Thankful Sunday, March 22, 2020

I have found my thoughts drifting more negatively these days, so I  decided that I needed a reset. What better way to do that than to remember what I have to be thankful for. I didn't make this complicated or try to overthink it (something I do way too much of). I thought of 10 things I was thankful for and wrote them down just as fast as they popped into my head. I went back and added a few explanations after my initial brain dump. I am happy to report that this simple exercise has helped. :)

Here they are in no particular order.

1. I am thankful for blue skies.
Yesterday,  as I was watching the world go by at my kitchen window, I was taken with how beautiful the blooming pear tree was against the clear blue sky. And for the cherry on top, a red cardinal flew onto the one of the branches. Absolutely beautiful.

Didn't get a picture while the cardinal was there.

2. I am thankful for my clever husband.
Ward is a very handy and clever person and uses these skills around the house among other places. For example, we have a ceiling fan in our bedroom that had a blade break off while spinning. He traded the broken blade with a blade from a fan in another room that we didn't use. However, then the fan was unbalanced and noisy. So instead of buying an expensive rebalancing kit, he took the blades off and used a scale, pennies, and tape to balance all of the blades. Now it's a smooth, quiet spinning fan. It's the simple things like that I really appreciate.

3. I am thankful that my son likes to cook.
Last thing he cooked was a spicy (but not too spicy) chicken dish over rice. Not only was it tasty, it used up several things that were close to becoming food waste.

4. I am thankful for my cats and the endless entertainment and comfort they bring.
  



5. I am thankful for digging in the dirt.
We have several dead spots in our yard from the porch construction and other things. We have been planting grass seed to try to remediate these spots. I have been enjoying the soil prep and the digging involved with it.  During this exercise, I have been finding endless rocks, grubs, worms, and interesting weeds. If my back didn't remind me that it's time to do something else, I could spend all day playing in the dirt.

6. I am thankful that I was able to remove an embedded tick without complications. I think this needs no further explanation.

7. I am thankful for my new porch. The porch is not quite done as their have been some painting complications. However, it is very usable and we had our first supper out there this week- actually the spicy chicken dish Theo cooked.  I'm looking forward to many more.




8. I am thankful for peanut butter.
I've been on a peanut butter kick recently and am thankful for this easy to use, tasty food.

9. I am thankful for my parents.
As I have mentioned, I'm going through some of the pictures on my computer and deleting extras. This exercise has taken me down memory lane many times. As I see pictures of my parents, I think about many of the things I never noticed when I was a kid like how they were always helping others. I am blessed for the good examples they set for me in this and many other ways.

When they were just beginning their adventure as parents.

10.  I am thankful for Marylynn, who encouraged me to start a blog.
Nine years ago, I was talking with Marylynn, who was starting a blog. I didn't even know quite what a blog was at the time, but she encouraged me to give it a try. Little did I know what an important thing it would become in my life.

Until next time...

It's Here!

Spring is officially here and 

it is showing up all over my yard.

Crocus

Blooming moss

Ornamental pear tree

Daffodil

Forsythia

Crocus

Nibbled daylilies.

Flowering quince

Ornamental plum

Groundcover.

Mocking bird singing on weather vane.

Crocus

New bluebird nest

Not Crazy Yet

or What the Pandemic Looks Like at My House
(Pictures are from several years ago. They are random ones I found while deleting extra photos from our computer.)

You have to have been living under a rock to not be barraged with constant talk of the corona virus. Or maybe you are living under a rock at this point to get away from it all. We aren't quite there yet, so I'm going to be yet another place that will be talking about the corona virus.
 

Theo at Seneca Rocks, WV.

I think the saying  "the only thing that stays the same is change," applies here as well as elsewhere.
Many things have closed in the area including the library where I work as of Monday. While it is closed to the public, the staff are going in. I am using this time to work on my classes and programs I'm preparing for without so many interruptions. So far, it is working out well. We're closed officially for another week and a half, but we'll see, when that time comes, what the powers-that-be will do.
   

Lucy liked to play Scrabble as well as the next cat.

Ward's job is going full force at the office. He works with computers and communication, and there always seems to be a panic, so I'm not sure the current pandemic is looking any different to him. I'm hoping they will tell everyone to telework full-time soon, which he does a lot on the weekends, because I like having him home. Wally is also working with computers and his job is proceeding as normal with no teleworking yet.

I used to make felt purses. This is a display for a craft fair.

Theo works in the Costco e-commerce department that processes online orders for much of the eastern US. Everyday he comes home tired and says, "That was our biggest day yet!" They are starting to have a mandatory overtime trying to handle the avalanche of orders. Meanwhile, his college classes are scheduled to be held remotely for the next 3 weeks. I'm guessing after that ,the university will keep the campus closed for classes. For one of his classes, he has to have a webcam while he is taking his midterm, so it can proctored remotely. Things sure have changed since I was in school.

Theo made sure that we and his brother were well stocked fairly early on. We already had most of the things we needed, so we didn't have to fight anyone for toilet paper, hand sanitizer, or wipes. We have put aside food in case we have to be quarantined for a couple of weeks. In the meantime, we're eating our normal stock, and we're still going in the stores for milk, bananas, and sandpaper. However, we try to pick less busy times so it's easy to do social distancing. So far we haven't encountered any of the craziness that everyone is talking about and the rows and rows of empty shelves, but my friends have some good stories to tell.

Lilies from our previous yard.

Our extended families are well. One family member was suspiciously sick for a few days, but was not tested because he didn't meet the criteria for travel and known direct exposure. However, he is fine now and is practicing self quarantining.

We are still busy and haven't had time to get bored. For now, we aren't going too crazy.
And if we want a distraction, we just go outside and look as spring springing. :)

Until next time...

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Since I'm pretty sure that all of the St. Patrick's Day parades were canceled this year, here are a few pictures of a parade I went to in Washington, D.C., several years ago. I had been to a St. Patrick's Day parade when I lived in New Orleans where they threw potatoes, carrots, and cabbages to the crowd to make an Irish stew. However, this one was more traditional with bagpipes, Irish dancers, and Irish wolfhounds among other things. Scroll down and imagine it is a cold crisp day and you are watching a fun parade with friendly people that you don't have to stand 6' from.

 

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Recently, I spent the morning with my special needs buddy, Sarah. As always, I enjoyed our time together as she encouraged me to look at things in a new way. We were taking a walk outside when I commented on some emerging daffodil leaves and asked if any were coming up at her house. She said yes, then stooped down and gently stroked the leaves. She commented how soft they were and how the backs were softer than the fronts. I had never taken the time to examine daffodils with my hands, so I was curious. I bent down and stroked the leaves gently just as she had and no surprise, she was right. They were soft.  I'm not exactly sure of the path that my mind took, but I soon started to quietly sing the Mr. Roger's song, "It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood."

Since then, that song has been popping in and out of my mind as I see more and more signs of spring. Here are just a few of them.

The ornamental pear tree has tiny buds on it.

The snowdrop buds have bloomed.

As has the helebore.

I hear more birds singing.

I dug in the dirt when we planted our apple tree. Eventually, we hope this replaces the old apple trees we have now. If we can keep the deer away until we get a cage around it, we'll be good to go.

And the sign of spring that I wait for the most every year, our first crocuses have bloomed.