Here we are at the end of another week, time to get my thankful on...
1. I'm starting off my gratitude list today with one of my favorites... my husband is off work today! He gets just one Saturday off each month, usually the one of his choosing if it's available, and works six days the other three weeks. When he has a Saturday off it means we get to do things together, and a house project or two, and he still has Sunday to rest up for the coming week. I like having him home with me!
2. I am thankful that my older sister had a happy 65th birthday this week. Last year she fell on her icy steps just a few days before her birthday and spent the next four months at home recovering from surgery for a shattered femur and knee. She is back at her part-time job now (which her boss was nice enough to hold for her), moved into a one-level town house, and enjoying senior life with her friends. That was plenty to celebrate!
3. I am thankful for my sense of smell and taste, both of which have been absent for the past two weeks with this cold but are slowly returning. I am tired of everything tasting like cardboard! It's weird to chop onions and not even smell them! It's weird how interconnected smell and taste are too. The problem is obviously "all in my head", but where?? :-) My mother told me that my maternal grandmother did not have a sense of smell. I don't know if she was born that way or it happened later on in her life due to illness or something else. I wonder if she had a sense of taste. I can't imagine cooking for a family without it, especially at a time when cooking was done more by taste than by measurements and recipes.
4. I am thankful that my niece was recognized in their city newspaper for her work as a foster mom for pups at the rescue group she supports. In addition to her own four much-loved dogs, she has fostered many others over the years, mostly pitbulls, and it's always a celebration when one of her fosters gets adopted and goes to its forever home. She says how hard it is to let them go after loving them so much, but then she will have room to help another. I am also thankful that her awesome boyfriend loves dogs as much as she does and is 100% supportive of her foster furkids!
5. I am so very thankful that the election and inauguration are now over. I am so sick of my Facebook filled with contesting viewpoints and comments that intelligent people on all sides should know better than making. I am hoping and praying that we can work together to unify our country. We have to be the change we wish to see... role models of what we believe is right.
6. I am thankful for all the beautiful colors in God's paintbox... from brilliant flowers to blazing skies, to the soothing shades of ocean waves... more colors and combinations than we could ever name. I love bright, jewel-tone colors like deep purple and bright yellow like daffodils best! When I see something with beautiful color it lights up my soul!
7. I am thankful that folks have been so kind about my ongoing Six Sentence serial story at the other place. It's my first attempt at writing any fiction longer than a short story, and while I really am making it up as I go, I'm having fun as I envision future "chapters" that fall within the realm of possibility at an old house. As I write it I am revisiting a farmhouse I loved in my youth. In my mind it is the setting for this story.
8. I am thankful for chocolate in all it's wonderful forms and uses. Even one piece of chocolate is guaranteed to make me smile. Papa Bear knows this. :-)
9. I am thankful for caring friends who visit back and forth with me via Internet and text. Since I am home alone most days, it's nice to have company to share with, play WWF with, and exchange photos that make us laugh.
10. I am thankful for the serenity of our home, for the love and the laughter, and the way my husband is always there to easy my anxieties and keep me grounded. I have lived in houses that were chaotic and unhappy, and at times scary. Because of that I treasure my peaceful home now.
Ten Things of Thankful is the brainchild of Lizzi at Considerings. It's been up and running for a long time now, and it's a wonderful way to refocus on the good things that happen in our lives each week despite whatever problems we are facing. There is always something to be thankful for... always!
This week we are linking our posts up at the TToT Group
on Facebook, and at Clark's blog TheWakefield Doctrine
Reading your post made me smile. A couple of your comments are similar to a couple of mine. I didn't mention chocolate this time, but chocolate is just about the cure to everything, don't you think? As for the lack of a sense of smell, one of my grandmothers used to complain that nothing tasted or smelled good. This was in her later years. I'm glad you are feeling better now.
ReplyDeleteI agree about chocolate, what a wonderful thing it is! :-) I had a friend with cancer that was unable to taste his food, it was so hard for his wife who was trying to entice him to eat. I'm happy to be feeling better too, thank you! Colds are such a miserable nuisance.
Deletetotally with you on the Six Sentence Story 'hop. very positive and supportive environment for them of us what want to learn to write even better.*
ReplyDeletewinter does not seem to favor any but the young, the have the distinct advantage of having an abundance of energy to ignore the cold and being much closer to the ground to minimize damage from slipping and falling on ice.
good to see you at the TToT, trying something new with the linking between posts... work in progress
*what? practicing ...lol
LOL, Clark, we are indeed fixin' to improve our writin' a bit that way. ;-)) Winter is beautiful to look at... out the window while sitting next to a warm fireplace. :-) As kids we lived outside in the snow for hours, coming in only for dry mittens or eat. Will stop by to check out your linking.
DeleteNumber 5, for sure!
ReplyDeleteI agree, I am hoping that this week will see a return to kindness and thoughtful posting instead of rants!
DeleteI still haven't tried this but I sure enjoy reading yours. Talking about chocolate... I've not had any candy for 21 days (but who's counting). Yesterday while at Starbucks the barista asked if I wanted to try mocha syrup in my iced espresso. I told him I couldn't because I'm not eating sugar. That's when he had me try their unsweetened mocha syrup. Oh joy! It was delicious.
ReplyDeleteYou are doing great with your sugar-free/low carb lifestyle! It gets so much easier when you are past the cravings stage. How fun to find something you could have that wouldn't derail your efforts! That was a reward for sticking with it! :-)
DeleteAlways a joy to read your "thankfuls". Makes me happy to see your blessings.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Patricia! It makes me happy when I realize how many good things I have in my life. Truly I am blessed!
DeleteIt is such a beautiful thing to spread gratitude. Lovely post
ReplyDeleteThere is a "Letter Writing Challenge" starting on 30th of January. it would be amazing if you could participate in it.
Here is the link for the challenge
http://mrsdashsayss.blogspot.in/2017/01/12-weeks-of-letter-writing-challenge.html
Thank you DeeDee! Attitudes are contagious and gratitude is a good one to spread around. :-) I'll be by to check out your letter writing challenge, thank you for the invitation.
Delete