Thankful Me

  A yellow-orange sunset behind mountains, as viewed from my front porch. Red geraniums in white planter boxes line the porch rail. I'm thankful for: 1. Beautiful sunsets. 2. Snowfall. 3. Friends. 4. Flowers. 5.Online shopping. 6. Easy returns. 7. Organized rooms. 8. Prayer. 9. Family. 10. John. What are your ten things this week? Joining me this week: IThrive3:20 The Prolific Pulse messymimi's meanderings A season and a time Artistic Mystic Soul the Wakefield Doctrine Backsies Is What There Is Not Her Headache You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter

  A mixed bouquet of pink and purple flowers sits on a round table Last weekend, I celebrated another birthday. I think the earth moves around the sun faster and faster each year, but I can't prove it. Before another minute goes by, let me share my Ten Things of Thankful list for this week. I'm thankful for family: A birthday dinner with my daughter Birthday calls/texts from family members Beautiful flowers from my children A Facetime call with grandchildren. (My grandson repeated three words the entire time: "I am three!" At one point, I told him I would call him Groot.😉)  Drexel and his laid-back nature (The following video shows Drexel on the floor, while the robotic vacuum repeatedly runs into him and starts up his hind leg and tail. Drexel never gets up.) John and his engineering skills. Yesterday, the bishopric of our ward (church congregation) drove around the neighborhood and (taking care to observe covid recommendations) passed out doughnuts to everyone. Eac

  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

  Drexel the yellow lab intently watching Russell M. Nelson on the TV during General Conference. John's and my feet are visible in the photo, as we are sitting in reclining seats.  Last weekend was General Conference, which was a welcome break from everything stressful going on in the world. The messages were timely and both calmed my spirit and inspired me to do better. Before I share some of the things I heard, though, I have to first share Drexel's good news.  When General Conference started, I snapped the above photo of Drexel intently watching the proceedings, and sent it out in a quick tweet. A few days after conference ended, I was scrolling through Facebook, and saw a link to this ldsliving.com article . Imagine my surprise when I saw my tweet featured! Good boy, Drexel!  When my friend, who some of you may know as Ivy or Zoe, saw that photo she made some improvements to it. I'm thankful for her friendship. Same photo as above, with a speech bubble above my feet th

  Jesus Christ stands in an crowd of kneeling worshippers, with the caption "Peace be unto you."  source In last week's post, I expressed gratitude for some things that hadn't actually happened yet, but that I hoped would soon. This week, I'm thankful that some of those things have happened--and I'm still holding out hope that the others will. In addition, I'm thankful in advance for other events.  To revisit last's week's anticipatory items: My air purifier was repaired, the company sent it back to me, and I'm thankful for clean air. The car wash company accepted responsibility for the accident, have authorized a check to be written to the repair company, and I'm thankful I have an appointment scheduled for the new bumper to be installed. The shop did get the van repaired, though not in time for me to renew the tags before the end of September. However, I'm thankful that the state of Utah offers a temporary registration for only $6 whi

  The shadow of a newly-planted oak creates shade on a hillside If Google is to be believed, there is a Chinese proverb that says, "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now." We planted some trees this week, and while it will be nice in future years when they are full grown, I am thankful for the beauty and shade they already add to the yard.  Like trees, a thankful heart grows over time, but is something to celebrate even in its early development.  The Ten Things of Thankful blog hop, started by Lizzi in 2013, has provided an opportunity for me to reflect weekly on what I am thankful for in my life. Big things, little things, things that weren't necessarily great, but were better than they could have been--all those things count. Over time, this regular exercise shows me that situations and circumstances change, but there really is always something to be thankful for. When storms arise, those silver linings in the clouds are visible, i