Thanks to Kristi of Thankful Me hosting the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop each week, we are able to have a place to share a few things for which we are grateful each week. It may be ten things, or maybe less or perhaps more. Some might not even get to the point of blogging and posting. What is important is that we at least consider these things and give thanks for them. Just reading what others share sometimes can set our thoughts in motion to the point where we think, "me too." If you do post and link up, then we too benefit from reading what you have to share.
1. Discovering interesting information in a book I received as a gift this week. A caption of a photo that was of a brother of a two of my uncles stated that he was named the "World Champion All-Around Cowboy" at the 1919 Chicago World's Fair. On another page of the book I learned that he had given Louis Lindley the rodeo clown name of Slim Pickens which he continued to use when he became a famous actor.
2. Being able to go to the Portland Temple with a friend Tuesday morning. It was nice to be able to travel to and from without any traffic problems. My friend treated me to lunch too. It had been a while since we had gone to the temple, so it was nice to experience again the peaceful feeling one can feel inside the temple.
3. Seeing some improvement in mom's appetite. Mom's appetite has been waning the last little while. I was glad to see her appetite pick up this week.
4. Blue sky and clouds appeared again after several days of gloomy gray skies with air quality identified as hazardous. It was nice to be able to open the windows in the evening for a while to get a breeze flowing through the house after three days of avoiding filling our house with contaminates.
A two-lane highway of ants carrying
larva
2. Being able to go to the Portland Temple with a friend Tuesday morning. It was nice to be able to travel to and from without any traffic problems. My friend treated me to lunch too. It had been a while since we had gone to the temple, so it was nice to experience again the peaceful feeling one can feel inside the temple.
3. Seeing some improvement in mom's appetite. Mom's appetite has been waning the last little while. I was glad to see her appetite pick up this week.
4. Blue sky and clouds appeared again after several days of gloomy gray skies with air quality identified as hazardous. It was nice to be able to open the windows in the evening for a while to get a breeze flowing through the house after three days of avoiding filling our house with contaminates.
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| Blue sky and white altocumulus or cirrocumulus clouds |
5. Getting out of the hazardous air quality to take a friend to visit mutual friends. We had been planning the trip, and didn't realize at the time we scheduled the date that it would end up being the great escape from the awful air conditions here. We had fun visiting and going out to lunch together. Our friends showed us one of their newest plants. It is such an interesting plant!
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| Maroon Starfish Carrion Plant (Ceropegia) |
6. Signs that let you know you have had visitors. We were only away for a few hours one day, but that was just long enough for a turkey, or perhaps more, to stop by. One left us a gift.
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Wild turkey feather
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7. Two reunions held on consecutive days. One was a Happy 75th Birthday Party for my high school graduation class. The other reunion was for a group of people who had attended the same church congregation as youth. There was lots of catching up to do at each one.
8. Reminders from nature. If plants with minority colors share a common root, surely we as people can exist with those who don't look exactly like us.
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| This honeysuckle plant had a few pure white blossoms among the normal two-shaded yellow blossoms. |
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| A dwarf vine maple which normally displays red leaves is sporting some green leaves. |
9. Reminders from the youth. One of our granddaughters displayed one of her pieces of art at the fair and received a "Best in Class" ribbon. I love the message her art presents.
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| Best in Class, Northwest Washington Fair |
10. For the knowledge that even the very small can make a difference in this world, shown by the efforts of these small worker ants we noticed on the lane. Ants could be seen carrying larva from one side of the lane to the other. Some ants were carrying larva to one side, while others were carrying larva to the other side, as can be seen in the video below if you watch closely.
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| The ants crossing the gravel lane left a trail. |
larva
Very cool video. (Both for it's content and, even more, for the sense of adventurous curiosity that prompted you to take the video of readers to see).
ReplyDeleteLoved Slim Pickens! Along with Pat Buttram (Mr. Haney on 'Green Acres') surely one of the most recognizable character actors of the 50's/60's (among many roles, the one in Mel Brook's remarkable 'Blazing Saddles' immediately comes to mind, along with 'Dr. Stranglove').
fun TToT post this week.
I'm glad you liked the video. I just had to know what made that dark line on the lane which didn't even seem to be disturbed by the traffic driving over it. The hardest part of doing the video was getting low enough to take it, without losing my balance. LOL
DeleteReading of the origin of Slim Picken's name was quite interesting to me.
Delightful post! All over the place but in the best of ways lol
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your mom's appetite is improving. That must surely have been worrisome.
Congratulations to your granddaughter! I hope her message is heard loud and clear by her peers (adults too). It seems even more necessary nowadays to spread the message of acceptance and inclusion.
While I admire the organization and work ethic of ants....I can do without them lol
A perfect and beautiful ending to your TToT :)
You are so right. It was way over the place, but I am glad you liked it.
DeleteI never know exactly what each day will bring as far as mom's health is concerned, so I try not to worry, because when it comes right down to it, there will come a day. . . I just want her to be as comfortable as possible.
I agree with your feeling about ants. As long as they are outside and don't disturb me and my life, I am fine with them.
I was glad I'd taken that photo so I could use it to make the meme.
Oh, the photos add so much this week! The ant parade is fantastic...of course, I have The Ants Go Marching playing in my head now! A 75th bday party for the class, eh? I think that is a spectacular idea. At age 57 we have already lost many from our class...unfortunately the losses began before graduation even. So, the idea of classmates reaching the milestone of 75 seems to me a wonderful reason to celebrate.
ReplyDeleteI thought about that song too, but I figured with just reading about the ants marching would have everyone humming or singing the song without me posting it. LOL
DeleteOur class lost some of the students before graduation too. What I enjoy about reunions is seeing how much more alike we all seem now, and learning of the paths each has taken to get to this point in their lives.
The Slim Pickens story is so interesting! I'm glad Grandma is eating better and that you had so many fun outings this week. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kristi. The staff commented today that she has continued to eat better and she ate most of the meal I fed her tonight.
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