Thankful Me

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Ten Things of Thankful: Steering in the Right Direction

BYU's Lavell Edwards football stadium prior to the game, with the Wasatch Mountains behind More than one person asked me today, "What are you doing with all your time now?" Ah, the question of all mid-life crises! Still puttering through life, hoping I'm steering in the right direction. While some people have one passion that commands all their time and energy, others swap depth for breadth, and enjoy a little of this and a little of that. I'm more of the latter (although when I'm doing family history research I might be confused for the former.) This past week has definitely been of the little of this and a little of that variety. Monday, John and I went and got our bivalent covid boosters. I'm thankful for vaccines (1) and for living in a country where vaccines are readily available (2). I'm not limiting my thanks to only covid vaccines, but others as well. (Often, it takes me longer than I think it should to compose a post, and this is one of tho

Ten Things of Thankful: Photos from the Week (and Some Music, Too!)

The sun shines on a golden mountainside, while ominous dark clouds threaten above For the first time in forever (sorry the song is now stuck in your mind!), my phone and computer are cooperating, so I am going to use lots of photos in my post. I'm thankful (1) that photo transfer isn't a problem today. Look at that photo above! The play of light on the mountain in contrast to the very dark clouds is beautiful. Another example of contrast is seen in the photo below, but this time it is the white of the snowy Mt. Timpanogos and the wispy white clouds against the blue of the sky. I'm thankful (2) for the beauty of the earth . Snow-covered Mt Timpanogos Though I spent a lot of time indoors this week (because baby it's cold outside ), I did go on a hike with John. First we hiked up a mountain (not Mt. Timpanogos), and then we hiked down to the river . We didn't pray there (and it really is a creek, not a river), but I loved hearing the rushing water and seeing the

Ten Things of Thankful: Hiking Through Woods on a "Frost"y Morning

Ready for hiking: feet in boots with crampons, hiking poles in snow As I hiked with John on Saturday morning, up the canyon where snow blanketed the trees and the quietness was interrupted only by the crunch of our boots on the ice and the rushing sound of the creek, I remembered Robert Frost's poem, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," and I knew I had a theme for this week's Ten Things of Thankful post. (Bonus thankful that the poem is now in public domain!) STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING W HOSE woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound's the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises

Ten Things of Thankful: From Shirt Sleeves to Bundle-Up Weather

A look out my back door. Snow is falling. The leaves on the aspen trees are turning yellow, and the sumac leaves are red. Until yesterday, the weather for the week was gorgeous. Highs in the mid-70's and beautiful blue skies provided a lovely contrast to the changing colors of the trees. As I'm writing this, on Sunday afternoon, a light snow is falling. It's mesmerizing to watch from inside my warm house. Even though the seasons changed so abruptly, we made the most of the week, and I'm thankful: 1. For another year around the sun. John found a 4-leaf clover for me, all of my kids called or saw me in person. I'm definitely a lucky woman. a four-leaf clover that John found 2. For the hiking trails behind our home. The video below shows part of one of our hikes: a creek in the canyon. 3. For the changing fall leaves. Red-orange leaves on trees on the side of the road 4. For a visit to BYU's Museum of Art . It had been a while since we had been there. If you a

Ten Things of Thankful: Ignorance, Awareness, and Home Again

The fountains at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas I missed the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop last week. John and I went to Las Vegas to see a couple of shows (Blue Man Group and America's Got Talent), came home for one day, then spur-of-the-moment decided to go to California to visit with the grandchildren for several days. We got back home Thursday night, and now of course the Las Vegas trip seems so distant and I've just got grandchildren on the brain (and spending time with them counts as all ten items on my thankful list), but I will try to catch you up on what I would have said last week had I gotten a post written. We were in Las Vegas from Tuesday, October 6 to Thursday, October 8. Early on in the vacation, I was mentally composing a post in my head, and thought I would mention how we were able to visit Las Vegas on a budget. We stayed in the Luxor Hotel, after checking their calendar and realizing that the nightly charge was ridiculously affordable mid-week. (AND the

Ten Things of Thankful: Finches, Football, and October General Conference

A tiny lesser goldfinch sits on a dandelion stalk in the grass It's October! The temperatures are cooler, and this week I found myself taking time to notice little things around me, like the cute lesser goldfinch in the photo above. Just that one photo prompts several things I am thankful for, so let's just dive into the Ten Things of Thankful list! 1. I'm thankful for birds that visit my yard. 2. I'm thankful for a guidebook to help me identify the birds. 3. In the entry for "Lesser Goldfinch," the guidebook reads: "Lesser Goldfinches feed on dandelion seeds and raise their young on soft unripe seeds. They adjust the time and place of their breeding to the presence of this staple food." I guess that means I am thankful for dandelions, because without their presence in my yard, I probably would not see that cute goldfinch. (Next slide, please.) Lavell Edwards stadium fills prior to the BYU/USU football game, as the sun sets amid dark clouds 4. I&#