Thankful Me

  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

  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

  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&#