Saturday, March 23, 2019

Ten Things of Thankful

It is that time again when some thankful people begin showing up at the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop hosted by Kristi of Thankful Me. Why do they go there week after week you might wonder. Only the participants can tell you and they do. Click here to discover what made them do it this week. I must warn you that sharing your gratitudes is addictive and catching, but in a very good way. Maybe we will see your TToT blog post there sometime soon. Sure hope so.





1. A tour of an alpaca farm and gift shop
At Christmas we received a gift coupon to tour an alpaca farm. The giver, (the host of the TToT blog hop), knew of my fascination for these animals, so it was sure to be a hit. This a breeding farm with the goal being high quality fiber. They raise huacaya alpacas. Their fleece varies in color just like the hair on humans varies in color. Another interesting thing about alpaca fiber is that it is hypoallergenic because there is no lanolin in the fleece, unlike the wool of sheep. I was surprised at all the various facial shapes and personalities of these animals, AND that the babies (cria) are born during the daytime most commonly between 10 am and 2 pm. Now that is some kind of planning!


A side profile of two white huacaya alpacas
at the Marquam Hill Ranch 

2. Things to consider
Since I have not ever taken a yoga class, although I have done some yoga by myself at home, taking an alpaca yoga class would be out of my comfort zone. I think it wouldn't be too much different than doing yoga when our yellow lab was trying to figure out what I was doing down on the floor. LOL





3. Mountains
There is nothing as striking as a snow covered mountain peak on a spring day.

Green spring pasture with snow covered
Mt. Hood off in the distance

4. Daffodils in bloom on our hill
Although daffodils have been in bloom for a week or more at slightly lower elevations in our area, the buds on ours had not opened up yet, so I am glad that the several days of sunshine this week enticed them to show their faces.

A cluster of daffodils blooming 

5. Beautiful sunset that miraculously showed up at the end of what had been an overcast day



Beautiful pink and orange colors from the
sunset cast upon blue and grey clouds above
fir trees on a hill 


6. Early evening walks

7. A change in diet
For over five months I have been on a very strict diet per doctor's instructions, which has limited my consumption of a lot of different foods. I have diligently followed the instructions. When my husband recently received a coupon for a free frozen pie redeemable at a wonderful pie shop in our area, I took advantage of it. Not only that, I baked the apple pie and bought some vanilla ice cream. We both ate a piece and then we gave the rest of the pie and ice cream away to someone who can either eat it or serve it to guests . . . without regrets. It tasted delicious and I enjoyed every bite, but I know avoiding sweets is a good thing for us to do.

8. Newspapers articles that make me laugh
My grandfather was the barber that was mentioned although not by name. It was a small town. Everyone knew everything about anyone in the town, or if they didn't, the newspaper passed on the news and the gossip, as was the custom with a lot of newspapers at the time. In 1900 he and my grandmother were not married yet.

The Chanute Times, 22 Jun 1900, Fri,  8


It never even occurred to me what barbers did for fun over a hundred years ago. My grandparents were in their sixties when I was born. I never saw either of them drink alcohol.

Parsons Daily Eclipse, 17 Nov 1903, Tue,  4

9. Having something fun on the calendar for next week

10. Reading my husband's memories of his life and our life together brings a greater understanding of the person he was, is, and is becoming. (Thanks to StoryWorth assignments which we each write every week.) 






10 comments:

  1. Wow, visiting an alpaca farm sounds so cool! I love these animals. Also the daffodils are such a nice reminder of spring, aren’t they?

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    1. It was a wonderful place to visit and we learned so much!

      I especially love seeing the daffodils in bloom, because the deer do not eat them, or have not touched them all the years we have lived here. I gave up planting tulips and a lot of other plants I love, because they love them too.

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  2. I'm so glad you had fun at the farm! I have heard of goat yoga, but not alpaca yoga. From my understanding, it is very much like trying to sit on the floor with a yellow lab!

    Those newspaper articles are hilarious! (Have you been saving them to Ancestry?)

    I have enjoyed reading the StoryWorth assignments you and Dad have written.

    For some reason, I'm thinking pie ala mode sounds really yummy right now. :-)

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    1. Sorry if I tempted you with the pie ala mode. :-)

      I have clipped the articles, and will be saving a lot of them to Ancestry. I don't know if I will save all of them, because there are so many that just say that one or the other has gone to another town to visit someone. If the person being visited is named I will probably save it, because there is a good chance they are a relative. I watched a youtube video that show me how to save them on ancestry. After watching it I now know why how I'd tried it before wasn't working for me.

      I'm glad you are enjoying the StoryWorth assignments.. BTW if you haven't checked out my last SSS, it may sound slightly familiar.

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  3. What a couple of great artifacts from the past! (The two newspaper articles... its funny about how people spoke (or, as the Doctrine would have it, 'relate themselves to the world around them', but no matter how skillful a writer, there is no mistaking a voice from the distant past.)

    Also thanks for the new word, 'cria'
    very cool

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the newspaper articles. I was lucky to find an abundance of articles from that area.

      Cria is a great word. I once knew some people whose surname was pronounced the same way, only spelled differently.

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  4. Wonderful list :) I always love your photos. The Mt. Hood pic is breathtaking!
    I've not seen daffodils here yet. They are my favorite and I'm sad when their short season ends :D
    Totally enjoyed #8.

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    1. Thanks. Glad you enjoyed the photos.
      Mt. Hood is just one of several snow covered peaks we are able to see on a beautiful clear day, but Mt. Hood is closer.
      #8 just made me laugh. Somehow when you are young, it is hard to imagine your grandparents being young and in love.

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  5. Oh my those barber clippings were sweeeet! Love that kind of stuff. Alpacas are adorable! I had the opportunity to spin wool and I think we did something with alpaca, but that waaaaay back in 1988, so I'm a little uncertain.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the clippings. I know I did!
      I have never spun wool, but have friends who have done that and even a very younger friend who is doing it now.
      I can understand being a little uncertain in remembering something back in 1988. :-)

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