise (many YMCA and other non-franchised gyms offer classes). It does increase strength and the focus on (one's) position, it's not overly extreme like yoga or judo and can be interesting (as much as exercise can be).

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    1. LOL "I trust that 'rickrack' is not an archaic term for lizard skins."
      Oh yeah, that day's schedule was changed in an instant. What had been the item on the agenda got pushed to the next day. Way back when, Pete, the Pup, on Little Rascals had an eye that kind of resembled my shiner. I do have a great t'ai chi video that I like. It is Tai Chi, The 24 Forms, by Dr. Paul Lam. It has been some time since I have looked at it. I bought it to see if it was something I thought I might like to do in a class setting.

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  6. Ouch, indeed! My children used to give me a black eye once in a while, a baby with a very hard head suddenly pitching that head back to throw a fit and clopping the side of your eye gives you a nice shiner. It's not fun, but i always used to tell people i was going to make a sign but couldn't decide whether to say "No, my husband doesn't hit me" or "You should see the other truck!"

    Those blueberries look so good, and i'm going to check out the recipe for the salad.

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    1. I know all about how it feels to have a young child pitch his head back. In my case, a grandchild was being a little rambunctious and hit my nose with the back of his head. He didn't break my nose, but it certainly did hurt.
      Yes, I have prefaced some conversations with "Just so you know, my husband didn't hit me." But now I forget that I'm wearing a black eye, and probably just leave them being curious about my eye, but too polite to ask.

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  7. Oh wow that fall musta been a doozy. Thats quite a shiner. Just an FYI, I have a balance issue and the two things that have helped the most were boxing and tai chi dvds...on another note, how big is that lizard?! Hes so cool.

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    1. Oops unknown... its me! Ivy/zoe

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    2. My father used to watch a lot of boxing on TV and although I didn't have any interest in it, I couldn't help but see some of those bouncing steps on the screen. I can see how becoming quick on one's feet would help maintain one's balance. I do have a great Tai Chi DVD, so I think it is time to take a look again, and then find a beginning Tai Chi class I can take.
      The lizard is just under six inches long.

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  8. Oh no for the black eye. It could have been worse.
    Gardening (and watering) can be dangerous. Yesterday, as I did yard work, I tripped on branches more than a couple of times. I wanted to do more when it was getting dark (but cooler) but I had to stop.
    http://www.carinsgratitude.com/2017/07/outdoors.html

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    1. Yesterday my husband and I worked together in the area where I'd fallen. We picked up sticks and removed other stuff that could cause me to trip or fall.
      I hope you will be careful too as you try to do your gardening and watering. I don't want the nurse to become the patient.

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  9. I'm so sorry about your fall and injuries. I hope you heal very soon. My husband and I have balance issues and try to take care of each other, too. You and I are blessed to have husbands that will go out with us to help do these things and take care of us. :)

    What a sweet fawn to pose for you and I enjoyed the lizard, too. Yours looks quite a bit bigger than the ones that I see in our yard (and house!).

    Have a blessed night. :)

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    1. Thank you for your well wishes.
      The photo of the lizard was taken at close range and was about six inches long.
      We are enjoying watching the little fawns grow.

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  10. Your new plan of action sounds like a good one---enough outdoor activity to grow stronger without tiring yourself to the point where your balance and strength could be compromised. That black eye looks as though you fell very hard. (and yet somehow you managed to take such a lovely photo even with the bruising!) Here's to quick healing and hoping you are stronger every day!

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    1. Thanks, May. My black eye is looking better every day.
      My husband and I are sticking to our plan.

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  11. Oh, Pat, ouch! Glad it's not too bad and you're OK. Black eyes can be painful, but are so often worse to look at than they actually feel. I've had a few - karate training. After the third or so, I learned to keep my hands up to guard my face better! :D Hope you heel well and fast.

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    1. The salad looks awesome.

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    2. The fall happened so fast. I am healing fast, and fortunately, my eye doesn't hurt. The one sore spot is almost back to normal. :-)

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