Ten Things of Thankful

Whether life is fairly similar to what it has been the past few months, or if things have opened up a bit for you, this Memorial Day weekend is no doubt not quite like others you have spent. I did notice that one thing was similar. Great care had been taken to place a flag by the graves of those who had died or served in a war. They are not forgotten.

This is my post for the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop hosted by Kristi of Thankful Me. 

1. Binoculars that enabled me to see the beautiful colors of a lazuli bunting on our property three different days this week

Lazuli bunting sightings on our property are a rare occurrence. 

2. The persistent tapping on our windows by the young bluebirds is subsiding. 
Maybe they are growing up and growing out of this annoying behavior. Click the link to see the photo of one of the bluebirds sitting in front of our window that I shared on my last Ten Things of Thankful post.

3. Being able to see bluebird courtship behavior

Both were sitting a short distance away from one another on a wire fence.  All of a sudden the male took about three little swoops back and forth about a foot in the air above the female and then returned to sitting on the fence. Then they both flew to the feeder. I couldn’t see the behavior at the feeder very well from my point of view inside our house so I don't know if he was feeding her. After they finished at the feeder they both flew over to the fence near one of the uninhabited bird houses. After a while I saw the female enter the birdhouse. The next day I observed the male gathering grass clippings and taking them over to the birdhouse. I saw him do this a number of different times. They have now taken up residence and I frequently see one or the other near the box. 

4. Our county made it to Phase 1 in regards to lifting COVID-19 restrictions.

5. Being within sight of the stove and hearing an occasional sound coming from the burner on our countertop electric range

Upon investigating I found that the burner was sparking! After turning off the burner and letting it cool, I started doing some online searching to learn what was the cause.  Considering the alternatives, the end result was me placing an online order for a new coil element cartridge. Unfortunately the burner that was the problem was a big pot canning element which is great to have when one does canning or uses a large wide skillet or pot. Apparently these have been discontinued, at least for our range model, so I am not going to be able to replace the 8" burner on the new coil element cartridge with a big pot canning element unless we decide to get a new stove. That will not be a consideration anytime soon.

6. Dinner from our favorite Italian restaurant

We called in our order and paid for it before we left home. We called the restaurant again when we arrived and they brought it out to the car. I wore my mask. Easy peasy. There have been many who have been supporting restaurants who offered this type of service during this stay-at-home period, but the two of us really did limit our venturing out to the minimum. Vic and I each ordered calzone which was a first for each of us. I know some of you may be shaking your heads and saying where have they been all these years. HaHa.

7. Being able to find a local pharmacy that had another TENS unit like the one I have

This may seem totally unnecessary, but in my world it makes a lot of sense, but I will spare you the details. I will share a humorous experience I had in connection with trying to find one of these units. Upon checking the internet I saw that one of the local stores had some in stock. When I went to the store, they had similar products to the one I wanted, and they were shelved to two locations within the store. I asked one of the clerks (through my face mask) if by chance there was a third location where they shelved any others. She misunderstood me and thought I was asking for a product that "sounds like" a product that is very familiar to many senior citizens. We had a good laugh, when she realized what I really wanted.

8. While I am at it I am very thankful that after a week of literally wearing the TENS patch most of my daylight hours for an entire week, I enjoyed a seven day hiatus from pain sans TENS. (NOTE: Using a TENS unit for as many hours as I did is not recommended procedure for everyone, especially if there are certain health concerns. Do your homework and check with your doctor before doing what I did.)

9. Being able to participate in a Zoom meeting organized for members of the church I attend

The topic discussed was meditation and mindfulness, the types and benefits. Apparently with all the stress some are experiencing as an outcome of the pandemic, more people are resorting to meditation and mindfulness for relief.

10. African violets in bloom
It was my mother-in-law who introduced me to African violets when I was a newlywed. They always make me think of her and how much joy she felt when she saw them in bloom.

Purple African violet

White African violet with ruffled edges and tinge of pink

Fuchsia African violet

Lavender blue African violet

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter