Skip to main content

Ten Things of Thankful: December, with Much Help from Drexel

It's December.  It's busy.  It's fun.  I'm short on time, but long on gratitude. Here's a recap since the last TToT post.

I went with a friend to Disneyland to see the Candlelight Processional, which is my favorite event of the year at Disneyland. I'm thankful for:  (1) good friends (2) throngs of people who are there to celebrate the birth of Jesus (3) the freedoms we enjoy that allow us to assemble and vocalize our religious views. 

Ginnifer Goodwin was the celebrity reader this year.  I'm thankful (4) that her participation spurred some online discussion, and gave me a chance to clarify some of my beliefs.  

Here is a brief non-professional video of part of the processional. The video leaves much to be desired, but just listen to that choir!



Though I did spend time at Disneyland and other places: playing, running errands and doing various acts of service this week--be sure to check out the #LightTheWorld campaign!--I still had much to do at home. Drexel made sure to stick by me, and help me with my tasks.

I'm thankful (5) he is my own personal trainer to help me stretch after a run.


Photo:  Drexel makes himself at home on my lap
I'm thankful (6) Drexel supervises me as I work on handouts for a church activity.


Photo:  Drexel gazes up at me as I cut out handouts for a church activity
I'm thankful (7) that the Christmas tree is up (even if the ornaments aren't on yet) and (8) that Drexel seems to approve (and that I don't have to worry about him climbing the tree and knocking down ornaments!)


Photo:  Drexel poses dramatically in front of the tree
Although Drexel is hard-working, he knows how to have fun, too. I'm thankful (9) for his reminders to take a break every now and then to play chase!



As always, I'm thankful (10) for John.  He makes me smile. Somehow, I don't think many couples have mathematical conversations while setting up Christmas trees, but we do.  Our tree is old, and little branches are starting to break. This is clearly (!)  a low-cycle fatigue problem.  John realized this year that he could come up with the analysis to show how many more years our tree would last.  However, he was very generous to give me the credit for identifying that the tree has dual modes of failure:  not only are the branches starting to break, but needles are also falling.  Gotta love that man!  He even helped me remember the correct terms to use to write this item.  :-)

How is your December going?  Have any four-legged friends helping you?



Pin It

Comments

  1. Had a chuckle about the tree discussion. . .and love the antics of Drexel.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We were laughing at the time we were having it, too. :-)

      Delete
  2. That photo of Drexel posing with the tree is very inspiring. He has trusting love and hope in his eyes. I'd like to have a four, or two-legged helper this busy season.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You have truly been busy this season, blessing so many people!

      Delete
  3. "dual modes of failure" what a nicely balanced description of an inherently unpredictable process! very cool (legal, medical, engineering, whatever the specialized worldview, I always enjoy listening to a 'native' speak their language. It is surely as much a language as French or German. When I listen to attorneys argue the merits of their case before a judge, the same feeling of 'they are speaking a language that reflects a (separate) reality (to a degree).
    cool
    Drex ....el!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have learned some of the lingo over the years. For a dramatic example, look up "natural frequency" then watch a video of the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows bridge. :-)

      Delete
  4. LOL Drexel helping you stretch :) Our black lab Zoey, every time I'd get down on the floor to do sit ups, she'd come over and plop right beside/on me. Great isn't it? :D
    Seeing Disneyland at Christmas must be fantastic, the lights phenomenal. I love driving around and looking at houses decorated for the holidays.
    Have a wonderful and peaceful holiday season Kristi.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think that labs get bs and ps mixed up and think they are LAP dogs! Disneyland is beautiful at Christmastime.

      Delete
  5. Can't beat a week where you need two posts for your thankfuls!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Conversations are so much nicer when more than one person does the talking. :-) Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts; I'd love to hear from you!

Popular posts from this blog

Ten Things of Thankful: Autumn Edition

It's autumn time, one of my favorite times of year.  I just couldn't leave this weekend as a one-post weekend.  

Ten Things of Thankful: Last Two Weeks

  Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park, as viewed from an overlook I apologize for not commenting on your blog posts this past week; John and I took a vacation to Yellowstone National Park, leaving behind our computers and, to a large extent, cell phone service. We escaped the outside world and just spent time in nature. Though we have friends near Yellowstone (who we love to visit) we made this trip just about us, so please forgive us if we were nearby and didn't stop by. The crowds were minimal (though we did mask up whenever we passed someone on the trails) and we spent our days hiking, taking photos, and watching geysers erupt. Today, we are back home and back to work, and, in the case of my computer, back to old shenanigans like not letting me import my photos. (I was able to add the above photo by using blogger on my phone, but that isn't my preferred method.) I want to write about Yellowstone and have photos I want to share, but will leave that for another

Monday Mentions: Equate Crutches

Have you ever needed crutches? I hadn't, until a week ago.  I'm pretty sure I strained a muscle while running a half-marathon.  (That sounds kind of cool, doesn't it? I'm not actually that cool; the last time I strained a muscle it was from carrying too many shopping bags at once.) In any case, I found myself in need of some crutches. I sent my husband to the store to get some. Photo: A pair of crutches leans against a wall  Not that crutches are all that complex, but because I hadn't used any before, I wondered if I could figure out how to adjust them to fit me properly. I shouldn't have worried. John came home from Walmart with their generic store brand of crutches, complete with instructions. First, I needed to take out a long bolt that went through the hand grip. Then I needed to find my height range, push down two metal pieces, and slide the crutches until the little metal pieces came up in the hole near my height range. (Having two people for this