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Ten Things of Thankful: Summer Strawberries and Procrastinated Projects

A brilliantly-colored dark pink and purple fuchsia blossom


You would think that by the time a person reaches my age, she would not be surprised by the passing of time, yet I find myself nearly constantly amazed that a certain amount of time has passed--whether that be a week, month, year, or couple of decades.

Earlier this year, I planted a garden. Yesterday I harvested my first strawberry. Earlier this year, I also planted fuchsia starts, and now the flowers are blooming. How is that possible? (And why am I surprised?)

Sometime around the turn of the century (and it still seems strange to use that phrase about the year 2000), we bought a circa 1935 dresser. It needed some TLC, but had a cool curvy front. This past week, I finally got around to applying some Restor-A-Finish and Feed-N-Wax, and now the dresser still looks old, but not dilapidated. I still need to apply some hide glue to some loose pieces, but I'm counting progress as a win.

For as long as I can remember, I've been a saver of papers. It some respects, this is good. I've been able to find warranties, proofs of purchase, etc. when called upon. In many respects, this is bad. Much of the paperwork I have saved is no longer needed. I've spent some time this week shredding papers, and am well on my way to accumulating a garbage bag full of little cross-cut pieces of paper. I joked with John that we could use it to cover our garden walkways. (Just kidding; one good gust of wind would make our yard look like a ticker-tape parade. We'll fill our recycle bin with the stuff.) 

This week, even though I can't seem to figure out how time works, I do know what I'm thankful for:

1. I'm thankful for home-grown, ripening strawberries.
2. I'm thankful that raspberries grow here! 
3. I'm thankful for blooming fuchsias.
4. Although in general, I'm not thankful for door-to-door salesmen, as I type this, a young man is outside cleaning my windows. So thankful to be able to hire out that job! (And window washing definitely fits the "procrastinated projects" category.)
5. I'm thankful for a shredder that hasn't given out, even though I'm definitely giving it a workout.
6. I'm thankful for products that make old furniture look not-so-tired.
7. I'm thankful for a decade-old cross-stitch project that I discovered and have started. Unlike the paper-shredding project (which I am trying to finish asap), I will just approach this one a few minutes at a time as the mood hits. It's nice to have a project that is easy to pick up (and put down.)
8. I'm thankful for Drexel, who is sometimes as confused as I am about time--or at least tries to persuade me that dinner time should be a couple of hours early!
9. I'm thankful for summer. After living for years in the high desert of California, where the heat and wind were oppressive, I'm still delightedly surprised that summer can be enjoyable. Sure, it gets hot, but not HOT. (And utility rates are low enough that we can actually run the a/c at a comfortable setting!)
10. Always and forever, I'm thankful for John.

What are you thankful for today in whatever period of time you choose?

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Comments

  1. Lisa TomeyJune 26, 2020 at 7:31 PM

    Always such a beautiful list!

    ReplyDelete
  2. h2hsc2020@gmail.comJune 26, 2020 at 8:43 PM

    I enjoy eating strawberries. I have never been to a strawberry field. I don't care for raspberries at all. Blackberries are my berry of choice.

    I bet the flowers are beautiful

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiJune 27, 2020 at 1:08 PM

      Blackberries are good, but raspberries are my favorite! :-)

      Delete
  3. Pat BJune 26, 2020 at 11:29 PM

    Your fuchsia is gorgeous! It looks like velvet!
    I Googled the products you used. I should try them on some of our furniture.
    I hope you are as happy with your clean windows as we are with ours.❤️
    Glad you are able to have your A/C at a comfortable setting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiJune 27, 2020 at 1:09 PM

      I'm very happy with the windows! Such a difference! :-)

      Delete
  4. Clark FarleyJune 27, 2020 at 2:13 PM

    We once tried to grow strawberries. One of my hardly-eaten but still a favorite... (the concept of strawberry shortcake has been something I've always thought was surely the best of desert items as a kid and, (in keeping with the slippery nature of time) somehow, I've never made it (the desert, not time) a part of our menu here. Even though it would not take too much effort... being an adult and all
    lol
    Time is a funny thing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiJune 28, 2020 at 7:47 AM

      Oh, the whole concept of being an adult is another aspect of time, isn't it? Once the strawberry harvest picks up a bit, maybe John and I will have to have strawberry shortcake.

      Delete
  5. messymimiJuly 1, 2020 at 2:49 PM

    Lovely, the fuscias and all of the gratitude.

    ReplyDelete

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