Saturday, June 29, 2019

Ten Things of Thankful

It is thankful time! In case you haven't heard, there is a blog hop hosted by Kristi of Thankful Me who opens the link to the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop each Friday. It stays open until Tuesday. Click here to read more about how simple she makes it for people to join the other bloggers in this thankful sphere. Even if you have had a week that was filled with some unpleasant events, with a little bit of meditating, pondering or whatever you call it, you may be able to see the bright side. It is worth giving it a try. It beats the alternative. 





1. As you may remember from reading some of my TToT posts this year, we made some changes to our home. We had a new roof put on first and later new siding and finally had the house painted. This week the house survived a sudden wind storm that hit amidst lightning and thunder and heavy rain. A wind burst struck our big maple tree which is kitty-corner across the driveway from our house. Two very large branches high up in the tree broke off and and took a nosedive to the ground on the side of the tree away from our house.

Wind damaged maple tree that has two
broken branches, one of which is
appears to be upside down and the
 other one is on the ground with
 only part of it visible at the bottom
 left corner of the photo

2. The vehicles survived the storm. Had the branches from the tree fallen on the opposite side of the tree, there would have been a good chance they would  have hit at least one of our vehicles.

3. If the branches had spiraled as they fell, they possibly would have landed on the driveway causing us to do a a bit of cross-country driving around the other side of our house. In other words, we would be driving over an uneven surface of vegetation and sod which received a lot of heavy rain during and after the storm. Think muddy and slippery.

4. Facebook groups where one can pose a question or a concern can often be quite helpful. In giving consideration to the amount of “stuff” we have that now qualifies as junk, I wanted to know if there was anyone who could recommended a junk dealer in our area. Thanks to the quick responses, I was able to very quickly contact someone and arrange for a pickup time this coming week.

5. When the fluorescent bulb in a high ceiling fixture burned out, a friend and her husband came to put the bulb in for us. High ladders are something that neither one of us feel safe in using anymore. Unfortunately the new bulb didn’t light up, but we now know that what we need is a new fixture.

6. My husband and I went to see the new movie, Yesterday, this week and then went out to eat afterward. Fun date.

7. It was nice to be able to return home after the date. Seriously, it really was. When we started the car and began driving home, we realized that although the car was running, there were no lights on the dashboard. We did have headlights and turn signals working, but no way to see how fast we were driving.  We pulled into a parking lot and tried to turn off the car. The only way we were able to turn off the car was to do a hard press (or press and hold) on the on/off button. We tried several times to turn on the car, but got the same results of no lights on the dashboard. Since it wasn’t dark yet, we decided to drive home. (Any place that we could have taken the car to be serviced was closed by then.) We made it home  and got the car turned off. This morning when I went out turn on the car, it was functioning perfectly normally. I was able to schedule an appointment for this coming Monday to have it checked out.

8. I am thankful for strength beyond my own. Sometimes when it becomes apparent that I lack the ability to handle a task, I will call upon my husband to come to my aid and he will know the right tool, or the right way to do something that needs to be done. There are other times when a certain job is a little easier for me to do for one reason or another, but then it proves problematic. When I am already in the middle of doing a task and it requires that it be finished, but I am unable to go forward with it because of my lack of physical strength, then praying is what I do, and very specific praying in which I explain what it is I am trying to do and why I think it needs to be done and giving a thankful prayer after my prayer has been answered. There are other instances when I pray for inspiration or ideas as to how to solve a problem and an idea will come enabling me to complete a task by using some kind of substance that normally would not be used that way. 

9. It was fun discovering some photos this week that were taken years ago. . .and they were here all along, and most likely it was me who stored them along with some old slides. I wished I had remembered they were there when I was organizing all the photos recently, but then again, I would have missed the excitement and the joy of rediscovering these memories.

This photo of our little puppy
makes me laugh. My dark pants
blend in with the gravel and makes
me look only half there, suspended
midair above the puppy.

10. I am thankful that our bodies were created in a way that enables us to be able to smile and to see the smiles of others. What a dismal world this would be without smiles.


10 comments:

  1. Lotsa goodies on your thankfuls!! Isn't it wonderful that we don't live in a bubble!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Lisa.
      Living in a bubble would be a terrible way to have to live.

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  2. I'm glad that the falling branches didn't do any damage.

    If you haven't already replaced the fixture, you might try another light bulb, just in case the new one was broken. Also, sometimes those fixtures are particular, and if you wiggle the bulb a bit it will light up. (Can you tell I've had some experience with those kind of fixtures? :-) )

    We also saw Yesterday, and loved it!

    Hope your car is OK.

    Is that Trooper? He was so tiny then! That photo is hilarious!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I will have to try putting the new bulb in one of our other fixtures, one that doesn't require standing on a ladder, and see what happens.

      Yes, that is Trooper. I can tell that he was squirming, and wanting to go explore!

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  3. Interesting commonalities this weekend! The internet and its useful side and weather, though ours has been fairly seasonal so far this year... at least in the last 2 weeks.
    We too have been fortunate with falling trees not hitting any less solid than the earth.
    Love the floating over the dog photo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is so funny how once you see something a certain way, it is almost impossible to see it differently. This photo is like that for me.

      I'm glad that you escaped any damage from falling trees.

      Delete
  4. You were so lucky in that storm! It would have been awful if your new siding or your new roof got hit, not that it would have been any better if it had gotten a car. Hope your car's electrical system is okay and it was just a snafu. How was "Yesterday"? My husband and I are wanting to see it soon!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A city north of us had a very small tornado hit part of the city yesterday. I don't think we had a tornado, but definitely a burst of strong wind that seemed to target our tree. Yes, the outcome was so much better than it might have been.
      It seems the problem with the car is that the combination meter needs to be replaced, so one is being ordered.
      The movie was great! I loved it. The only complaint we had, and it is one we often have when going out to see movies in a certain chain of theaters, is that they crank up the sound so loud at times that it truly hurts our ears. (So anytime the actor was singing at a concert, I had to cover my hears to bring the sound down to a reasonable level.) When the actors are just talking in the film, the noise level is just fine.

      Delete
  5. I love your TToT posts, Pat! I ended reading this one smiling at the photo of you "floating" above the puppy, and then you concluded with a thankful for smiles! Me too, what a sad world this would be if we couldn't share that shorthand communication with those we encounter and those we love. A smile makes everything better, and it feels so good when they are returned to us!

    I am so thankful right along with you that the storm winds didn't deposit those large branches on your house, or your vehicles, or your driveway! While it's sad to see a tree damaged, it could have been so much worse. Even in the scary times there are blessings to be found!

    My favorite of all these thankfuls, along with the movie date with your husband (we love doing those here), are your insights for praying specifically for your needs and your concerns, and having those prayers clearly answered. This is a statement of truth and faith, and of God's faithfulness to us. Even when I have misplaced something, if I pray about it I will most often be led to find it in one way or another.

    Blessings to you this week, and thank you for being such a positive influence in my life! XO

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I so enjoy your visits and comments on my blog.
      In many ways blogging friends remind me of pen pal friends from long ago, except we don't have to wait so long for the replay letters to arrive, especially those international letters. :-)

      Delete