Thankful Me

  A sign that reads: "ROOTSTECH 2023 UNITING FAMILIES FRIENDS TRADITIONS INNOVATORS GENERATIONS COMMUNITIES rootstech by FamilySearch" I've spent the past few days in Salt Lake City at the Salt Palace Convention Center attending RootsTech, a large family history conference. Between the in-person attendees, and the online attendees, the "Find My Relatives at RootsTech" app told me that I had 64,051 cousins joining me (at the time of this writing. The number keeps going up as more people join in online.) One thousand three hundred and fifty-one of those were attending in person. That's a lot of people! I didn't actually meet all of them, of course, as we were all going from class to class, attending lectures and workshops, listening to keynote speakers, browsing through the expo hall, and going down the street to the FamilySearch library, in search for ancestors' records. That's not to say I didn't connect with relatives. I bumped into old frie...

  Mt. St. Helens, as seen from an airplane  I love to travel, and I love to be home. This past week, I traveled home--to my parents' home, where so many memories of mine were made. Apparently I took the Utah snow to Oregon, because we ended up being pretty much snowbound most of the week, but the roads were good for the arrival and departure days, so that was appreciated.  1. I'm thankful for my parents, and for their health. Yes, they are older than they used to be, but aren't we all? It was great to just be able to spend time together, talking, laughing, and reminiscing. 2. I'm thankful for shelter from the elements. My dad designed and built their unique home and we were dry and warm, even when the power went out for a while.  3. I'm thankful for plants. My mom has a green thumb when it comes to houseplants. She knows their specific light requirements and carefully puts the plants in the best environment. My dad loves to root cuttings of outdoor plants in his ind...

  The sun rises over the Caribbean Sea You might remember that last summer, John and I won a free future cruise  on Holland America. Well, these past two weeks we have been redeeming that free cruise by escaping the snow and cold and hanging out in the Caribbean. We're back home now with snow in the forecast, but sunshine in our hearts.  Dark clouds above a blue sky and green-blue water and white sand beach at Trunk Bay, U.S.V.I. We did have a sprinkle or two of rain, but not much--and what's the problem with rain when you're wet from snorkeling anyway?  A conch shell as long as my foot on the beach The blue bricks that pave the streets of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico The view of the unbelievably blue water and the ship from a bench in Half Moon Cay, Bahamas A replica of John Glenn and the Friendship 7, which splashed down near Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos John enjoying floating in a pool under one of the waterfalls at Damajagua in the Dominican Republic John and I on ...

  A nearly full moon rises above snow-covered mountains We've had a bit of a reprieve from the constant snow drizzle, and roads are clear (except up near Salt Lake City where though they may be clear from snow, nearly everyday a huge herd of elk shuts down the freeway ) Nevertheless, I'm not surprised by the Groundhog Day news this year; six more weeks of winter sounds about right. I just keep telling myself how nice it is that the drought is being chipped away.  1. I am thankful for snow. (More is in the forecast, of course.)  2. I am thankful that the plants will benefit from so much moisture.  3. I am thankful for the knowledge that spring will come eventually and I will be able to start seeds and plant trees and bushes.  4. I am thankful for a warm dry house. 5. I am thankful for reliable transportation. Knocking on wood with this one; our newest car is 13 years old this year. 6. I am thankful to be old enough to think that of course cars in the 13-20+ year ...

  A wax-coated bulb and its red amaryllis blossom Don't worry. The post title isn't some poetic description of my mental state; it's just a comment on the weather. This week it has seemed that I was in Washington or Oregon, only with snow. It has been mostly cloudy all week, with a perpetual drizzle of snow. Yesterday the sun did shine for a brief moment, but the light snowfall has returned again. While the near-constant snowfall is getting a little old. . .  1. I am thankful for the snow. It's going to take a lot of water to get Utah out of drought conditions, and the more snow we get now, the better. If the ground is already saturated by the time the snow runoff starts, that just means more water in the reservoirs. I've already told John we'll need to plant more trees/shrubs this spring, since the ground (mostly rocks) should be (relatively) easy to dig. 😊 2. I'm thankful to live where there are four seasons. Though Mele Kalikimaka is a fine song, I do pr...

  A beautiful stained glass mural showing Jesus Christ healing a man. Various other Bible stories are also depicted. About this time last year, John and I had booked a vacation that we ended up having to cancel for reasons beyond our control. At the time we canceled, we were given the option of a refund of part of the money, or we could get all of the money refunded if we took the airfare portion as a credit. We chose the credit, but failed to read the fine print well enough. Surprise, surprise, the airfare credit expired within a year, and was only good if we booked a hotel package at the same time. First world problem for sure, but we needed to book a vacation. We thought we'd just take a quick trip in January to somewhere warmer than Utah, and had decided on San Antonio, Texas--somewhere neither of us have been. I researched the trip, but didn't hit the book button. When I returned to the site a few days later to book, the cost had increased quite a bit. No offense to Texas,...

  a Christmas tree with all of the decorations placed on the upper half of the tree Hello, my friends! December just flew by. We had the privilege of having our grandchildren come and stay with us over the holidays. The tree in the photo above started out more traditionally decorated, but our toddler granddaughter decided that we had too many ornaments within her reach, so by the time the grandchildren went home, the tree looked like it does in the photo above. I don't imagine Better Homes and Gardens will be wanting to do a photo shoot anytime soon, but I don't care. We made memories, and that is what matters.  Let's jump right in to the Ten Things of Thankful: 1. I'm thankful for the chance to see almost all of my children, and all of my grandchildren, in December. I really love my family.  2. I'm thankful also for extended family and gatherings we had over the holidays. 3. I'm thankful for technology that allows family to stay in touch even when we aren't...