Day 18 – Thirty Days of Thanks

Today’s 5 Thankful things:

1. Reading through an entire book – As life throws curve balls my way, I rarely have the chance to read through for an entire book in one week, just for fun. But last week, I did! Many thanks to Rachael Phillips for writing more than a cozy mystery, but a heartfelt tale of a young, intelligent lady who searched for and found Amish roots she didn’t discover until she helped uncover the story of a shocking murder. I can’t recommend her book Secrets of the Amish Diary enough. (And if you enjoy bulldogs, you’ll fall in love with the dog, “Beans.”)

2. Bagels and blueberries – Cream cheese and fresh blueberries atop a bagel were
   such a lovely breakfast feast this morning – many thanks to my daughter, Emily, for putting this together!

3. Fresh, cheery daisies – So nice!

4. Our garden’s first okra of the season – Tender and tasty, I had to enjoy it raw – these are even better than I remembered. Yum!

5. Queen Anne’s Lace – After bringing in daisies, Em also entered with two stems of Queen Anne’s lace, my favorite wildflower. I had a version of these in my wedding bouquet twenty-two years ago, and I’m sure people would pay good money to grow these in their gardens if they didn’t grow on their own.

Day 5 – Thirty Days of Thanks – summer thanks

 

1. Flowers! – Summer is such a wonderful flower time! These are all zinnias and coneflowers we planted outside our home.
2. Air Conditioning – Today marked the hottest day of the month so far, and I SO appreciate air conditioning!!
3. Window bird feeders – I love watching birds through our sunroom window. Their own little stories unfold as the flutter around, jostling one another at times. I almost feel guilty of voyeurism, but we do offer free food. 
4. New blogs – Now that Em started The Many Arts of Emily, her sister (future librarian!), launched Library Knight. Fun stuff ahead!
5. Strawberries coming – My loving husband planted strawberries in April, and though I thought it would be next year before we’d see fruit, the first few berries came in June! And more are ripening right now. The few we had last month were truly wonderful!

Day 27 – 30 Days of Thanks

5 “thankful things” for today:

1. breakfast as a family – during the school year, we regularly have breakfast together before folks leave for work and school, and it was nice today to have another of these early together-times, while school hasn’t even started yet.

2. nice naps – after a refreshing nap this afternoon (that I felt a little guilty about), I read this insightful post that helped me put the nap need in perspective.

3. “iron chef” daughter – we used to watch this program on the Food Network, where chefs would be given a particular ingredient, then would create a meal centering around that theme. So a few years ago, we started having Iron Chef lunches, with such ingredient themes as peanut butter, toast, bananas, yogurt… today was blueberries and yogurt.

4. MacGyver – our family has been having a wonderful time watching all seven seasons of this classic series from the 80’s and 90’s. One episode at a time, we’re planning to finish it by the time the girls graduate from high school. 

5. bookshelves – it is so nice to have a way to organize books! Granted, there are never enough bookshelves, but as my husband was sorting through some new additions and doing his wonderful organization wizardry, it was beautiful to see the loveliness of bookshelves in proper use. 🙂 

Day 22 – 30 Days of Thanks

The first of today’s “thankful things” almost make me feel guilty… we live with so many blessings we often take for granted. Issues we deal with are “first word problems” – having problems with cell phone battery life, needing to decide which of 12 pair of shoes will work with the new outfit, a closet that is too crowded to fit something new, a refrigerator that is so full that I lost track of items inside… the need for balance in the midst of cultural excess is a struggle. So today’s list will be a true testament of thanks for things I experience today, and for a reflection of how blessed we are as a nation.

So after that bit of a ramble, I’ll get started:

5 Things of Thanks for today:

1. family shopping excursions – daughters and cousins have fun trying on outfits and finding sales – this does make for fun memories and great bargain buys!

2. new shoes – especially for children with growing feet, a discount shoe store is indeed appreciated!

3. soft pretzels – especially warm, fresh ones – with melted cheese dip… a nice treat!

4. racks of clothes at affordable prices – a visit to the outlet mall was a treat, and it’s fun to have the chance to purchase new things. So much to choose from… rather amazing, when thinking of a global perspective.

5. freedom to experience these things – my appreciation for things like this was magnified when I finished a book recommended by a family member. Time to Choose detailed the life of a German family that immigrated to the U.S. near the end of World War II. Hilda left her home at age 12, and her journey told of many experiences. After waiting six years and jumping through several hoops before travel visas arrived, Hilda and her family needed coats, but they had a hard time keeping food on the table, let alone purchasing new overcoats. But her father found a large case of beige yarn that a vendor sold for a very low price, so after he borroqws a weaving unit and set this up beside the sleeping quarters, Hilda’s sister wove the cloth for traveling coats for the entire family, sewn by a tailor friend. And they did this so that they could start their lives in this land of freedom. I need to remember this when I feel like complaining about a scratchy coat,

Day 20 – 30 Days of Thanks

Wow – two thirds of my thirty-day journey are past – it’s hard to believe! So today I’ll take the time to highlight five things that didn’t get mentioned yet, though there may have been days I wanted to. (I tend to go on and on and on, so it’s good for me to have that limited list of five each day.

5 things of thanks from various times – today or last week or last month, finally having their moment of recognition:

1. finishing a really good book – even if it makes me cry. I just finished The Book Thief   last week, and I wept at the end, but this was okay.

2. Mackinac Island – We had never been to Macinac Island before, the spot where my parents celebrated their honeymoon 49 years ago, so it was fun to visit for our 20^th anniversary! Very beautiful, and “quaint” was the most accurate descriptor we could pinpoint. 🙂

3. scones – fresh ones made by my loving sister-in-law – yum!

4. extroverts and introverts –  Being more of an introvert myself, I am so thankful of the spectrum of personas that populate our lovely world!

5. electric lights –  This is so something that I take for granted daily; I appreciate the ability to light up a room with the flick of a switch! I know that those switches don’t magically cause the luminescence to emerge, but talented electricians have strung rubber-coated copper wires to complete a circuit and send a signal to a glass-enclosed bulb of some sort… rather cool, I must say.