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Ten Things of Thankful: Dog Days of Summer

 

Yellow lab, Drexel, relaxes next to the garden and looks at the camera

Mid-August already! Although schools in my area start very soon, it still feels like summer to me. Like Drexel in the photo above, I'm enjoying watching the garden grow. I love autumn, but am content and "in the moment" with summer this year. I see friends in California posting screen shots of the weather forecast, and I remember those days of just enduring until October. I'm delighted that summer is again a delight to me. Even when temps near 100, they rarely go over that here, and even when they do, it's not by much nor for long. We've been in Utah now for 3 years, but I'm still tickled about enjoying summers again!

This week, I'm thankful:

  •  for firefighters. (1) Some of my friends in California have been evacuated due to the Lake Hughes fire, and many others have posted photos of the big, billowing smoke from the fire. I hope that the firefighters are able to get a handle on the fire despite the hot, windy conditions. (2) A few hours after I learned about the Lake Hughes fire, a local post appeared on my Facebook page alerting me to the fact there had been a brush fire in the middle of the night about 1/2 mile from my home. It was close to some homes, but fortunately, the firefighters were able to quickly extinguish it. 
  • for progress on projects. (3) I've been realizing that the years pass quickly, and my quasi-filing system has been sorely neglected for way too long. I've been spending time lately shredding old paperwork, and consolidating/organizing other papers. The project will be on-going, but I love the feeling of being organized. (4) We are getting closer to being ready to sell the travel trailer. We had taken out the couch and dinette so we could install new carpet, but now the carpet is in (John's amazing!) and the furniture is back in place. We're just have a couple more things to do, and then it will be done. :-) (5) Some of the bark mulch I mentioned a couple of weeks ago has been put to good use, as we've put it down between garden beds. Again, a work in progress, but I love the clean look. (Yes, even bark mulch can be described as "clean!")
A teal-colored couch with decorative pillows sits on new carpet in a travel trailer. 

Bark mulch covers walking paths between raised-bed garden boxes

  • for raspberries. Whether (6) fresh from the garden, or (7) in an award-winning pie from a local restaurant, I love the taste of raspberries. 
A ripening raspberry shows a gradient of color: light at the top, and growing gradually dark at the bottom

  • for family. (8)Earlier in the week, someone from France who showed up as a distant DNA relative contacted me to see if I could help her. I have no idea how our trees might tie together, but I did do a quick search for her American ancestors, and was able to give her some information she didn't have. I love the feeling of helping people with family history. (9) My mom had a birthday this week. I really lucked out getting her for a mom! She's just like Mary Poppins: practically perfect in every way. (10) John is also practically perfect in every way, but I won't compare him to Mary Poppins. So thankful to have such a great husband! 
I'm to ten, and haven't even mentioned music. I'll just be like Clark, and throw in a couple of videos at the end of this post. The first video was one I sent to my oldest daughter. It's neither a cinematographic masterpiece (for oh-so-many reasons), nor a musical masterpiece for that matter (second time through sight-reading, and I didn't even finish the song because the phone was covering up much of the second page), but I was so happy to find a piece of music I could play and be transported back to Disneyland's Tiki Room. 

The second video is of Jay Ungar and Molly Mason playing an original violin and piano duet that I find really beautiful. (I actually bought the album years ago to have playing at my son and daughter-in-law's wedding reception in our backyard.) Enjoy!





So, what are you thankful for today? As always, feel free to join the Ten Things of Thankful community. There's always room for one more!

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Comments

  1. RomiAugust 14, 2020 at 5:25 PM

    I love your first video!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lisa TomeyAugust 14, 2020 at 6:59 PM

    Lovely 🎶finale! Thank God for fire fighters!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiAugust 16, 2020 at 11:47 AM

      Thank you. Fire fighters definitely deserve thanks!

      Delete
  3. messymimiAugust 15, 2020 at 8:56 AM

    So much to be thankful for, and i wish many happy returns of the day to your mom!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Pat BAugust 15, 2020 at 1:34 PM

    Drexel is really owning your place!
    I hope that the Lake Hughes fire can be extinguished soon! That would be so scary, as would be word of a fire just 1/2 mile away from your home. I'm glad the firefighters were able to put it out quickly.
    Excellent job on the trailer!
    Love seeing the rewards of your gardening efforts.
    What a fun music find. Your happy music.
    As for the Jay Unger and Molly Mason piece. . .well it is connected to my tear ducts.❤️❤️

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiAugust 16, 2020 at 11:48 AM

      Drexel has settled right in, that's for sure.
      I hope the CA fire is out soon, too.

      Delete
  5. Clark FarleyAugust 17, 2020 at 4:53 AM

    Drex...ell! (Excellent photo of a very good looking dog. I totally have dog-photo envy! lol Una doesn't mind having her photo taken, confident in her power to be as invisible as she might feel she would like to be.
    Garden appears to be quite bountiful.
    Gotta be scary, the wildfire thing. While we experience hurricanes and blizzards out here, there is something implacable about the threat from an out-of-control fire. There is a certain impossible to anthropomorphize quality. (Not that naming weather events changes the dynamics, of course.)
    Have an excellent week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiAugust 24, 2020 at 8:43 PM

      Drexel enjoys relaxing in the garden. Speaking of the garden, it is growing well, but I learned I planted the wrong variety of corn. Our neighbors chickens will be happy, and I am ordering a sweeter, less-starchy corn seed for next year.
      Fires are scary. I'm fortunate that I've never had my home in direct danger.

      Delete

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