Ten Things of Thankful: Ups and Downs Can All Be Good

 

Two hummingbirds flit around a feeder

Hummingbirds zip around, flying up, flying down, and any direction works for them. In human life, we sometimes say ups are good and downs are bad, but that isn't necessarily so. Some of my "thankfuls" demonstrate that this week:

1. I'm down a pint of blood this week, thanks to the American Red Cross. I'm thankful I can donate to help those in need.

2. The scale continues to go down. Though little losses aren't much, week after week they are beginning to add up. I'm thankful to be shrinking in size and increasing in health.

3. My tire pressure was low this morning (OK, this "down" isn't great), but when I asked the clerk at the service station to exchange my dimes and nickels for some quarters so I could add air, she told me not to worry about it and she would turn on the air machine for me. I'm thankful for free air. 

4. I needed to bake some cookies this week to take to a church youth activity. The first batch turned out well done, though I had set the timer for the minimum recommended time. The second batch fared similarly, even though I turned down the temperature and checked them earlier. I finally managed to bake some that turned out OK, but I also ordered an inexpensive oven thermometer. Come to find out, the oven is off at least 25 degrees, which makes a difference. I'm thankful for the knowledge that I need to preheat to a lower temperature to get things to work out correctly.

5. My landlord's goats are starting to deliver their kids. While the babies are SO cute, I'm wondering if the mama goat that delivered 4 kids is feeling overwhelmed. Delivering two kids is common; three happens occasionally, but 4?! I'm thankful to be surrounded by spring babies. 

Two kids are under mama goat, two are to the side

6. Speaking of kids, but of the human variety, I'm thankful I could spend time with my grandchildren this week while they've had their spring break. We've visited the zoo, the library, and are planning on going to La Brea Tar Pits tomorrow.

7. After years of not participating, and years of being rather neglectful of this blog, I remembered about the A to Z blogging challenge before it begins in April, and I've even come up with an idea! We'll see if I can pull this off (still looking for U, X, and Y ideas), but my theme is going to be "Free to See, A to Z" and I'm going to highlight various places in the southern California area that are free to visit (though some places do have a parking fee). I'm going to be fitting in a lot of fun in the next couple of weeks so I'll have blog fodder. If you're in the area and want to go on (free) adventures with me, let me know. (And let me know also if you're participating in the A to Z Challenge.)  I'm thankful for all the fun places to see and blog posts to read. 

8. As I hiked a section of the Pacific Crest Trail today (A to Z spoiler alert!) I met a woman walking with 4 children and a dog. We leapfrogged down the trail (not in the literal sense) and then just finally walked together for much of it, even helping each other ford the stream multiple times. I'm thankful for friendly fellow hikers.

9. John is taking his first Saturday off in months tomorrow, so he can come with the grandchildren and me to the tar pits. I'm thankful for him and all the hard work he does.

10.  I'm thankful for the hummingbirds. Whether they are going up or down, they manage to find the sweet things in life. 

What did you find to be thankful for this week? Be sure to link up with the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop, and see what others are saying.