Skip to main content

Ten Things of Thankful: Mid-March Edition

Photo: In a deep blue sky, the moon rises over bare-to-snow-covered mountains 

Earlier this week, snowflakes fell from the sky. Today, sunshine is streaming down as if winter never happened. Such is March. I'm itching to get outside and plant things, but also recognize it might be a tad bit early yet. Fortunately, there are plenty of other outside chores that need my attention.  I'm going to leave my computer right now and go soak up some Vitamin D. Excuse me while I head outside.  I'll be back before you know it!

 (Told you so!) Here's what I'm thankful for this week:

 Things I Have Accomplished

  • I've transplanted all of my African violets into matching pots, and I love how the colors work with the other items in the room.
Photo: A purple African violet in a green ombre ceramic pot

  • I found cute Mickey and Minnie planters at an antique store. (Antique isn't quite descriptive of all the items--the planters were dated 1997!) Anyway, I bought them on impulse. My accomplishment wasn't in the purchase, though, but in the way I was able to accessorize them with colorful fake plants. I was surprised at how much I liked the end result!
Photo: On the left, a concrete-colored Minnie holds a pot of artificial greenery with a pink daisy, a yellow daisy, and a black and white flower. On the right, a concrete-colored Mickey with a pot of artificial greenery, red roses, and a black and white flower.

  • I took the car in for an oil change and to get the rear brakes checked. When I back out of my steep driveway, I think the whole neighborhood can hear the ruckus! Good news (for the wallet) is that the brakes are still fine. Sorry, neighbors. 
  • Years ago, while doing family history research, I realized that the record of my marriage could be found online. I learned then that John's full name was misspelled. I don't know why I didn't look into how to correct it then, but this past week, I found the correction form, had John sign it, and mailed it in. #nevertoolate
  • I noticed that we hadn't received airline miles for all of our segments of our trip to Italy, so I sent in documentation to the airline. 
  • I noticed the insurance company showed an adjustment for a claim indicated that I overpaid for a routine mammogram. I called, and I should be getting a refund. 
  • I asked a neighbor if she would like to be my walking buddy, and she said yes. In most places I've lived, I've had walking or running buddies, and we have become good friends as we've pounded the pavement. It takes time to develop friendships, and I'm looking forward to dedicating some time to that purpose. (Yeah, while walking is great, I'm doing it mostly for the friendship.) 
  • John and I spent our Saturday morning doing yard work. Some trees got trimmed, and a flower bed got cleaned up. I hung up some bird feeders, and we put up yard decorations. The front porch was swept and straightened. 
Things I Have Noticed
  • Birds. Chickadees, jays, robins, and various other birds I haven't identified. Quail running up the hillside. I will never get tired of watching them, and I look forward to seeing lots of baby quail in the near future. 

 The Constant on My List
  • John. We love our kids, and how crazy busy we were when they were little. That being said, we love the adults they have become and the quiet empty nest we now enjoy. It's nice to know that though children grow up and move out, our marriage remains. We've enjoyed the previous phases, and are enjoying this one, too. 
What are you thankful for this week? I'd love to hear! Be sure to check out the other TToT posts:


You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!
Click here to enter

Comments

  1. Lisa TomeyMarch 17, 2019 at 5:35 AM

    Congratulations on finding those financial nuggets. Good thing on finding that spelling. Mine showed me born in the wrong place. My daughter fixed it as my sister, who has crossed over, entered it. She probably was whispering in my ear.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiMarch 17, 2019 at 1:44 PM

      It must be fairly common to have mistakes on documents; I'm glad it was easy to sort out--even if it did take me years to correct!

      Delete
  2. Carin DiazMarch 17, 2019 at 9:21 AM

    Great list of gratitude. Chores done. Lovely planters and plants. Family.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMarch 17, 2019 at 2:00 PM

    We had a semi-spring day yesterday, today is back to mid-30s. Getting used to the 'constant of change' when it comes to temperatures. Looking towards the yard for projects, the first being to get rid of the brush piles (living in a pine wood, there is no shortage of broken limbs and fallen trees. ...ever). It will be fun when its done.
    Our pond has somehow become choked with a green algae-like growth... thinking that might be fun to tackle.
    Have a good week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiMarch 17, 2019 at 4:31 PM

      We have plenty of yard projects to do, too--more than we'll get done in one year. Our goal for this year: fencing and sprinklers, so we can start planting. We're hoping the deer won't see the fence as a challenge and the plants as a buffet!

      Mary Poppins would be proud of your attitude toward the scum-filled pond!

      Delete
  4. messymimiMarch 17, 2019 at 8:15 PM

    Now that's a list of blessings if i ever heard one! Hope the yard work continues to go well until planting time. While i'm not sure about where you are, we don't plant until the pecan trees bloom. You can fool every other tree, but the pecan trees know when the last frost of the season is over and won't bloom until then.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiMarch 18, 2019 at 1:41 PM

      I don't think pecan trees grow here, but I'm pretty sure I need to wait until night time temperatures come out of the 30's. :-)

      Delete
  5. Pat BMarch 17, 2019 at 11:02 PM

    What a pretty African violet! The pot is pretty too.
    Good catch about the airline miles.
    I am glad you have a walking buddy. :-)
    What kind of bird feeders did you put up? Hummingbird feeders or feeders with seed?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiMarch 18, 2019 at 1:43 PM

      I put up feeders with bird seed. We had problems with wasps last summer, and John doesn't want to do anything that might attract them back. Unfortunately, that means the hummingbird feeders aren't up.

      Delete
  6. AstridMarch 18, 2019 at 2:05 PM

    Such a great list! I love your story about John’s name being misspelled, and glad you got it corrected.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiMarch 19, 2019 at 9:34 AM

      I sent it in, but will be relieved when I receive an updated certificate! :-)

      Delete

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: Live from Oregon, part 2

stock photo of old computer monitor When I was 10 or 11, I remember sitting next to my dad in our living room and reading computer code to him as he entered it into an Apple computer. We would finish the exercise and he would hit enter (or was it "run"?) and wait expectantly for the green type to appear on the screen. If we were lucky, the whole conversation would occur. Most often, there would be an error either in my dictation of the code, or in the typing of the code. We would then go painstakingly back through the lines, character by character, to find and correct the error. After what seemed like hours (and might have been), we would succeed and the computer would finally run the entire program. It was magical! My dad designed and built an earth-sheltered, passive solar home decades before solar panels were commonplace. He also was on a 9-month waiting list for a Prius, when hybrids were not seen on every street.  While my dad is definitely on the cutting edge of technol...
5 comments
Read more

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...
4 comments
Read more

What a Wonderful World! (An #AtoZChallenge Post): Z is for Zion National Park

  Visitor Center sign in Zion National Park My husband recently re-retired, and we are front-loading travel. My #AtoZChallenge posts this year will explore our adventures--some pre-retirement, some post. Today's location: Zion National Park in Utah.  Zion is a bit of a shibboleth. People from outside of Utah (or those who are not members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) tend to pronounce Zion as "ZIE-on." Locals (or tourists who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) use more of a schwa sound, pronouncing Zion to rhyme with lion. However you choose to pronounce it, it is an amazing, beautiful national park and has some amazing hikes. The last time my husband and I visited Zion National Park, we entered from the east, and traveled through the mile-long Zion-Mt. Carmel tunnel. It is an engineering marvel, completed in the 1920s. Before we passed through the tunnel, though, we spotted a group of bighorn sheep, including some babies...
8 comments
Read more