Ten Things I'm Thankful For ~ Jan 14, 2013

Aren't you impressed with all the blogging coming along here lately? 

Actually, for the most part, there's plenty to say about having "draft posts" awaiting final editing, ready to go within a few moments final completion. Yay me for getting them from draft to published! :) 

Here's to the number "ten", yes, only another ten things for today's post, none which might make perfect sense to another, just ten personal things in no random order whatsoever. It okay though if I post more than ten photos, right? Yes? I completely agree with you there. 

So, here's to today's TEN! 

 

- 1 - Merry Christmas to US! Yes, two weeks before Christmas, my good old Maytag washing machine literally came to a grinding halt. The Maytag washer/dryer set we've owned, just happened to have been included with this home, the previous brand new set I owned was sold upon our move here. I figured it would be a great set, after all doesn't Maytag offer those commercials of less busy repair men? 

Last summer when our front loading washer machine was making loud noises, I did have a repair man in. His diagnosis was not good, though hopeful to keep on using it. He suggested I run it right down, that the barrel motor was on its way out, and that it would continue to make much louder noises that it would one day sound like it was taking off like a jet plane. That it did. No more laundry in the late evening, or baby woke up. One of the great things about front load washers, is once they go, never will water leak from the barrel drum onto the floor. That was comforting. Sort of anyway. So, of course, it decided to leave us just before Christmas, and a lovely family bonding trip to the laundry mat was in good order. 

I'm a little odd I suppose because I actually don't mind laundry mats. Imagine getting five super large (sheets/towels, etc.) loads rolling all at one time, wow, so fast. And then, within half an hour, off for home we went to use our working still dryer for the duration of the day. It worked for us to complete the laundry this way, and I was willing to wait for after Christmas specials before shopping, but my husband trumped me and decided we should do it right away, you know - "window shop". Ever window shop with a husband? They buy, not shop, because they just want it over and done with. There's that word again;  D-O-N-E!

Mr. Fix-it day. Notice a roof shingle laying here, one that had blown from our roof! 

Our new washer/dryer set (!) were delivered here, placed in the laundry room (you know, after all that spring cleaning one has to perform when the previous washer/dryer gets moved out), and then my husband proceeded to reverse the dryer door around the other way for me. Yay! How wonderfully quiet these both are! It's so great to be able to perform all laundry tasks later in the evening again, specially when the gas and hydro pricing is lower. 

Merry Christmas to us!
 

- 2 - I'm thankful for brighter colored (monopoly kind of) money now in Canada. Seriously, what's with all these security changes? There are just too many people out there who have nothing else better to do than to make counterfeit money? 

And, we are losing our penny this year, with our nickel to follow shortly afterward. Soon, we will be a cashless society no doubt, and life will be filled with even more identity theft than ever before, or something else futuristic perhaps. But, in the meanwhile, I actually like our polymer plastic money. It doesn't rip or tear, and crinkle the way our paper bills do. So, tell me, are you saving one of the older type of bills, or a few pennies, just for fun?

Dead battery discoveries

- 3 - I'm thankful for bulk battery purchases one can make at Costco when having to repurchase many at once. I'm beginning to despise having to budget so much money all of the time for battery bulk buys. Really! 

• First there's the smoke detectors which require a new 9volt square battery yearly. 
• There's the AAA batteries to replace the headsets for the vehicle's DVD player, and other assorted gadgets. 
• There's the very large battery to replace in our security alarm system for use as back up. 
• There's all those bundles of AA batteries for "everything", even though we have rechargeable ones galore to use here instead, I'm finding their shelf life not as long as I had hoped. 
• There are those "C" and "D" sized ones for the odd things like exercise bike panel, baby's music on her crib, flashlights, stereos, etc.. 
• And lest we forget, there are those wee little round ones for watches. Whew. 

I think I need to buy some stocks in some of these companies, because like the first disposable "Bic" shavers, these things are meant to be replaced, and often! 

Thank you to Costco for saving the day every time with huge savings on these must-have items.

- 4 - I'm thankful for having a baker in the family who insists all of her final products are decorated for proper presentation factors. 

She keeps us smiling because we never know what her next little sign will be to greet us in the kitchen after her baking sessions are complete. 

 

- 5 - I'm thankful for family assembly moments when everyone pitches in to make breakfast freezer foods for another day. 

Yes, we are into breakfast sandwiches here these days. With shift workers, and ski slope days, let alone packed lunches for work, there is plenty of goodness in preparing ahead so anyone has a nutritious food fare to grab and go when necessary. 

Whipping up entire meals ahead of time saves time, effort, and makes everyone less grumpy when looking at a (full) fridge, only to announce - there's nothing to eat in this house! (translated into there's nothing edible in a fast food two seconds flat). 

 

 

Crustless mini bacon/veggie/egg quiches, great snacks anytime. They freeze beautifully, and can be grabbed while heading out the door to eat cold. 

(they actually taste really good hot or cold)

Well, we're changing all of that here now. I have pages and pages of make ahead breakfast/brunch ideas on the go in my kitchen, such a great idea all of the time to continue planning.

- 6 - I'm thankful for out of town visitors who come to have a wonderful time together. 

Whether these boys (who live within a span of 2 hours in distance) are using the outdoor ice skating rink, playing hockey to their hearts content, or on the slopes snowboarding, or playing the latest and greatest NHL hockey on a video game system, they are always great to have over. These visits happen so seldom, an entire weekend is devoted to ensuring they have lots ot time together. 

This particular weekend, it was just easier to have them arrive on a Friday, and then bring them all to our church with us, so their parents could pick them up there at Sunday's morning mass. 

- 7 - I'm thankful for scarves! Yes, I've grown accustomed while living in colder climate areas to wear scarves quite a lot. 

This particular one was gifted to me from my mother four years ago, a pashima that's soft and so neutral to wear inside my coat collars. I'm rather loving it again this winter. 

 Baby and Bunny Love

- 8 - I'm thankful for fun little spontaneous moments like this one, when baby meets bunny face to face, and her endearing excitement keeps us all observing what will happen next. 

From her first surprised glance when noticing our daughter's sweet little Floppy bunny, to her following and chasing him about the bar stool area, what squeals came from her mouth, just delighted with him in her company. 

And then, it happened. She stretched way out there, doing the splits of sorts, and touched his nose. Lots of sweet bunny love was evident, and she was so kind and gentle to our bunny, both enjoyed their moments together. 

 

 - 9 - I'm thankful for crazy things that make me laugh, like the scene above, when someone decided placing bags of creamy homemade soup should stand vertically, rather than the common sense way of laying them down horizontally.

Thawing out these ones a few weeks back, all I was hoping for is that they'd fall off gracefully. They did. Bonus! The rack was cleaned while thawed at the same time.

 - 10 - I'm thankful for casual dinners with a priest at our table. Yes, these regular evenings have become very casual, when our priest visits to give catechism lessons to our future son in law, in the privacy of our home, and then knows he's always included at our dinner table later in the evening. 

A perfect end to the day is having his priestly blessing on our family shortly before leaving out the door. 

I'm also thankful for evenings when all are home for dinner, 

I mean all are actually eating at the same time, at the same table, yes, all at the same time! My husband and I weren't ready to eat yet, so all of these wonderful people in our home decided to serve themselves and begin early. 

As I was sitting not too far away, it hit me hard. It won't be long until two more birdies leave our family nest. 

Yes, a mother knows when the time has come for them to try to fly using their own young wings, to fly onward in the direction their own lives are going to take them. I pray daily for them, that with God's graces, they will be able to make good decisions, offering smooth passages towards their lifelong goals and dreams.

It's coming. Am I ready? 
Ready to go from 8-7-6-5-4-3- to 2??? at home? 
Nope. But, it's going to soon become a reality, so I'm preparing my heart for these days ahead.

Okay, another ten, ten good things to dwell on, personal things that is for me to share here with everyone.

Skipping through photos, it was great to finally load all the ones hidden on my iphone, about 600 of them in fact. 

As I sifted through the bunches there, a few obviously stood out, a few above, and definitely the one below I was able to snap while driving.

Um....I know, but I promise I was looking straight ahead, wasn't distracted, just hoping I pressed the right button on my phone. I did. At least I found out when I got all the way home.

How beautiful this evening sky was! A real blessing to be sure...

Be blessed friends...and now, go write down your ten things for today...

She bought a horse!

 This is Foxy, otherwise known by her show name; 

"Silver Fox"

She's a dappled gray thoroughbred horse, one who came into our daughter's life quite suddenly when she was accidentally browsing on "Kijiji's advertisements".

Yes, most kids today are on the internet for other purposes, but our daughters are looking at advertisements for horses. I would add that our younger animal-lover daughter also browses advertisements for other animals; bunnies, chickens, and whatever else she thinks we need here at home. Let me tell ya though - there was so much hoopla and excitement around here last month when running across the advertisement for Foxy! 

Foxy came to the barn last month after our daughter took up her coach's offer to assist in checking out this horse ownership possibility with her, and leapt straight into this new chapter in her life. It's like going to view a new puppy in the window of a pet store, you know, the one you come home with because you just have to have it! I told my husband while she was gone, that she would come home with that horse, because i just knew she would...

Foxy's former owner is a nursing student living quite a distance away, and incapable of continuing care for her sweet girl. So, once the difficult choice was made for her to find a new home for her horse, she decided it would not be sold to anyone. Oh no! She was adamant to remain quite picky over who the new owner would be, but once she met our daughter, and her coach (whom she loved!), she very much welcomed the idea of Foxy joining a new family, subsequently traveling the distance to her new home over this way. Both owners will be keeping in touch, hitting it off very well that I can see them becoming friends over time too, a real bonus for both!

 Aside from having to put more weight on, Foxy has proven in such a short time to be a wonderful horse, with the sweetest disposition. 

The coach told our daughter that very day, "if you don't take this horse, I want her because she's the best horse I've seen around in ages!" Needless to say, as these two continue to bond together, there is so much loving happening for this horse within the barn community since first arriving there on that wet and rainy day.

She rides like the wind, takes any jump and is completely affectionate towards her new owner/rider. Looking forward to all great things to come for these two in the future. 

Who would have thought she would buy her own horse about now? Me, that's who. I just knew she was sunk once she left home to 'take a looksy'.... smiling....  

We all know that no one comes out empty handed doing that! :)

Ten Things I'm Thankful For ~ Snowy white

 

Ten!

Just ten for today. 

Only ten? 

Oh my. Only ten then...

It's officially winter now, but it was still yet autumn for most of this blog post! Winter is here though, it sure is here... 

These are the days of preparing for the slower, more mellow months ahead, something that keeps us mindful each day in our home. A natural tendency to hunker down, keep warm, gather round the hearth with a good book, and enjoy quieter times spent with family, are all well worth looking forward to. For me too, I would add, preserving the family archival memories because for a brief timing, life slows down just a tad to become more project minded and forge forth with new and interesting photography fun.

For this "Ten Things", may I now present a belated autumn post, one that has been resting in my draft folder for some time. There is so much to be thankful for each and every single day! Yes, if one doesn't find the blessings in any given day, how discouraging can that be, and how overwhelming to a poor soul can that escalate into something worse. 

Are you a grateful person? Then, where's your list of thankful things resting?  In your heart, or on paper?

Here then, is my continuously random, often strange to others, list of thankful things I've serendipitously decided to share for today. 

- 1 - I'm thankful for our first winter snow. 

It's a snowing kind of day! Actually, the photo above captured our first snow of the season, about a month ago now, that offered an accumulation of 1.5 feet of the cold, white, fluffy stuff. We were loving it, and then, just like that, it was gone again. But, not for long.

2 - I'm thankful for the trail walking, the ones suitable for public usage which surround us geographically. 

Through my weekly hiking group sojourns, I've been thrilled to discover even more interesting trails every year that aren't far from our home. 

 Often we will revisit these same trails, and take our dogs with us to enjoy nature at its best, hoping we don't encounter any wildlife along the way at odd times during the year, and stay quite clear of designated hunting seasons, when the locals to fill their freezers for upcoming seasons. 

The photos above show two very different scenes, one in autumn, and the other during our first snow this year. In winter, the trails soon become snowmobile highways, some thousands of miles of them that attach one to another, leading to towns and cities along the way.  

- 3 - I'm thankful for our new double bag holder that attaches to our John Deere lawn tractor. It sure become helpful this year for leaf clearing and getting our bags stuffed for the township's compost pickup. 

 shortly before the leaves began to turn colors...

Both last year and this, the leaf pickup has arrived too early in the season, so we're thinking of contacting our local municipal hall and requesting they push this date forward another week or so, mostly due to have still so many leaves on the trees when the pickup occurred. Moving the one pickup date offered to the community forward, would assist all in continued bagging. 

a few of the yearly many...and then some

The solution for us of course, was having to continue unloading the remaining multimillion loads (smiling) through our forest trails to spread them out evenly there away from our home. Sounds ideal for a solution no doubt to most folks, however having piles of rotting leaves allows a perfect environment for mosquito filled homes come springtime. Anything to avoid more bugs is a great idea.

- 4 - I'm thankful for the very last lawn mowing day in autumn until the spring when the lawn tractor gets all washed up and ready for winter storage. Those rows of mowing tire marks are still there! 

To glance from our windows and note the green hues in our grass, compared to the summer's yellowy drought, remains a picturesque view. Another plus? We are able once again to view through our forest now that the leaves are down, into the deepest depths of our property. Imaginations don't seem to soar so mightily now for what might lay back there at dusk.

- 5 - I'm thankful for my new spice drawer. Yes, I ditched the entire idea of replacing the spice jars to the depths of the back of our spice cupboard, mostly due to the fact that even with stacking one on another, there was just too much wasted space in front, and the temptation of increased eventual clutter in front of those nicely labeled jars. I so wanted to find what I needed quickly, at a glance, so I found another solution.

The whole purpose of organizing the spice cupboard anyway, was to encourage manageability of the spices. My solution to the situation was a gained cupboard for other food storage items, and instead I made room and loaded up a drawer with all those lovely labeled spice bottles, now quite literally, at the tip of my fingers.

- 6 - I'm thankful for signs of autumn filling our days, and the warmth of the fireplace for cozy family moments. Our little grandbaby discovered the dancing flames near to her, and once more we've come to realize we really, really don't have a child proof home. 

Everyone continues to be very extremely cautious over her whereabouts, it's just with the approach of winter, the fireplaces are one more thing to watch out for with her more greater mobility activities.

- 7 - I'm thankful for a son who has decided smiling for the camera is a better trade with mom, for fear that I would continue posting his staunch looking poker face photos instead. He said he looks good with a big smile in his photos, maturity is blossoming. 

This is a great photo of him with the delicious looking autumn coloring behind him, and that lovely smile is something else. Keep it up son! Loving it! 

- 8 - I'm thankful for quiet beginnings to our day, for those gentle morning routines in our kitchen where everyone tends to gravitate together. 

I'm thankful for the permanent keeper photos displaying all these home-filled scenes of autumn, in the beauty that exists a step away outside of our doors, as well as the color infused autumn decor our younger daughter felt led to produce one fine early fall day for all to enjoy.

P.S. Did you notice the glass doors above? Yes, once more they match, because one had to have the seal replaced before winter. 

- 9 - I'm thankful for so many great community events local to our home, and yet this year it seemed way too early to participate on the sidelines of the famous Santa parade. 

The premise for this yearly family friendly event is to hopefully host it well before snow comes, and provide less chill for the stamina of crowds waiting patiently along the miles of the parade route. Yes, miles! 

It's such a fun, fun, fun parade, beginning early at 6:30pm. for children of all ages to become filled with awe over the multitudes of lights and sounds, complete with a countdown to the lighting of the town center's Christmas tree, and spectacular skies filled (with better fireworks than any other time of year) at evening's end.  Entire families walk away with smiles on their faces, and cheery hearts.

 

 

So many entries were included from the community at large, allowing all ages to participate in this incredibly well attended parade. It's actually thoughtful to begin it so early, before the snows and the beginning of Advent anyway, where one can sift through the dress up box and don a Santa hat, leaving no one else in town to wonder about sanity measures in early November. teehee... We really enjoyed it again this year, and happy a few of us went.

- 10 - I'm thankful for our small community library system and cookies! The friendly ladies know us all by name, place holds on books we haven't even ordered yet, knowing our interests and just in case we'd like to check them out. As well, they are spearheading some incredible biweekly activities for various age groups to sign up and take part in. 

 

Cookie decorating was the class this night for teens/parents, and what a fun class it was! Our daughter couldn't wait to sign both of us up, and a friend accompanied the two of us. Now, I can see how this will propel us into the wonderful world of cookie decorating at home, something so very useful and creative to do with our drawer filled with cookie cutters. There's so much fun laying ahead, yes indeed folks, we can't wait to begin.

....................................

Here you have one more blog post coming forward from the archives of my draft folder. I'm happy to have one more well intended glimpse into our thankful things posted. Yay! 

While reading this post, did your mind flash back a couple months to your own autumn family memories? Well, why not offer a belated post. I hear it's in fashion to be late these days, well, for blog posts like mine today. ...smiling... We are nearing a brand new, glossy and prospective new year, but have heart because this present one is not yet over. 

Blog on! I'm off to my draft folder again, so stay tuned for more to come. 

Warning though; I may end up going backwards with my blogging, just to ensure the next blog hardcover family keepsake book includes all the blogs in the right year.

Blessings friends;

Renee

From our home, to yours this winter....