Skip to main content

Ten Things of Thankful: Rain and Routine

 

A river floods a dirt road

While I was in Oregon, southern California got a lot of rain, and John sent me a video of a raging Santa Clara River, which is normally just a dry wash near us. I figured I had missed my opportunity to actually see it with water in it. Guess again! Earlier this week, we had more rain. I walked down the dirt lane and saw that the river again had water, though not as much as before. Later that same day, the river bed was empty once again. I'm glad I got to see it with water in it. It would be lovely if it always flowed, though that would require a bridge for safe egress!

1. I'm thankful for water.

Although Monday was President's Day, John still had work, so the week was fairly routine. I enjoy routine, though. It might not be exciting, but there is something comfortable about life's normal ebb and flow. The hum of the washer and dryer, the gentle (or sometimes louder!) snoring of our dog, Drexel, the quiet click of the keyboard--these are calm, comfortable sounds. 

2. I'm thankful for routine.

Although I don't have a lot of demands on my time currently, I am not prone to boredom. There are always projects to do, skills to hone, or reading to be done. I'm trying to use this year productively. 

3. I'm thankful for time.

Because we didn't bring many things with us for this move, I am learning to adapt some of my routines. In Utah, I walked regularly with a friend, and I used the treadmill to start running again. Here, I've been working out to YouTube videos. It dawned on me this week though that I don't need a treadmill to do a couch-to-5k program. I can just run in place--or pace back and forth like a zoo animal--so that's what I've been doing. (I know running outside is another option, but I hesitate to run alone, and it won't be too long before it will be too hot, and the Mojave green rattlesnakes will probably be coming out soon, too.) Anyway, I'm establishing my new routine of 3 days running, 2-3 days using exercise videos. 

4. I'm thankful for healthy habits.

The stubborn scale, which seemed to have been following  a steady "going up!" routine itself, has finally decided to start coming back down to earth. I'm doing what I can to encourage it to keep behaving. It will be a process, I'm sure, but I'm cautiously optimistic.

5. I'm thankful for hope. 

This week, I was able to take my grandchildren to a library art program. The librarian talked about the art of Alma Thomas, then the children were able to paint their own creations. I must admit I was a little wary about trying to supervise six children with paint, but it worked out so well! We were the only attendees, so we had the librarian's undivided attention and help, AND although some hands and arms did get paint on them, there were no major paint spill disasters! Although I'm sad that the event wasn't better attended, I was so relieved, and the librarian said that our family definitely brought the numbers up. 

6. I'm thankful for library programs.

7. I'm thankful the grandkids got to express their creativity, AND that the mess was contained to the library. 

John and I always have a weekly date night. Sometimes we stay in; sometimes we go out, but no matter what, we know it's date night. I wasn't sure what we were going to do yesterday, and then I received an email from a nearby town's performing arts' center, offering $10 tickets to the night's performance. After checking with John to see if he was up for an 8:00 p.m. concert (he works long hours, 6 days a week), I booked tickets.  The Black Market Trust gave an enjoyable, entertaining concert. 

8. I'm thankful for a deal.

9. I'm thankful for good music.

10. I'm thankful for John. 

How did your week go? Did you have rain and/or routine? No matter what, there are things to be thankful for, so let us know what they are! Check out the other bloggers lists on the Ten Things of Thankful blog! 



Comments

  1. messymimiFebruary 25, 2024 at 2:18 PM

    Routine and variables are the story of life, if you think about it. Spring follows winter ever year, but it's never the same spring twice. There's enough routine to keep us stable and enough variability that we don't get bored or dull.

    I'm thankful for your lovely list!

    ReplyDelete
  2. clarkFebruary 26, 2024 at 12:08 PM

    What an excellent TToT
    Both in content and structure.

    Warning! Lack of vocabulary re writing and rhetoric ahead, trust your first guess), the narrative (or, Listic) progression was awfully well done, one tying to the next and building on the prior.
    Nice get with the alternate to 'running'. Used to do that while holding an Open House* As part of my routine, I'd do a certain number of repetitions on the stairs to the second floor (which, much to my solitary amusement, I'd refer to as my Static Stairmaster).
    have a good week!

    *back when things made sense and houses did not sell before you knew the seller wanted to lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiFebruary 26, 2024 at 1:12 PM

      Thank you; I really appreciate your kind comments.
      "Static Stairmaster"--I'm never going to look at my stairs in Utah the same way!
      Market must be hot now where you are?

      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