Ten Things I'm Thankful For ~ Feb.4/2013

 Gratitude always manages to work its way through various stages in our lives.  We can't ignore it, it's just there for us to savor, embrace, and feel blessed to have hovering within us.

This week, I am so very, very grateful for healthier people living here, at least all are in so much better shape than last week. 

No one completely understands what life is like for a family when a loved one has a compromised immune system, and life always seems to feel as though it's tenderly hanging in the balance. Life is fragile. We constantly live with this loved one, for what seems like "borrowed time", blessed for every new sunrise morning when we are able to place our feet upon the floor.  It's a gift this thing we call life, a gift to be treasured, cherished, and thankful for.

We've become used to people shrugging to show their childlike ignorance at first, until the understood reality smacks them on the back of their heads, kind of likened to a thunder bolt flying through the air determined to have a bullseye mission.

We as a family attempt to bow out of all winter time activities where anyone may appear, or sound unwell, but we can't always live life walking on eggshells either. So we make huge attempts at balancing our lives with the here and now, well, as best we can anyway.

Today, while pondering my newest "ten things" to share with you, as usual, I am thankful for an entire shopping list of things, always very random and plucked out of no where after perusing my beloved myriad of photos providing the memory jolt for noting here.

Got your list of ten written up yet? If not, come on, get going...

How about a crisp new journal to begin your own daily ten things? Warning though, it's highly contagious, so once you pick up the pen, you'll always be picking it up!

May I present a few of my "TEN THINGS" to you today? Here they are below...

 

- 1 - I'm thankful for a freshly scrubbed and mopped flooring. 

In the still of the night, while all of of our unwell family members were tucked away in their beds recovering from a recent illness, this momma hoisted chairs up onto table and countertops, working row by row to completely scour all the flooring below. 

Yes, this was part of the disinfecting, and home refreshing campaign I was swift to implement last week. The timing from this satisfying job completion was the best thing though, as I found myself smiling, almost chuckling over the fact the floor would truly remain clear and clean until morning.  All seemed calm, and so incredibly peaceful. No one would have guessed the action found here the night before, when I was up washing carpets from missed barf bowl deposits, and running washing machine loads, one after the other.

Ever find that the fruits of your labor feel mundane and completely wasted? I mean, check out the clean floors, and then engage your mind to realize how many people living here will quickly stroll across it again, perhaps forgetful with dirty shoes on, or with sweaty socks mucking it up, or worse - the strolling snacker attacking late evening cravings, dropping food bits as they pass towards another room. 

Nah, that never happens in your home, right? Here either, thus the reason to take a photo. Clean floors do exist, in photos. Grab your camera and shoot yours after your next floor wash session. You'll be glad you did. :)

- 2 - I'm thankful for lessons learned, hard lessons learned that is. 

Here lay Dad's ipod touch, the one his son borrowed to listen to music with while outdoors playing basketball. Of all the crazy things, when he removed the buds from his ears, he decided to place the ipod on top of my vehicle for the time being. And then, he forgot it there...

Later on, mom gets into vehicle to drive away for daughter's pick up at the barn. Mom doesn't realize what's going on, not at all. Once home again, son appears and announces that he had to rush outdoors because he forgot to bring in his father's ipod. Panic ensued for him once he realized his error, so with flashlight in hand, he sets off in the dark of the night to search for possible ipod along our long driveway, and then he began heading up the street. Whoa! 

Mom decides to drive up and pick up son, and together we drive in silence as sickened boy becomes incredibly humble in his search ahead in the vehicle's lighting on the road. One mile away, we spot the ipod in the middle of the road. Mom stops the vehicle. Son jumps out, picks up ipod, smiles very briefly, then jumps up and down doing a painful foot stomping dance. Quietly and somberly, he begins to walk toward the vehicle, he opens the door, and tearfully apologizes for the ipod having been run over and ruined. 

Hard lesson? You bet. Lesson learned as he is now required to make restitution and supply his father with a new one. 

- 3 - I'm thankful for former years old projects that are finally completed. 

Take this photo frame above, purchased about six years ago now, the one where the photos didn't quite fit and all it required was a black matting behind each to complete the framing properly. 

Perusing these four photos has done much for this mama's heart this week. Wow, all of these younger four children of ours are no longer so young. Instead of being ages; 8,10,14 and 15, they are now 14,15 (almost 16),20,21(almost 22). 

This photo frame was a one of a kind purchase for me, found at "Home Sense" in their photo's frame aisle, and one with the perfect quote which really spoke to me at that time. It still speaks to me. It's such a profound reality to remember... 

"HOME..is where your story begins." 

 

- 4 - I'm thankful for a wonderful rainbow of colors as I continue to pursue having this blog published into keepsake books. 

This past Christmas, my husband was gifted with blog book numbers 10 and 11, and every person here has spent many hours since, perusing the pages within them over and over again. 

How time flies when a family attempts to make memories along the way! 

How time flies when the family peruses these same memories, and passes their hands across the pages of photos and the written word, while in remembrance of them years later. 

Thinking of having your blog printed into a hardcover book? Just do it! You'll never regret it!

- 5 - I'm thankful for the last standing corner in our home, now completely finished. Yay!

This was the scene early last month when the cabinets and countertop were delivered and we awaited the arrival of the installation crew. We ordered everything last October which had to be custom made, such a long, LONG wait!

Yes, this is the perfect area for a wet bar in the future for our large rec room family entertainment events. We have a small sink already picked out, and in the near future my husband will complete the rest of the task at hand to install it. Voila! Perfect!  Now all we need is a huge popcorn maker machine to rest there. Yum!

- 6 - I'm thankful for a husband who has revisited and reunited with his musical passions from years gone by, the ones he fairly much gave up to concentrate on providing a living for his family, the one he previously sold all of his guitar collections so we could use the funds to help purchase our first home. 

Yes, he's a guitar player, but not only that. He enjoys the sounds of various types of guitars, noting their pickups, tones and unique characteristics. It's easy to accompany him to guitar shops because he's quite fussy about the kind he would enjoy playing on, so it's a fast window shop at the best of times.  

 

- 7 - I'm thankful for the world's BEST respiratory rehabilitation inpatient hospital program in Canada, for those who suffer from debilitating lung diseases with lousy future prognosis.  The entire staff provides a personalized wellness program for each patient individually, so as you can see in the photo above, all of those professionals work with every patient loving there for their designated timing. My husband's Week 2 of 5 (give or take), is here now! 

So, back to the talk of guitar shopping...last month my hubby found a second electric one he pined over, and eventually hoped to add to his newly growing collection. I laughed, as I figured he couldn't possibly be serious! He was. I wasn't. But he was. And was he ever! 

Even though we've been married for 36 years, I never knew how long he had been bridling his desire and passion to become reacquainted with owning a similar type of guitar collection he once owned, played, and used in a popular (now famous) band before we married? I guess that potential thought has been there, growing, lingering long and hard as other physical energy things aren't working out any longer, and the list of "I can" does include playing guitar. I realized there was just no denying his humble desire of being able to pursue his retirement years of guitar playing to come over the crest of the horizon nearby.

We didn't mean to, but we did walk out of the store with another guitar, rather I walked from the store with one. I bought it, not him. You see, there was a promise attached to it, that he would listen to his doctors and freely attend an upcoming respiratory rehabilitation refresher for the length of time they wanted him there for his personalized term. Always the gentleman, he has stepped aside to allow others before him the past two years, but this year, he very much requires this refresher, big time himself. 

The deal was, no playing the new guitar until home after his first week of resp. rehab. That was last weekend. He was especially thrilled to have his new instrument in hand, to become familiar with, especially after returning for his weekend home recovery, only to find himself confined to our bedroom for the entire weekend, due to the importance of not being exposed to a (throwing up kind of) flu (recently visiting) our home. 

Yes, that guitar has been well used already, and once more, our home is definitely alive with the sound of music these days.

 

- 8 - I'm thankful for night tables slowly ridden of telltale signs of folks unwell within our home. Those were two doozies back to back, and the "throwing up kind of flu" had not been in our home for ten years. It was not fun to revisit those times, although I never did get that one myself, nor did my husband, thank you God. 

I think forcefully jumping into mother servant mode, washing bedroom carpets from people who missed their barf bowls, changing sheets and towels, insisting on daily washing and airing out bedrooms, well, maybe I became immuned to it somehow. Having to wear a surgical mask around the sickies, and then change it to wear a separate more sterile mask around my hubby to protect him from what I'd been up to, well, I found it extremely trying this past weekend to say the least. I needed all of yesterday to decompress.

Between an unwell baby, and my hubby on leave to recover in between resp. rehab weeks who had to remain well, that was so not fun. Here's hoping this week improves and this mama can relax a bit more and roll with the times ahead. 

Is it Lent yet? It sure feels like we've been in it already.

- 9 - I'm thankful for the ambiance and comfort of apres ski moments with our children. Shortly before the second illness arrived in our home, we took to the slopes with our younger ones and two neighbors, all opting for a later evening ski/snowboarding time. 

The large picturesque windows allowed us the visibility for the action on the slopes, while we hung back and enjoyed the coziness of a wooden fire nearby, and hot drink in hand. 

 

Once the gang was finished for the night, we surprised them with some delectable hot chocolate hot drinks, topped with fresh whip cream and a cherry on top. They were very grateful, so relaxed, and it was the perfect end to a great night for all.

- 10 - I'm thankful for our little trinkets, those particular Delft blue things from Holland. 

In my cleaning moments, since replacing all of our Christmas decorations into storage, I was able to remove each item from my curio treasure area, to wash and buff them up for spring. 

There were beloved rushes of memories attached to each and every item resting there, all warming my heart in tender ways which words cannot even eloquently describe. 

My mother in law (may she rest in eternal peace) purchased quite a few of these items for me/us each time she returned from a trip to her native Holland. I've had most of them for over 30 some years, so naturally all have been around for some time to physically grace our space. I thought of her then, as I was lovingly buffing them up, before replacing again in some sort of renewed semblance upon my antique buffet shelving. 

 (Circa 1991)

It's hard to believe she's been gone for quite some time. I can still hear her thick accent in my head, the one I learned about when I first met her, and the one that sometimes got her a bit of a pickle when her attempt at her Dutch to English translation offered unintended strange choice wording insults. 

How we laughed at those awkward times over time, and how I came to love that accent. I'll never not giggle in the future when I hear the word hotdog, and not think of her dutch pronunciation of  "Haahaatdaaaag". 

Ik ben ble - Yes Mom B, I am happy! 

Miss you!

Ten Things I'm Thankful For - Autumn edition...

Ten things. 

Ten itty bitty things are included here; just like a bitty drop of sand picked up washing through our fingers while resting at the water's edge, one can only imagine how many more handfuls we can recall, and offer plenty of thanksgiving for every single day.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, this weekend marks our Canadian Thanksgiving, and our birthday girl will share the festivities of the exact same day this year! 

Twenty. So young, and yet that's it for the teen years, and onto full onboard adult everything. I'm confident she is already fully there with baby and all, just a remarkable gal that one. 

My list is l-o-n-g this past while, so very lengthy! And for that reason alone, I'm going to switch up my usual original format below by including thoughts and photos as I think of them, with a quick and simple upload. 

As usual they come in no particular order at all... so bear with me if you please.  

Blessings;
Renee
 
Oh, and p.s., some of the photos aren't great as they were snapped on my iphone camera. But, on the brighter side, I have them! Yay!

I am thankful for;

 1- Smiles found in unexpected places, like when Tim Hortons celebrated their "smile week" by decorating their cookies and donating proceed funds to their special charities.

 2 - New neighbors whose home is poking through the forest edge who will prove to be a great addition to our area. I can't wait until they move in! 

3 - Our four new patio chairs which I have chosen to leave out for another few weeks yet. What a cozy area to waltz out to from the kitchen doors, a great spot for sunshine kisses and fresh air moments.

4 - Our tree faller, who came, who cut, and who cleared all away in an eight hour window of time. He fell trees that looked healthy until one looked up and noted the top halves completely dead, about to fall, perhaps on someone while passing by in the dead of winter. 

Safety reigns high here, so they came down. He also trimmed many branches leading pesky chipmunks and squirrels onto our rooftop on the side of the house, and now that dead hemlock tree out back is forever gone. Thrilled! 

5 - Science experiments in the kitchen are back! I was enthralled by how well she took to this new science textbook, and how much she just loves it! 

6 - An impromptu invitation to ride horses with friends at the barn. Our daughter has grown so tall this past year that she is now officially (and sadly to her) grown from riding the ponies at the barn. These days, it's all about Ozzie the big black horse in the center of the three. Her two good friends are still riding their special ponies, but the one on the far left graduated to our daughter's past horse show pony named Chester. All are happy! 

Another impromptu ride, a "spot lesson" that so many of the girls are taking as an optional class on Saturday mornings, those gals who have spent an individual, intensive half hour with their coach pointing out all the weaknesses each should work on. The line of trees in the background caught my eye, so much color over there! 

7 - Hide and seek with our youngest grandbaby. Oh there you are! (She's rolling folks, uh boy she's really rolling around everywhere these days! :)

 There's also been other fun things that make us laugh, and giggle, and find most precious with this youngun.

 8 - A renewed interest in daily piano playing for the younger two fills our home with music, sweet, sweet music these days. Yippee! 

9 - Surprise photos on my camera! After perusing a lovely website for a braiding tutorial with our younger daughter, she's been hard at work practicing on her own hair. I found this self snapped photo on my camera, proof that she's doing a great job so far. 

10 - Autumn changes in our kitchen; I'm NOT going to celebrate shorter days and our time savings rollback coming soon, however I will celebrate having our return of candlelight dinners. 

Homemade leek and cauliflower soup, with freshly baked scones make for a lovely stick-to-the-ribs evening meal when everyone is home together. 

And then, of course, there are the new to me cookbooks I'm trying out from the library to peruse, list recipes to try, and make grocery lists from. I already know I want the whole grain cooking one for sure. It's just fantastic! 

There you have ten things I'm thankful for this Autumn, with many more behind the scenes not mentioned yet here. 

Oh, sure, as always and forevermore, there will certainly be more to come.

A final note, something I'm very, very thankful for that I'm at last sharing here in the hope someone else may find this useful. 

I'm so grateful for my health, which is vastly improving. The discovery of being estrogen dominant has made me miserable for over a year, or more. Add to that a few womanly complications resulting in a fast slide to anemia, and a hypo-thyroid issue, and it all makes for a recipe discomfort. 

But now, I have good news; for the past three months I have conquered all of these areas of concern while in the capable hands of a GREAT Naturopath, who has really made my life a whole lot better, in more ways than one! 

I am a NEW woman since first attending my Naturopathic doctor. I am. He has boosted me into normalcy again, and I credit him with literally saving me from my earlier misery. 

I am making my health, my nutrition, and that of my family's a higher priority than ever now! My husband also frequents the same doctor, and though it's slower going for him, I cannot imagine not having been introduced to his recommendations, the estrogen detox of body and liver, the IV's that have infused my body with goodness, and the glutathione, a super antioxidant which will hopefully grant me protection from illness. A mother cannot afford to suddenly become unwell. I'm just so impressed! Can you tell?

Ten Things I'm Thankful for

 It's time for another (longer than usual) post of "Ten things I'm thankful for..."

Since the Easter season has been upon us, it's been my hope to keep all things related to this liturgical season out for a little longer than usual, mostly as reminders on the promises that salvation offers us; those yellow and purple hues of color in the flowers on my dining room buffet, the eggs which represent new life, and other deeply personal reflections. 

 I'm so very pleased to have been able to get a photo of this year's stunning Easter paschal candle displayed on the altar since the Easter vigil.  This is just a little something I like to do every year, mostly to include one when possible in the sequential order of photos in my family scrapbooking albums. Instead of using my iphone to "check in", this tells me "I'm checked in to the liturgical short timing of this season, and all the grace if offers to us". Kind of cheesy I know, it's just my own personal thing.

Some years, I've forgetten to get a photo until it's too late, however I do need to give myself credit as I was able to snap one on its way out to the back of the church last year, so I have two in a row to cheer about. 

Life is like that you know. We observe and instantly appreciate those small almost insignificant things, privately fall in love with them, for no particular reason really, they just tend to somehow draw our attention toward them. They're here one moment, and then they are gone, and if we can't pinpoint them in our memories, and remember them with full clarity for what or how they were to us in our daily lives, my remedy is to simply take a photo and preserve the moment.  

 No one else might chance the same photo opportunities, but when I view them afterward, I know, I remember, they're just happily all mine. Thank goodness for digital photography! I was going broke trying to do this on film cameras in the past. ;)

 Thus is the need to take time in our days to "smell the roses", and to "simplify the busyness" of life, mostly so we don't overlook those tiny details that truly are more important in the big scheme of life. There are traditions to consider, thoughtful reminders of important cherished moments, and so much more to remember. A few small details might include the ordinary to the extraordinary, especially when our senses are involved. To be thankful always.

Always...

Here are a few of those types of things in my life in recent days....as always in no particular order at all, in fact out of order in some cases.

 - 1 - I'm thankful for BERRIES! All sorts of berries. One of my most favorite breakfasts in late spring and summertime includes enormous, most delicious blueberries first things in the morning. 

A solid runner up in the berry department are strawberries, and when I think of these red delightful yummies, I almost always think of the traditional shared waffles one of my daughters and I used to partake in, loaded with berries and whipping cream. But, the berries and cream had to be "on the side", just so we could ceremoniously dress the waffle our own way and not allow it to become mushy by already being on there when served.

Actually, to be honest, this particular day below, I never ate the waffle, just the berries, a bit of the custard, a bit of the whipping cream, just that there were so many berries offered "on the side" for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of devouring them. I brought the waffle home, and someone else ate it.

 

  - 2 - I'm thankful for cute little outfits for the feast of St. George,  remembering him for his famous fight with the dragon. This cute little green outfit below was worn by our sweet little grandbaby. How cute it was to play with all the little points on her hooded hat.

And just when the feasting was plentiful, a big surprise parcel arrived in the mail from a dear friend, who blessed this wee babe and her mommy in a very special way.  The exquisite rag quilt and matching diaper bag are just so very beautiful, truly lovely for both mommy and baby, and just perfect for some baby tummy time fun. I know my photos snapped on my iphone don't do this lovely quilt justice, so more are coming soon. 

How thoughtful of you my special friend, how loving the works of your hand have always been when constantly choosing to bless another. You are amazing!

Love and Hugs to you my wonderful friend, Barbara

(at "Praying for Grace" where you can see better photos of this beautiful quilt made by her loving hands)

 - 3 - I'm thankful for easy lunches that offer a bit of color, enough variety, some nutrition to write home about, and no one complains. That is the best part to be sure!

- 4 - I'm thankful for music in our home, especially after my husband was finally the lucky recipient of a new electric guitar, my gift to him, a long overdue gift to be sure.

Here's what my husband's announcement was;

"Just for the record, and after many samplings , I bought the FENDER special edition telecaster with the symore duncan humbucking pick-ups, mahogany body and neck... and the spalled maple finish. Very nice in my opinion... nice tones and sounds and nice action on the neck too."

(this is all Greek to me of course....)

There is one more thing of course that I would be remiss if I never mentioned it; An electric guitar requires use of an amplifier. Did I mention before how loud these were? No? Well let me say, not only can they carry quite the decibel range, but they also contain approximately 100 built in various instrumental accompaniment jam sessions for use with such a guitar. Returning home from an outing one day, I entered only to feel (and hear) my whole house pulsating with the beat of some hilariously crazy concert, yet I only found my husband all alone, happily fulfilled and sitting on a chair with his guitar in hand. 

Our younger two broke out in giggles at their guitar dad. It's sure been a while, wasn't sure I'd be a fan of the noise part, but it's fun to see a passionate revival of father and three guitar playing sons talking about the accompaniment of even more instruments in our home. Stay tuned... 

 

(I asked him to pose for me at the store...)

- 5 - I'm thankful for little signs that make me smile, that are hints or tips on how to view life in general. After giving our younger daughter a little talk about how acronyms like LOL shouldn't be used in the context of a live conversation, trying to coach her on proper language skills, along comes a restaurant with a strange name. So, you see, life's like that. It's sometimes a complete waste of energy to dwell on these types of small things, isn't it, though I still say, we really shouldn't use online language IRL (in real life, grinning). After all, when one remembers what this stands for "Laugh out loud", or whatever you choose to use to abbreviate for yourself, laughing is a most definitely a very good thing. :)

- 6 - I'm thankful for the light coming up through the end opening of the schooling tunnel before summer breaks the daily grind up for a time. I'm actually enjoying the sense of peace these days with fine tuned school syllabus weekly schedules, and books becoming complete as each week passes. We're really on target for the most part, and everyone is properly completing and checking off their assignments. 

I'm thinking though of not breaking for the full summer just as I always manage to do, because it's just happening when prime math functions and topics have finally been mastered after placing our son in a great math course offered by a university math professor mom who also homeschools her children. Wow, she's just wonderful! She covers only one math topic per week for at total of ten weeks, ensuring they understand each concept and challenges the teens to follow up at home using "Khan Academy" resource links she provides. She makes it sound so easy, they love it all, and they all love her!

- 7 - I'm thankful for prayerful silent moments, when I'm able to lay it all out there in my conversations with God, be it here in the quiet solitude of a church pew before the rush of a congregation attendance, or on the trails of my forest pathways. There's been so much to chat about these days, so much. 

When the news came, that of my mother in law's passing, we knew everything must fall by the way side, and travel to the westcoast was necessary. There were so many small details where no one knew what to do about them, scrambling became a normal way of life for a few days until all was completed. 

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
And let perpetual light shine upon them.

May the souls of the faithful departed,
Through the mercy of God,
Rest in peace.

Amen.

I can only urge every family, young or old, to begin a file folder titled "Estate Planning", and begin gathering documents, ideas and necessities for the "some day" those which will be required during your final moments in life, or after you've passed. And, just because I personally feel this is a huge topic of importance, I'll write a separate post on the topic very soon, including details on what to include in your file folder.

- 8 - I'm thankful for airport reunions when sudden travel occurs after being summoned west for urgent last visits with a family member who is seriously unwell. It's bittersweet to reunite under such circumstances, and always tough to return to normal life when all feels so very helpless from living life at such a distance away. The photo below, believe it or not, was our Easter Sunday afternoon family reunion, but how happy were we to have safe and uneventful travel behind.

- 9 - I'm thankful for healthy imaginations, and child-likeness at any age. This is one of my favorite books these days as we prepare to build surprise fairy houses around our forest trails, little shelters for little visitors, and wonderful scouring from the forest floor to build them with. Who says this is something for children? I'm just a big kid then, right? 

- 10 - I'm thankful for the discovery of Sea Cadets this year and having a son who has realized his love of being on the water. It's been extremely interesting thus far, he's liking the discipline and personal best goals he's set for himself. 

 Whether obtaining his Sailing level 1 ticket, attending a drill marching team, rising to the honor of being awarded the guard drill position no one has obtained in the past four years during his first year of attendance, or being part of the marksmanship team, it's been a busy activity on our calendars to be sure. 

 Recently he attended a mandatory fitness bootcamp weekend, and survived the unexpected drop in frigid temperatures while sleeping in army tents. It was quite the experience to be boiling hot by day, and freezing cold by nightfall, but he survived and slept almost three days straight afterward from a happy fatigue from so many fun and successful accomplishments of those Canadian fitness challenges. And for this, he earned a new badge mom will have to sew on his uniform.

 There's been much in the way of volunteer work, participating in parades and training days, learning all the rope knots one could ever imagine, and learning how important it is to shine his boots and iron his various uniforms. In just two short weeks, up ahead is the mandatory weekly sailing classes for even more experience on the water's edge when having to sail in his own boat. 

I have just one thing to say about all of this - he's loving it....  

And so my family and friends, here you go with another very l-o-n-g installment of just a few of the possible hundreds of thankful things for me at this time. 

Have you been making a list of your own, snapping photos of little details in your life when your eye catches them, or committing them to memory at the very least? If not, begin today. And do share with me. I'd love to hear from you. 

~ Renee