Ten Things of Thankful

 It is New Year's Day and the beginning of a fresh new year waiting to see  what we all will do with this time we are given, and how we will interact with others. 

With that very short comment, I will precede to the purpose of this post. The one thing I hope will remain the same this year is my participation in this blog hop, because it causes me to do some reflecting on my past week, or sometimes just my life in general and express my gratitude in writing. I know that I benefit from reading what other contributors to Ten Things of Thankful have to say, if only to think, "Yep, me too."  Dyanne of Backsies Is What There Is Not is the host of Ten Things of Thankful.

1. For a FB friend who is also a distant relative mentioning a book she started reading

The historical fiction novel set during the French Revolution is a collaborative effort by six authors (kind of reminds me of the efforts of certain participants in the blog hop, Six Sentence Stories). The main characters are all women.

2. For Granny Smith apples

For many years I have used whatever pies I have had on hand to make apple pies. There have been very few, if any, that were made using Granny Smith apples. This New Year’s Eve I made one using Granny Smith apples. Other than cutting back on the amount of sugar and salt called for in the recipe, everything else was the same. Just saying, I won’t every use any apples other than Granny Smith’s to make pies from now on. Note: There is an interesting “apple genealogy” about the Granny Smith apple.

3. For being able to receive and give a little when there is too much of a particular dish for one household 

Being able to do both was a blessing to both parties.

4. For being able to participate in another family collaborated Spotify playlist, this time a New Year’s playlist

What are your favorite songs to listen to on New Year’s Eve? If you made your own playlist, did you add some songs that were particularly apropos for 2020?

5. For the many ways we have to watch movies we may have missed seeing when they were first released

On New Year’s Eve we watched a movie that was first released in 1993 and which we had never watched. I enjoy movies that are based on fact, as well as movies that make me think about the impact one's actions have on the lives of others. This provided both for me.

6. For some long phone conversations with some of my forever friends who no longer live in the area and with whom our conversations seem to pick right up from when we last spoke as though no time has elapsed

7. For products that have no expiration date

When both Vic and I were growing up, we were familiar with a particular product used to treat the udders of cows. The farmers who applied the balm also received the added benefit of relief from chapped hands. After we got married, we obtained some for our medicine cabinet, not because we had any cows then, but for some other reason or another. We don’t still have the same container as then. The date I wrote on the bottom of the current can says 10/2007, so it has been a while. This morning I decided maybe I’d try some on a small crack on my heel, since the regular salve I’ve been using isn’t working. Upon googling to see if there is an expiration date for the balm, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that there isn’t! 

8. For the creative efforts shared by friends

One of our friends likes to write poetry and for a few years has blessed us with a book of his most recent unpublished poems each Christmas. We enjoy reading his writings which sometimes are about places and experiences with which we are familiar.

9. For the kalanchoe plants that I transplanted last June beginning to bloom

When I transplanted them I questioned whether really transplanting them into almost completely dry soil could possibly be the right thing to do, but I followed the experts and now I am looking forward to the red blooms expanding.

 Kalanchoe blossoming

10. 2021 with Vic by my side to face what come what may

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