Ten Things of Thankful

Are you ready? December is here and with all the things people want to do and think they have to do in December, it can be a stressful time for some, but one of the ways to manage that stress, is to sit down and take some deep breaths. Often that is where I begin, when my list for Ten Things of Thankful starts to  formulate. Other times if I fear I might forget something that meant a lot to me during the week, I'll just create a running list which I can refer back to when it comes time to post. Dyanne, our host of this blog hop and one who has her own blog, Backsies Is What There Is Not, is one busy gal who also realizes the value of being grateful. Thank you Dyanne and all the others who link up and for those who comment on the posts.

Beautiful  skimmia japanica buds forming
in December in spite of the extremely hot
dry summer we had this year

1. Good numbers on my lab tests

It is always good to know what things are within the healthy ranges.

2. A beautiful day to be outside and my body was even up to the work I wanted to accomplish that day

3. Being able to watch a great movie this week called Winter Thaw that was based on the short story, Martin, the Cobbler, by Tolstoy

The acting was superb and the story touching and apropos for the season, but there was also so much to consider about relationships among family members. I especially enjoyed all the details in the settings and in the costumes that reflected the time period of the story.

4. My husband’s help when it came time to hang the wreath on the door

The hook is on the inside of the door, so hanging the finished wreath required me being on the inside standing on a step stool and him holding the wreath on the outside of the door. I made it easy on myself this year; instead of gathering greenery from trees and foliage on our property, I bought the wreath this year, and then just added a few ornaments.

Wreath on outside of door

 Wreath ribbon attached 
to the back side of the
wreath and brought over the 
top of the door an attached
inside

5. Cookbooks geared to specific diets

Some diets can be challenging to figure out, so finding out that someone wrote a book that is going to make it easier for us to follow the doctor’s orders is good news.

6. Receiving an email this week inviting me to register for Roots Tech

Before the onset of COVID-19 I had attended Roots Tech in person a few times. Many people want to know more about their ancestors but need more information about how to go about learning those details. Roots Tech is for not only beginners, but also for the very experienced  researchers, plus there are classes and activities for all ages. This year Roots Tech will be another free virtual conference and will be available for people throughout the world.

7. Being able to roll up the window on the driver’s side of the car after picking up some prescriptions from the drive-up window

Imagine my surprise  upon lifting my finger off the button that closed the window that the window immediately rolled back down. I tried several times to roll the window up and was met by the same results. The good news was that it wasn’t raining, but since I wanted to get some groceries at the store on the way home, I really didn’t want to leave our car in the parking lot with the window rolled down. I decided one more time to roll up the window and made the decision to not take my finger off the button for several seconds to see if perhaps the window would stay up when I took my finger off the button. That technique worked!  Later I went online to see if I could learn more about my crazy window experience and was surprised to learn that the technique I tried was actually used successfully by someone else in the forum who had the same problem. 

8. A good night’s rest

9. For all the many people who came to the aid of those evacuated again from their homes due to another round of  flooding caused by the atmospheric rivers that took place in northern Washington and in British Columbia this past week

I am also thankful for the prayers offered up by family and friends who were concerned about their well being during this time.

10. Vic and our family and friends

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Ten Things of Thankful

How quickly the months and years fly but it is never to late to acknowledge the good things, whether minute or mammoth, so here is my list of Ten Things of Thankful. Thank you again, Dyanne of Backsies Is What There Is Not for hosting this blog hop and for all who join in whether as readers or as those who share their own thoughts as a post or in comments to those who have linked up to the blog hop. 

Morning sunrise

1. Going for my Wellness Exam

I thought I was going in for my yearly physical, but learned that Medicare covers a yearly Wellness Exam, which is quite different. It was not exactly what I was expecting, but, yeah, I'm normal.

2. A helpful and knowledgeable worker at a hardware store

Being able to hand some parts to a worker and just say I need some more of these, without having to indicate sizes was very beneficial. (I had figured out the size, with the help of my

husband‘s knowledge, but when I told the worker the size, that wasn’t the number the store had in their system, so I was glad I had the parts available to hand him.)

3. A Thanksgiving meal that didn’t require hours to prepare and met dietary restrictions for the most part

Baked salmon for the main dish

4. A Zoom gathering with our family on Thanksgiving

5. Options when trying to avoid crowded shopping conditions

The bigger the store, the bigger the parking lot, and on the day before Thanksgiving, that can be problematic for the person just needing to get just a few forgotten items. A local health food store with a much smaller parking lot was a better match for what I was trying to avoid and to get.

6. Missing hitting the five old tires someone lost off their vehicle, or purposely dumped on the hilly less traveled country road where I was driving

In my younger years I would have pulled into a nearby driveway and tried to move the tires off the road, but I knew that wasn’t a feasible thing for me to do, so I had no option other than to weave through them all the while hoping someone wasn’t coming the opposite direction over the hill since I had to go into the oncoming lane to get around the tires.

7. The two men who had just finished moving the tires off the road at the point I was returning home

I was concerned about that return route for fear of meeting another driver trying to avoid hitting the tires. I was glad that I could thank them for moving the tires.

8. For prayers across the miles when there is no way to give the kind of physical help that we once could give

9. A little touch of Christmas in the home

We are just keeping it simple with tiny trees, nativities, and battery operated candles for this week, and a wreath on the door in a few days.

Nativities and a small Christmas tree

Small Christmas tree

10. Music and all those who have composed and written pieces that have touched our hearts over so many years

Two years ago after my mother passed away, our family gathered to prepare for her funeral a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving. When Thanksgiving Day came, our family was spending time with in-laws, but we were not forgotten. The idea was presented to create a shared Spotify Thanksgiving Playlist of songs that have bound us together throughout the years. We played it again this year. It is never to late to create new traditions!

As always, I am thankful for Vic, our family and our friends. That also includes the friends I have made through blog hops!

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Ten Things of Thankful

Remember those times when you were young sitting in a classroom and the teacher was waiting for the kids to quiet down and get ready for sharing time? What, you don't remember those times? Well you have some company. Perhaps only some teachers considered making sharing time part of their lesson plans, or maybe I was just too shy to want to stand in front of my classmates and say anything. I am guessing it was the latter, and was just thankful the teacher didn't make me participate that way.

Well, no one forces us to write a post each week and link our post to the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop hosted by Dyanne of Backsies Is What There Is Not, and she will never scold you for not showing up, or for linking up a day of two later than the day the link opens. She and the rest of us will miss reading your post, hope that you are okay, and look forward to reading your post the next time you show up, and that's the truth!

1. Good news on another a lab report here, so he and I can put aside those concerns

2. Children who stay connected and supportive of their siblings and their families when some are dealing with flu, others with extreme atmospheric weather conditions, and others with reactions to booster shots

3. Those with the skills and who have the desire to aid in times of emergency with the cleanup and helping find resources for people who have homes destroyed, etc.

4. Clarification of the identity of my cactus plant

I thought I had Christmas cacti which just seemed to enjoy blooming several times a year, usually around the holidays, i.e. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and sometimes Easter. Now I know for sure that my plants are all Thanksgiving cacti, although I still don't know why they usually all bloom at list a couple of different times, and something three times a year. The key to correctly identifying them is by the differences in their leaves as well as the blossoms.

5. The ebb and flow of life

6. Beautiful sunsets

November sunset

7. Barberry Thanksgiving foliage that seems to be decorating for Christmas

Barberry getting ready
for Christmas

8. This fuchsia wants to show off some more color before the winter strikes

Hardy fuchsia in bloom

9. One of the Thanksgiving cacti is blooming right in time for Thanksgiving here in the United States of America.

10. Vic, family and friends

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Six Sentence Stories - Blanket

Is there anyone who doesn't need an extra blanket when winter descends in the northern parts of the hemisphere? Perhaps that is what Denise of Girlie On The Edge's Blog, and host of this blog hop, was thinking when she gave us the cue this week. I am looking forward to reading what others are linking to Six Sentence Stories - Blanket.

For your listening pleasure, click the link within my story below so you will have some background music to bring this story to life.

The blasting wind accompanying the rain showers made it difficult for them to decide which directional angle they should descend and caused the scene to resemble that of a celestial food mixer gone awry from the hands of the master chef.

There was no containing the components grabbed from wherever the torrents ran amok, to gather them long enough to spiral them into a uniformly shaped earthly container.

Instead, somewhat fading colorful leaves, whole as well as fragmented, along with the dead ones still hanging on, departed their homes whether they were ready or not, as did helicopter seed pods from maple trees, needles of fir trees, and mats of green moss ripped from decaying oak branches.

Squirrels, wherever they had taken refuge, no doubt, were just wanting the storm to abate so they could scrounge the lane where they were hearing the sound of acorns bouncing and then bury as many as possible so they could stuff their cheeks midwinter.

Had the scene been put to music, the velocity displayed in the playing of Elfentanz, Op. 39 by composer David Popper would have been miked at full volume from the skies.

When calm at last arrived, it seemed as if the ground below which once had been a blanket of green blades of grass now looked more like a carpet covered with colorful bits and pieces ready to be assembled into a natura crazy quilt.

Part of an old crazy quilt

Ten Things of Thankful

There is a feeling of Thanksgiving in the air and every weekend  the link to the blog hop Ten Things of Thankful goes live thanks to our host, Dyanne of Backsies Is What There Is Not. If you are  feeling a little rushed this week, just remember the number Ten is in the title of the blog hop, but it isn't a set in stone number if you want to share more or less than that.

1. First jab worked like a charm for the phlebotomist when she had to do a blood draw 

We were thankful my husband wasn’t going to have go back another day so she could try it again, unlike a previous visit when his veins just wanted to stay hidden and deep. I am sure the phlebotomist was just as thankful too.

2. A break in the rain so pest control didn’t have to reschedule their appointment to take care of the box elder beetles getting ready to hibernate

3. Senior discounts and remembering to ask if a company offers them so we can take advantage of the savings

Note: Many companies do offer senior discounts, but they are not obliged to tell their customers that they do.

4. Receiving a link to a YouTube video of a recent high school choir concert in which one of our granddaughters sang

She lives in another state and we were unable to attend in person.

5. The beauty of trametes versicolor (turkey-tail fungus)

Turkey-tail fungus
growing on a old tree stump

6. The growth of licorice ferns on a mossy oak branch

Licorice ferns
(Polypodium glycyrrhiza)

7. The flavor of licorice

The flavor of licorice seems to be one of those flavors people either really like or can't stand it. I for one enjoy the flavor black licorice candy but rarely ever eat it now, but using anise in recipes has a similar taste and usually around Christmas time I make some cookies  with anise in it. I was about eight years old when a neighbor girl showed me how to find and taste licorice from a little fern growing on a tree. 

8. Prayers and blessings

9. Keeping things simple

10. Vic, family and friends

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Six Sentence Stories - Armour

Even before the first rays of sunshine slipped through the edges of the curtains, she realized she might need some help getting the items she had scribbled on the back of an old envelope before crawling under the covers that night. It was hard for her to know if she was coming down with something, exhausted, or dare she even mention the word. The sound of approaching footsteps on the wooded floor in the hall followed by the click of the bedroom door being opened brought her awake, if not fully alert. 

Oh, oh, it looks like you aren’t feeling on top of the world this morning, so how about we change our plans and just spend a quiet weekend at home instead. Are you up to trying to eat a piece of toast and drinking a cup of chamomile tea while I make a quick trip to the store to pick up these things on your list?

He knew he was making the right decision to pitch in when she mumbled slowly, Thanks honey, and. . .could you  add a box of Ham and Armour to the list?

A blog hop, Six Sentence Stories - Armour
Hosted by Denise of
Girlie On The Edge's Blog

Ten Things of Thankful

The last couple of months of the year speed by so quickly, but  we still have the opportunity to pause and give thanks each week. Doing that simply act has a way of turning what sometimes feels overwhelming when considering what one wants to do, is best to do, or must do, into a place to provide shelter for one's soul. I am linking my Ten Things of Thankful post to the blog hop hosted by Dyanne of Backsies Is What There Is Not.

  

1. Windstorm

It wasn’t so strong that any limbs fell off our trees. We had our fill of that kind of disaster earlier in the year. This time it was strong enough that the branches got a good shaking and many of the leaves that were getting ready to drop and would have dropped at their own pace and time were suddenly helped along the way. There are some leaves that decided to hold on tight and do it their way, but at least the leaf blowing has been condensed into fewer sessions.

One of the large eggs
had a double yolk!

2. Double yolked egg

This was the first one I had seen in a very long time. When I was growing up I remember it being said that a double yolked egg was a sign of good luck. Like many other signs of good fortune, I never put a lot of stock in them but enjoyed the brief moment to consider what thing I would love to come true. I was not aware then that there was also a belief that someone in the family was going to have twins, nor did I know the old Norse belief that it was indicative of an impending death in the family. Of the three options, good luck still sound the best, although we delighted with the news of twin grandchildren years ago. As for the last one, well, no one can live without some day experiencing death and it will come sooner or later, in spite of all that one does.

3. A huge piece of a winter squash 

A neighbor had an enormous winter squash, not the size of those squash and pumpkins that require a hoist to lift them, but one too big for a couple of people to eat, so she shared a huge chunk of it with us this week. We have eaten some of it just plain, but I look forward to making a squash pie and possible a puréed soup with the rest.

4. Varying personalities, because imagine how boring life would be if everyone were exactly alike

After messaging someone this week, she said that I sounded like an “old soul.” To be honest, I didn’t know exactly what that meant, so you know I HAD find out. 

5. Watching the baptism via Zoom of a great grandchild living in another state 

I loved being able to see family and being able to watch this special event as well as other family members who were watching from afar. (I had noticed the last couple of times when I was in a Zoom meetings, I couldn’t get my camera to work so that others could see me, which isn’t that big of a concern, but this was one time I really wished my camera setting was working. I thought perhaps it was some kind of user error on my part, but much to my chagrin I discovered after the meeting was over that my screen is completely black when I want to have the camera aimed at me. None of the suggestions shared on various forums to correct the situation worked, so I may have some decision making to do sometime in the future.)

6. Being able to watch the blessing of a baby  great granddaughter via Zoom tomorrow

7. Getting our Covid Moderna booster shots

We had registered online a couple of weeks ago and received our verification, etc., but what should have been a snap wasn’t the case. Somehow between the online registration and the actual store receiving the info into their computer system there was a hang-up. Long story short, the paper work needed to be filled out AGAIN, but the good news was they were still able to give us our boosters because they had an ample supply of the vaccine.

8. Some good health reports within the family this week but still given a few things to work on in the days ahead which keeps our minds active trying to understand and apply the instructions received

9. Buds showing up on one of the Christmas cactus plants just in time to bloom around Thanksgiving

10. Vic and our family and friends

This brings a lot of memories singing at home and in the car with our kids, and fits in with the theme of this blog hop.

 

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Ten Things of Thankful

The host of this Ten Things of Thankful blog hop is Dyanne of Backsies Is What There Is Not. If you would like to read the posts of others linking up this week, just click on the images found at the very bottom of my post. If you are feeling thankful, either mention it in a comment, or write a post on your blog and link up. The more the merrier.

 

A sprig of new growth from
Boulevard Cypress tree
which has such a wonderful scent
that reminded me of Christmas

1. Finding a recipe for pumpkin pie that didn’t require making and rolling out pie dough, plus it was very quick to make and was more than just pumpkin custard baked in a pie tin.

Easy to make
pumpkin pie that
reminds me of 
Thanksgiving

2. Stew season

Beef stew

3. Looking through old post cards that once belonged to one of my mother’s half-sisters

There were a lot of post-cards that my aunt must have bought when she and some other women went to the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915. I had earlier discovered a newspaper article about her intended trip.

4. Learning new words while considering the subject of a Six Sentence Story I wanted to write this past week

The cue word was keepsake and I thought about a few keepsakes some people have. In the process I learned the word deltiologists (collectors of postcards) and phillumenists (collectors of matchbooks and matchboxes).

5. Receiving a replacement for a recalled product my husband uses

We are thankful the company was providing a part that he could use to ensure his safety until the new product was produced.

6. Becoming aware this week that both the battery operated receiver and the doorbell batteries died a couple days apart

When the receiver’s batteries died, the receiver was making a strange noise right after someone rang the doorbell. In the second instance, I just happened to see someone standing in front of the door. He asked if the doorbell worked, because when he pushed it he said he hadn’t heard any sound. Even though I had checked the batteries in it the same day I replaced the batteries in the receiver, and they didn’t need replacing at that time, they gave up the ghost a couple days later. If someone doesn’t knock loudly on the door and we happen to not be in the vicinity of the door, we sometimes don’t hear their knocking. Having a doorbell that works takes care of that problem.

7. Discovering that a pair of slippers I have actually can be washed in the washing machine

Now, drying them in the dryer is another matter. Soon after putting them in the dryer I heard a noise in the laundry room, and after investigating saw the dryer door wide open and one of the slippers on the floor! So I took that to mean, Do not dry in the dryer, or at least not in her dryer. Thank goodness for the lock on the front loading washer when it is operating. That would have caused a mess.

8. Keepsakes

When I was in the 7th grade, I took home economics as one of my electives. We all had to buy the same pattern and embroider our name on the front, so when we were in the cooking unit of the class later in the year that teacher could easily identify us. We did get to purchase whatever kind of printed cotton fabric we wished. I have kept the apron all through these years, although I haven’t actually worn it in a long time, but when I was showing it to Vic the other day, he said I should put in on and let him take a photo of me wearing it. He could barely tie the strings. Can you image that? I’m not that slim little girl I once was.

Me wearing a very old
apron that I made 
when I was 12 

9. Living in a neighborhood where the neighbors watch over one another

10. Vic, family and friends

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