Thankful Me

  A frozen stream sits between two banks of snow I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving! We had fewer family members come than originally expected, but even though we missed those that couldn't make it, we enjoyed time with those that could. And as being thankful is not just for those times when everything is smooth sailing, but also (and maybe even more especially) when life throws a curve ball, I can easily come up with a Ten Things of Thankful list this week: 1. I am thankful for family, both near and far. 2. I am thankful for technology that allows us to stay in touch, quickly and easily. The Pony Express used to be the gold standard for fast communication, taking letters from east coast to west coast in 10 days. Can you imagine writing out news, and not receiving a reply of acknowledgment for 20 days? Now we have talk, text, and video calls which allow us to keep in touch instantaneously. 3. I am thankful for games. Thanks to photos inserted into texts, I could see my sister was

  BYU's Lavell Edwards football stadium prior to the game, with the Wasatch Mountains behind More than one person asked me today, "What are you doing with all your time now?" Ah, the question of all mid-life crises! Still puttering through life, hoping I'm steering in the right direction. While some people have one passion that commands all their time and energy, others swap depth for breadth, and enjoy a little of this and a little of that. I'm more of the latter (although when I'm doing family history research I might be confused for the former.) This past week has definitely been of the little of this and a little of that variety. Monday, John and I went and got our bivalent covid boosters. I'm thankful for vaccines (1) and for living in a country where vaccines are readily available (2). I'm not limiting my thanks to only covid vaccines, but others as well.  (Often, it takes me longer than I think it should to compose a post, and this is one of tho

  The sun shines on a golden mountainside, while ominous dark clouds threaten above For the first time in forever (sorry the song is now stuck in your mind!), my phone and computer are cooperating, so I am going to use lots of photos in my post. I'm thankful (1) that photo transfer isn't a problem today. Look at that photo above! The play of light on the mountain in contrast to the very dark clouds is beautiful. Another example of contrast is seen in the photo below, but this time it is the white of the snowy Mt. Timpanogos and the wispy white clouds against the blue of the sky.  I'm thankful (2) for the beauty of the earth .  Snow-covered Mt Timpanogos  Though I spent a lot of time indoors this week (because baby it's cold outside ), I did go on a hike with John. First we hiked up a mountain (not Mt. Timpanogos), and then we hiked down to the river . We didn't pray there (and it really is a creek, not a river), but I loved hearing the rushing water and seeing the

  Ready for hiking: feet in boots with crampons, hiking poles in snow As I hiked with John on Saturday morning, up the canyon where snow blanketed the trees and the quietness was interrupted only by the crunch of our boots on the ice and the rushing sound of the creek, I remembered Robert Frost's poem, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," and I knew I had a theme for this week's Ten Things of Thankful post. (Bonus thankful that the poem is now in public domain!)  STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING W HOSE  woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound's the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises