Ten Things of Thankful - Week 30, 2017

The above image is a quote by Mary Davis that says "I am thankful for this precious life, this precious day, this precious moment."  The black text is printed in three lines on a transparent banner that runs across the center of the image. The background photo of is of yellow-green growing shoots with tiny unfolding leaves. that appear to hold drops moisture such as rain or dew. Fading into the background above the shoots one can see slivers of blue sky.  The image is credited to Every Day Spirit *

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Just as the quote above says, I am so very thankful for this precious life I have! Papa Bear and I were talking this weekend about how both of our mothers died in their sixties after years of chronic illness, and how important it is to celebrate each day and each moment we are given to love and share. I am thankful that both Papa Bear and I are in relatively good health at the present time, and that our children and extended families are as well. Health is a precious gift.

This has been one of those weeks that calls to mind the image of a turtle that has turned over and is struggling to flip himself right side up. I am thankful that I know if life tips me over, I can pray for strength to get back on my good side and find my peaceful center and positive attitude again. I am thankful for the gift of perseverance. I am also thankful that I have learned to take life one day at a time, that way it isn't overwhelming or defeating. Each day has endless possibilities.

I am thankful for the hope of a week of cooler, rainy days as promised by the weather forecast. It is only 81 degrees this morning and slightly overcast, so much nicer than the sweltering triple-digit heat we were out in Saturday afternoon.  Heat drains our energy just like it does to batteries.

I am thankful for friends and strangers who take the time to share smiles. Kindness is contagious and brightens up everyone's day! I feel bad for people who walk around gloomy or grumpy all the time, what a waste of precious moments!

I am thankful that I have learned to be more gentle with myself, more accepting of my human flaws and failings, while still working on self-improvement.  I hear and read so many friends running themselves down, feeling that they somehow aren't good enough. It hurts my heart. We ARE good enough, don't listen to that garbage playing in your heads! We are a work in progress and progress is what we strive for, not perfection.

I am thankful for the little love notes Papa Bear often sends me while he is at work, it means he is thinking of me, and that's sweet!  I am also thankful that he is willing to take on the care and feeding of my indoor and outdoor kitty crew while I am away for a week in mid-August to visit my kids in Nashville.

I am thankful for Papa Bear's help in repotting our Christmas Cacti last night. His is old and root bound, it was grown from a piece of one that belonged to his great-grandmother! Mine is small yet, but very full and so ready for a larger pot. Papa Bear gave it to me a couple years ago at Christmas time. Today they both look really happy in their pretty new pots!

I am thankful for the never-ending entertainment of our furkids, both inside and out. Cats have funny, quirky personalities and always make us laugh at their antics. The outside feral trio are becoming quite comfortable, and could be seen napping on the deck after supper last night. Andy wraps around me like I am his long-lost best friend when I come out. :-) 

Last but definitely not least, I am thankful for friends who pop in with messages, Words With Friends and Yahtzee games, photos, etc. each day. It is such a blessing to have people to share life with and who care about you! Truly, we lift each other up, and that's what the TToT is all about too!  I am thankful you come to share the experience with me, life is much more fun when we do it together!

Blessings to you this week. Look for reasons to be thankful in your life, and remember to be a blessing to someone else!
The above photo is a click-button to the TToT link-up. It is photo of one of our beautiful Texas sunsets with blue still peeking through the clouds; yellow, orange and pink bands around the remaining sliver of bright sun, and a wide band of black earth below it on which I've written Ten Things of Thankful.*

* Descriptions of the included photos are being provided for those who may be unable to view the illustrations.

Ten Things of Thankful - Week 29, 2017

The above image is a quote that says "Gratitude gives you wings to fly higher." It is credited to "Assertiveness for Earth Angels" which is a book about "how to be loving instead of too nice," by Doreen Virtue. The text is printed in white on a dark teal blue background with billowing pink and white clouds. A winding trail of  sparkling "fairy dust" leads from a side view of a tiny white butterfly with golden brown edges on it's wings, and winds up the left side of the image to a much larger version of the same butterfly at the center top, implying that it has been enabled to fly up higher *

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Like many of you, I am thankful for weekends! Although I am no longer working in a Monday thru Friday job where one often eagerly anticipates the weekend, I still look forward to Saturdays because it means that Papa Bear will get off two hours earlier than usual which he is thankful for too, working six days a week is very tiring. On Sunday he is able to sleep in as late as he likes and then we have the day to spend together. <3

Saturday has been our "date night" for all of the nine years we've been together. Sometimes we go to a movie or some event in town, other times we do a little shopping or run errands, or just enjoy sitting home on the deck together, and we usually end up soaking in the hot tub before bedtime, relaxing underneath the stars. I am thankful for our date nights, every couple should make time for them.

High on my list of thankfuls this week is that my daughter has purchased an airplane ticket for me to come and spend a week with her in Nashville in August! She will be off work that week since her house will be on the market and it doesn't work well for showing it if she is working nights and has to sleep days. Although it will be hard to be away from Papa Bear for a whole week, it will be really good to have some mother-daughter time, and I'll be able to spend some time with my son while there too!

I am thankful that a friend of Papa Bear's was able to come this morning with his tractor to mow our two acres which has become overgrown very quickly with all the rain we've had this season. We need to keep the weeds down to reduce the risk of wildfires. When it gets this high Papa Bear can't mow it with our riding mower, so we are grateful his friend could do it for us and in turn we could provide a little extra income for his family.

I'm thankful that no family emergencies occurred early Tuesday morning! I awoke to discover that when we requested ATT to shut off our landline (since we no longer use or need it), they inadvertently shut off our cellphones and internet as well, at 2 AM no less! Papa Bear was already at work when I discovered this, he hadn't even looked at his phone yet. I had to drive the twenty miles into town to the ATT store to get the problem resolved. I am told that even if a cellphone does not have service you can still use them to call 911, but I certainly am glad I didn't have to test that!

Just two weeks ago I noted as a thankful item that my two sisters and I were all getting along well for a change. Sadly, that didn't last. One overstepped the boundaries in comments and hurt the other's feelings, and once again they are not on speaking terms. Sigh! I am thankful that I have learned to  remain on good terms with both sisters by not getting involved in the issues between them; as the middle sister they used to find it easy to pull me in both directions. Staying out of it helps me to maintain my own inner peace, although it does make me sad that they can't learn to treat each other more kindly and not say things that are guaranteed to cause upset.

I am thankful that I was able to help my younger sister locate the perfect Bed & Breakfast on a lovely lake as a place for she and her husband to celebrate her 60th birthday coming up next week. She was frustrated that she couldn't find anyplace available near them, since summer is a busy season and she hadn't booked earlier. I am pretty good at Internet searches, and she is excited about where they will be going. It's always fun to go somewhere new, and she can take her dog, which is essential to her. :-)

I am happy that I am gaining the trust of the three feral tomcats I'm feeding on our deck. Andy, the first to show up, discovered this week that it feels really nice to be petted and have your chin and ears scratched, and now he comes running as soon as I step out on the deck to wrap around my legs and see if I have any treats. The second one, Smoky, is a little more shy and watches us while he eats from his bowl, I can approach him as long as I don't get too close. The third one, Tom, is still timid and will often scoot off the deck if I come out, then stand and watch me warily from the steps or concrete pad below. As soon as I come in the house he returns to the deck to continue eating. It won't be long before he realizes that I am safe to be around. Our indoor cats love watching them from their cat tree at the living room window.

I am thankful that we have been able to survive financially this past year without me working. It hasn't been easy, my social security check doesn't go far, but we have learned to be much more careful in our spending, and have also been able to reduce some of our basic expenses. That's all good! Papa Bear likes having me at home, and I love being here. My sister asked me this week if I miss the social interaction of working in an office job. No, not at all, I love the quiet and freedom of not working so much more!

I am thankful for the little "pill pockets" treats I discovered  that are made for cats and dogs. Toby gets a daily medication and it tastes bitter if ground and mixed in his food. It is so quick and easy to pop it in the soft pill pocket and squish it shut, and he is eagerly waiting for his "treat" as soon as he hears me open the pill bottle. They come in chicken and salmon flavor for cats, and must taste good because he loves them! If you need to get medications into your cat or dog, this is a no-stress answer! :-)

I am thankful for the internal awareness and changes that are taking place in my life. This week I realized that I was frustrated by having too many "need to do" things on my list and always feeling behind and defeated. So I looked at what I could modify and which things were most important to me. I decided to take a break from creative writing for a bit, maybe just for the summer, so that I could spend that time and energy on other things, and it felt freeing to cross it off my list. I love to write, but I also love to read what other people write and I haven't had enough time for that lately, now I can make a little more.  If the urge to write something creative strikes me, I can do it without the need to respond to a schedule.

Most of all, I am thankful for each day of life, for the wonderful friends and acquaintances God has blessed me with, and for my needs met and my prayers answered. What more could I ask for?!

Blessings to you this week. Look for reasons to be thankful in your life, and remember to be a blessing to someone else!
The above photo is a click-button to the TToT link-up. It is photo of one of our beautiful Texas sunsets with blue still peeking through the clouds; yellow, orange and pink bands around the remaining sliver of bright sun, and a wide band of black earth below it on which I've written Ten Things of Thankful.*

* Descriptions of the included photos are being provided for those who may be unable to view the illustrations.

Ten Things of Thankful - Week 28, 2017

The above image is a quote that says "Happy are those who take life day by day, complain very little, and are thankful for the little things in life." No author is cited. The text is printed in black on an off-white background next to a round clear pale blue vase filled with white lilacs that form a canopy across the top of the photo above the text. A bright green leaf and a few green stems can be seen amidst the flowers.*

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Happy Weekend!  The above quote makes me smile. I am thankful that I am able to do the first part and the last part fairly well, but I find that part in the middle about complaining very little to be more difficult. Have you ever tried to go a whole day without complaining and come to realize just how often you think or say something negative?  It's convicting, but I'm working on it! I am thankful that I have another day to work on being a more positive person!

 I am also very thankful that Papa Bear is the most uncomplaining person I know, no matter how tired he is, or how unfair life is, he so rarely grumbles, and just takes it as it comes. He is a good role model for me! 

I am thankful for the General Manager at Papa Bear's work, a much younger man than him, who told him this week how much he appreciated Papa Bear's help and knowledge gained from working there over thirty years.  It always feels good to know that you are appreciated!

I am thankful that Papa Bear will be off this Saturday. He works six days a week, and gets one Saturday off a month. He gets so tired and needs that downtime! We won't be sleeping in on Saturday though, as we have the security alarm installer scheduled for 9 AM. That leads to another thankful... a new and much better security system that is less expensive and has it's own Wi-Fi so doesn't require a land line phone.  It will save us money, work better, can be controlled from our phones, and is much safer since there is no outside phone line that could easily be cut by an intruder. Having been through break-ins in a past chapter of my life, I feel much better having a security system.

I am thankful that Papa Bear loves cats as much as I do. He had one before he met me that lived to be twenty years old; it was an indoor-outdoor cat, so that's especially rare. We started out with just one cat which we adopted when I moved to Texas to be with him. Now we have four inside, though we have had five when we were caring for one of my daughter's cats for awhile when she lived in an apartment. He is patient with the ever-flying kitty fur from all of them having long hair, and he enjoys news of the outside feral visitors too, letting me know when Andy is waiting on the deck for supper. He recently installed an expanding "baby gate" across the stairs to the deck to prevent the neighborhood roaming dogs (a real problem in this area) from coming up on the deck in attempts to get the food in the kitty feeder. What we won't do for our furkids! :-)

I am thankful for prayers answered. One of my daughter's cats that is only six months old went into heat (yes, they can start breeding that young) so she took it to be spayed this week. Its post-surgical recovery was a little more stressful than most, while it seemed to be in pain the vet tech said it was just having a bad reaction to the anesthesia. My daughter was so worried and stressed, and felt bad for her kitty. Thankfully, the next morning it was doing so much better and is now on its way to recovery. I am thankful, too, for responsible pet owners who spays/neuter their pets and also for groups who provide low-cost spay/neuter options. If it was more affordable there would be fewer unwanted babies being born. Cats multiply amazingly fast!

I am thankful that our neighbors finally ran out of fireworks! Their 4th of July celebration went on every evening for almost a week, stressing out the furkids and at times rattling the house. I am all for celebrating and I love rockets as much as the next person, but explosions just for the sake of noise gets annoying. One tipped over and exploded on the ground instead of the air, and I am so thankful that none of them were injured, it could have happened so easily.

I am thankful that my son had an awesome birthday! When he lived alone he didn't have a birthday cake and this is a much enjoyed tradition in our family. This year his girlfriend and her son got him a wonderful cake. I am so thankful for all the blessings this relationship has brought to him and how happy they are together as a family. I could not have asked for a nicer person for him to share life with. She truly loves my son and to a mother that means everything!

I am thankful that my younger sister has discovered the joy of Internet friendship through getting to know some of the people she regularly plays in Words With Friends. In the past she never understood how I could be close friends with people I'd never actually met, now she has a couple close Internet friends that she visits with on the phone and via email, and has discovered how much those relationships can brighten your days, especially when your children are grown and gone and you spend more time at home alone.

Last, but not least, I am thankful for the beautifully cool, overcast morning. It is rare here that I can be out on the deck writing at 10 AM without being baked and blistered by the hot sun, so this was a lovely treat. The clouds are piling up and perhaps we will have rain later.  Cooler weather, even for just a few hours or a day, is such a gift!  And on that note, I think I'll head out for a little drive with the windows down, I need to go to our tiny-town post office and pick up Toby's meds at the vet clinic. Wishing a wonderful, relaxing weekend to everyone!

Blessings to you this week. Look for reasons to be thankful in your life, and remember to be a blessing to someone else!
The above photo is a click-button to the TToT link-up. It is photo of one of our beautiful Texas sunsets with blue still peeking through the clouds; yellow, orange and pink bands around the remaining sliver of bright sun, and a wide band of black earth below it on which I've written Ten Things of Thankful.*

* Descriptions of the included photos are being provided for those who may be unable to view the illustrations.

Ten Things of Thankful - Week 27, 2017

The above image is a quote by Millie Mestril. It says "I woke today with gratitude for those who share me in their lives. I am thankful for those who are a part of my journey." The text is printed in white on a muted background photo that shows three people walking across a sandy beach together leaving trails of footprints. The edge of the ocean can be faintly seen in the distance *

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As I walked out onto my deck on this quiet Monday morning I realized how much I love solitude after so many years of required daily interaction with others in the workplace. Yet I also considered that if I was to live a "hermit" life, I wouldn't want to be without my beloved Papa Bear, my family, or the many wonderful friends I've made on the Internet. Just as the quote above says, I am first and foremost, truly grateful for those who make room for me in their lives and share a part of my journey.

My weekend has been totally blessed by seeing all the wonderful posts being added to our TToT linkup, I woke up to several on Saturday morning!  I am so thankful for your participation, not because of numbers, but because I believe in the positive effect of what we share. It is also awesome to have new people showing up to join us! I am thankful that folks reading your posts find the concept interesting enough to want to try their own and link up a post! Word of mouth, or should I say word of blog, is how we grow. :-)

One of the biggest thankfuls in my life at the present is vastly improved relationships with and between my two sisters, one older and one younger than me. We can actually share group texts with little news bites of our day with no one getting snippy or rude. It is amazing and is a testament to the power of prayer and trying harder to be kind and thoughtful. It has been a nasty triangle for so many years and I have always mourned that. At last it is becoming a supportive blessing!

I am thankful that I stretched beyond my usual procrastinating ways and go my son's birthday gifts made/ordered/mailed in plenty of time. They arrived at his house this morning and his birthday is on Wednesday. He loves gifts, and is so easy in his requests... a batch of his favorite cookies and a small gift card.  I also sent a few fun things and am surprising him with his grandfather's engraved pocket knife and a small photo of his grandfather when he was in the Navy at about age 19 or 20. My son is a family history buff and will love it.  He turns 38, how can my baby be that old?!! His life has been blessed in so many ways this past year, and I wish him more of the same for the coming one.

I am thankful for the wonderful cherries our grocery store got in from Washington state, truly the best we've ever had here, and we are enjoying them.  Summer is such a wonderful time for fresh fruit and veggies, and lighter suppers!

I am SO VERY THANKFUL for friends on Facebook who make a concerted effort to post positive, uplifting and fun things. The news has enough ugliness and despair, and I just can't see why folks need to keep "preaching to the choir" on their Facebook pages. Share something that will make people feel good about life, we already know the horrors and harsh realities and don't need the saturation that makes your mind spin and your heart ache, IMHO.

I am thankful for the pretty new nightgowns we found on sale while shopping this weekend, they are made of light weight t-shirt fabric, very cool and comfortable! The ones I have been wearing are ragged and needed replacement, but I refuse to pay large sums for something worn only at home. It might surprise you to know that we don't put on "street clothes" unless leaving the house, at home we stick to comfy loungewear like this, the joys of an empty nest! No one drops by out here where we live, thankfully. Saves on laundry too. :-) Papa Bear also found a new "John shirt" on sale, which is what my daughter dubbed the Hawaiian shirts he loves to wear, he always wears one to work on casual Saturdays. He got new sox and underwear too, and it's funny to think that we are thankful for things as simple as that, but soft and new is nice, and sale prices are even nicer!

I am thankful for the all the people who work in and support animal rescue, a job of the highest highs and the biggest heartbreaks. For every little furry soul who is rescued, healed, and placed in a loving forever home I am truly grateful. The need is great, now we need to toughen laws on animal abuse and neglect and work to promote adoption! I am so very thankful for those who have opened their hearts and their homes to rescue/shelter animals or have donated funds. I wish we could save them all!

I am thankful that my children have a heart for animals just as I do. My daughter and her husband just added this little rescue kitty to their furkid family. They have named "Batman" or "Batkitty" for the obvious reason... 

The above image is of an eight-week old black and white kitten laying on a gray comforter in a patch of sunlight amidst shadows. Its head is up with its big ears and eyes alert. It has a white muzzle but a black nose, head and ears, making it look like it is wearing a Batman mask. Most of its back is black like a cape, while its chest, feet and underside are white. Like all kittens, it is adorable!*

While on the subject of critters, I am thankful for the fun of keeping track of my feral kitty visitors. At the moment we have three regulars that frequent our deck feeder for food and water during the day and night, and every now and then we will be surprised to see a different one show up on the kittycam. A couple nights last week a large mouse (or small rat, who knows) showed up to enjoy some kitty food. It was just too cute, and mighty brave of him/her! I haven't seen it since, which is probably wise due to food chain issues! Andy, the bravest of the bunch likes to stand up and peek into our living room window from the deck at night, seeing how the insiders live I guess, and it is so cute to see that little face looking in. He also knows if I see him I will bring him out a treat!

I am thankful that my children both have good careers that enable them to support themselves financially.  My son bought himself an early birthday gift yesterday, a fire-engine red 2015 Dodge Ram crew-cab truck that only had 18,000 miles on it and has been well maintained. It looks brand new! He was happy to sell his little Toyota pickup, needing more space for their weekend outings and more comfort for his long commute to and from work at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky each day. It gets great mileage too. He is so proud of it, and I am proud of him!

Well, I think I have at least ten thankfuls here, so I won't need to take advantage of Clark's "Get one Free" offer on his TToT post this week, but it is such a wonderfully fun idea, and you really need to check it out! I am ever thankful for all the smiles each week's TToT posts bring to my life,  THANK YOU! :-)

Blessings to you this week. Look for reasons to be thankful in your life, and remember to be a blessing to someone else!
The above photo is a click-button to the TToT link-up. It is photo of one of our beautiful Texas sunsets with blue still peeking through the clouds; yellow, orange and pink bands around the remaining sliver of bright sun, and a wide band of black earth below it on which I've written Ten Things of Thankful.*

* Descriptions of the included photos are being provided for those who may be unable to view the illustrations.

Ten things of Thankful - Week 26, 2017

The above image is a quote by Marcus Tulllius Cicero. It says "What then is freedom? The power to live as one wishes." The text is printed in black on a background photo that shows the wood grain top of a table or desk on which rests a lime green saucer and bright yellow-orange cup full of coffee or tea. To the right of it is the open blank page of a leather bound journal and a white writing pen.*

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Today is the first day of July, and marks the beginning of the second half of this year. The months seem to go by so quickly!  I was remembering how at this time last year the law firm I was working for was in the final thirty days of operation and things were very stressful and chaotic. I am SO THANKFUL for not being in that environment anymore and for the peace and contentment of being able to stay at home.

Do you ever look back at your life to see if you've made progress, if you've grown in any way or achieved a new understanding? Our question of the week at the TToT blog asks about one of the things we've learned in the first half of this year. One of the things I've been practicing the hardest is to learn to exercise more faith, to live with less fear and anxiety and less stress over things I can't control. I preach the merits of living one day at a time, and I am thankful that I can say I have grown in that mindset... Let Go, let God. Take action on the things that you can, and when it comes to the things you can't, breathe and let go. In the end it will all work out as it should. Yes, I believe that, Pollyanna as it may seem.

I have noticed in recent months that my hearing grows progressively worse. Without my hearing aids there are so many sounds I miss and so many words I cannot understand. While I enjoy the muffled quiet when I am home alone, it is not a great experience when you are out in public and need to be aware and interact. There is not a day when I put my much too expensive hearing aids in my ears and can suddenly hear again, that I am not aware and thankful for how blessed I am to have them. My heart goes out to anyone who struggles with hearing issues that cannot be resolved or that they cannot afford to address. We take our hearing, our vision, and our mobility for granted until such time as these things become limited in our lives. I am thinking that we need to focus more on teaching children and adults to become aware of how wonderfully we are made and what gifts these things are!

With Independence Day coming up in America next Tuesday, freedom comes to mind.  Being an Aquarian and loving freedom go hand in hand.  Freedom is a precious gift to me because, like the quote above says, freedom is the power to live as one wishes. My heart breaks when I think of how many people on this Earth for one reason or another are deprived of even the very basic freedoms we take for granted.

I am thankful that I have the freedom to express myself both orally and in writing, and to state my thoughts and opinions on anything without fear of imprisonment or death.

I am thankful that I can choose what faith or religion I will embrace and how I will practice it. 

I am thankful that I can choose where I will live and what kind of work I will do.

I am thankful that I can dress in whatever manner I feel is right for me, knowing that how I dress is a reflection of my values.

I am thankful that I can come and go as I please in this country without needing permission or to explain myself.  As a woman, I am thankful that I can go out unaccompanied if I desire to.

I am thankful that I have access to education, and also to the Internet uncensored so that I can learn and expand my knowledge and awareness.

I am thankful that I can associate with anyone I choose to, no matter what their beliefs or affiliations may be.

In conjunction with the above and many more freedoms I am blessed with, I am thankful for the realization that all privilege comes with responsibility, and the knowledge that my freedom ends at the point where it impinges on the freedom of another.

And finally, I am thankful for the most powerful freedom that every human being possesses... the freedom to choose my attitude in response to any given circumstance. While there will be times that I do not like and cannot change what is happening, I will always have the power to choose how I will react. As the years pass I am learning to choose more wisely.

Blessings to you this week. Look for reasons to be thankful in your life, and remember to be a blessing to someone else!
The above photo is a click-button to the TToT link-up. It is photo of one of our beautiful Texas sunsets with blue still peeking through the clouds; yellow, orange and pink bands around the remaining sliver of bright sun, and a wide band of black earth below it on which I've written Ten Things of Thankful.*

* Descriptions of the included photos are being provided for those who may be unable to view the illustrations.

Ten Things of Thankful - Week 25, 2017

This above image is a quote by Kristin Armstrong printed is a pastel shade of yellow. It says "When we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes out and the tide of love rushes in." The background is a picture of a dark frothy wave rushing in across a wet sandy beach that is golden from the rays of setting sun.*

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Happy last week of June! Can you believe that the year is almost half over?!

 Today has been a busy Monday, catching up on domestic duties, and I am now ready to take a break and get my thankful on!  I am so very thankful for each one of you that makes the time to write and share your own thankfuls with us at the TToT blog. No matter how out of sorts I feel, when I sit down and begin to read your posts I find myself smiling along with all the good things in your lives!

We have had so very much rain here and it is humid, but I am thankful that the rain cools things down, often as much as thirty degrees very quickly, and greens things up so I won't be complaining about dry, brown West Texas for at least a little while!  Papa Bear is thankful for how easy it is for him to pull up the weeds that have grown so large.

I am having fun getting better acquainted with our feral kitty Andy, who now makes an appearance just about every time he hears me come out the door,  to see if I might have something new to add to his food bowl.  He is becoming more trusting and sits and waits for me to return with a treat instead of hiding.  I will eventually have him willing to come up to my hand to get it. :-)  The other male feral kitty, Smoky, is more wary, and only appears on the infrared camera at night or if no one is out. I am thankful that we have sufficient resources to share food with them. Whole chickens were on sale at the grocery store today, so I boiled one for them which will supplement their dry food for several days. There were four furry "supervisors" around my feet in the kitchen while I was deboning it. :-)

I am thankful for words of encouragement that I come across online.  I read a piece last week in which the point was not to get bogged down in defeat over all that needs to be done... "Just do the next thing."  I think about how true that is, doing anything will motivate us to do something more and get us out of that deadlock of despair.  I am working to focus on just one task at hand rather than a room full of them that makes me want to surrender.  I am thankful that I have the time to work on things, no longer feeling exhausted after long stressful work days.  There is not a day that I don't thank God for the blessing of being retired, and I pray that we can continue to make it work!

I am happy and thankful with the success of my newly created Facebook group for my high school class.  The 45th reunion was held in South Dakota this weekend and classmates were able to share their photos and videos and we who were unable to attend enjoyed seeing who all was there and how they had changed over the years.  The group will give us a way to stay in touch with each other and be more supportive as others experience the trials and losses that come with aging.  Encouragement is such a blessing to both the giver and the receiver!

I am thankful for the fun things my children share with me in texts... projects they are working on, purchases they've made, home improvements, and places they go. It gives me an opportunity share more of the day to day aspects of their lives.  My son and his girlfriend found a wonderful used bed for sale that has a headboard made of baseball bats. They got it for her 7 year old son and redid his room as a surprise one day.  He loves baseball, so was very excited.  It made me happy too!  I am thankful that both my son and his mother get along well with this little boy's father, it makes life so much better for all of them, especially him.  Divorce is hard enough on children without parents being ugly to each other.

I am thankful for the sometimes uncomfortable awarenesses I am shown about myself, giving me room to work on improvement.  If we are complacent we miss the opportunities to grow, and we all have room to do a little of that!  The first step is being willing to admit you have an area in your life or your behavior that could use a little fine-tuning. :-)

I am thankful for the wonderful shoulder bag I bought with Mother's Day gift money to replace my old, very worn one. I love a purse that has lots of pockets on the outside so that I can have quick and easy access to things like my car keys, phone, sunglasses, coupons, etc, without having to dig through it. I also found a great purse organizer that goes inside and has many more pockets, now I have a place for everything and it really is awesome.  Once again, Amazon wins the day! :-)

I am thankful for the surprise cash bonus that Papa Bear's boss gave him last week as a thank you for his hard work.  Surprises like that do so much for morale, and I insisted that he use it for something fun he would like to have or do, he works such long hours and never complains, and it definitely made his day!  We all love happy surprises!

I am thankful for reconnecting with friends from long ago, and with making new ones. The Internet is such a wonderful tool for that!  There was a long period in my life when I really didn't feel that I had any friends. I can honestly say now that my life is blessed with positive friends and acquaintances, and it's such a wonderful feeling!

Blessings to you this week. Look for reasons to be thankful in your life, and remember to be a blessing to someone else!
The above photo is a click-button to the TToT link-up. It is photo of one of our beautiful Texas sunsets with blue still peeking through the clouds; yellow, orange and pink bands around the remaining sliver of bright sun, and a wide band of black earth below it on which I've written Ten Things of Thankful.*

* Descriptions of the included photos are being provided for those who may be unable to view the illustrations.

Ten Things of Thankful - Week 24, 2017

This above image is a quote by Karen Salmansohn at notsalmon.com printed in black lettering. It says "When you get something you've really wanted, stop to appreciate it. Don't always be seeking something better." The background is comprised of overlapping pastel shades of turquoise, green and white with a marbleized effect.*

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Happy weekend to you!  I am enjoying the quiet of this Saturday morning as I reflect on all the good things in my life. I love the quote in the above image, because it seems like it is easy to get into the habit of never being content with what we have or what we've been given. When something we've really wanted happens, we immediately start thinking of the next thing and the next thing, with barely a pause to be grateful. Maybe we don't need to want something else or something more so quickly, and just maybe we already have ENOUGH! :-)  I often ask myself if, despite some of the struggles we all have in life, I am content with just what I have. Do I need more to be happy? The answer is a solid awareness that at this stage of my life I am enough and I have enough. My life is blessed, and I am thankful for that.  I think the endless wanting of more leaves us feeling restless and unfulfilled.  Calm is a much nicer place!

This weekend is Father's Day in the US, a time to pay tribute to the fathers, step-fathers, grandfathers, and any others who have taken on the role of father or mentor in our lives. They don't have to be male, many mothers have had to fill both roles for their children.  I am thankful for my own father and for all of those who have chosen to protect, care for, provide for, and encourage the children in their lives, and their adult children too. I am thankful for the good memories I have of my father and that he always provided well for our family.

 I am also aware that many, along with Papa Bear, whose father died when he was three, grew up without a father, or never knew their father, or experienced the horror of living with an abusive father or step-father. Father's Day can be sad time for them, and my heart goes out to them and I pray that they've encountered other people in their lives that provided some of the love and direction they needed. I also think of the fathers and grandfathers who will not hear from their children or grandchildren this weekend or most weekends. Please, take time to let your loved ones know that you cherish them. Give them a gift of your time and your presence in their lives!

I am thankful for the wonderful father Papa Bear is to his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and to my children. He listens, cares, encourages, and offers advice when asked. He is never overbearing, recognizing that they have to make their own choices in life and learn their own lessons just as we did. He always ends a conversation with any of them by saying "I love you", and they will remember that long after he is gone.

We have had huge amounts of rain here this season, a very rare occurrence. I am thankful when the rains come in the early evening dropping our triple-digit temperatures by thirty or more degrees very quickly, it is so welcome! We have had several thunderstorms, with a particularly severe one on Wednesday night that left over 19,000 homes and businesses without power in the city near us and a terrible amount of damage to homes and autos with high winds and softball sized hail! I am thankful that no one was seriously injured and I am thankful that where we live, Northeast of the city, we only had a little wind and small hail with no real damage. I am thankful for the power crews, city workers, teams that come in from other areas, volunteers  and everyone who is working together to help deal with the effects of the storm. I was also thankful to learn that the city's large arena was opened by the Red Cross to provide shelter for not only people but also their pets if their home was not habitable or if the heat put them at risk. Blessings to those who remembered to include the pets!

I am thankful that my husband's daughter who returned to our city recently was able to secure a good job as a dispatcher and began working yesterday. It is a large company with room for advancement and the pay is better than average. This will enable her to begin rebuilding her life.

I am thankful on behalf of a close friend of my sister's who was received approval to be placed on the waiting list for a liver transplant.  She lost her twin sister several years ago and has been sick for a long time. This could be the miracle in her life, and all prayers are appreciated. Her name is Candi.

I am thankful for Google Photos storage!  We've been backing most of our photos up to the iCloud and it is cumbersome and problematic.  If you delete a photo from your phone it also deletes it from the iCloud storage and any other shared devices, like your computer.  Google Photos is simple to use, automatically saving photos from your various devices to one account, and accessing them is organized and easy.  It's also free for high definition photos. I am in the process of uploading photos from old laptops, etc now, and then will begin the long process of weeding out the ones that don't need to be saved so I can at last find the important ones that are mixed in. Google Photos also has several cool tools you can use to create collages, slide shows, and photo books. This is not a paid endorsement for Google, I'm just happy to find something workable at last! :-)

I am thankful that Papa Bear and I rented the movie "The Shack" to watch this week. I read the book several years ago, and most often the movie versions disappoint me, but this was an exception. It is very well done, the characters are great, and the message is intense and powerful. At points it made us both think of things in our own lives, and while that can be uncomfortable it is also a message that we need to address issues that have left hurt inside our hearts. I highly recommend it to anyone, the perspective on God is so refreshing! One of the thoughts I took away from it that I will remember is that sometimes when we forgive someone it isn't a one-time event, we may find that we need to forgive them in our hearts and minds many times if hurt or anger resurfaces. But there is power and freedom in forgiveness.

I am thankful for Toby snuggles!  When he was a kitten he loved to crawl up on my shoulder and snuggle next to my neck. Now when I am writing at the table or sitting in the recliner, he still does that, hauling all 15+ pounds of himself up on my shoulder where he snuggles in next to my ear and his belly rumbles with deep purrs while he kneads my shoulder in contentment and rubs his nose against me. He can be such a brat at times, but when he does this he just melts my heart, no matter how difficult it is to write with a large cat hanging over your shoulder. :-)

Most importantly, of all the thankfuls I will ever list and share... I am thankful for our Father, Creator, Great Spirit, Supreme Being, Greater Power... or whatever name you choose to call God by.  Without His love I would not be. 

Blessings to you this week. Look for reasons to be thankful in your life, and remember to be a blessing to someone else!

The above photo is a click-button to the TToT link-up. It is photo of one of our beautiful Texas sunsets with blue still peeking through the clouds; yellow, orange and pink bands around the remaining sliver of bright sun, and a wide band of black earth below it on which I've written Ten Things of Thankful.*

* Descriptions of the included photos are being provided for those who may be unable to view the illustrations.