December 31, 2024
- thankful for our furnace
- that we haven't had any real cold weather yet, and the comfrey still has leaves, even though they look pretty awful
- Simon's devotion, Thor's mouse hunting ability, Sissy's many years with us
December 22, 2024
- celebrating the holidays with children and grandson
- improved circulation
- finished watching 8 seasons of Downton Abbey while walking on the treadmill
- "Word of the Day" book for kids
- Your mercy, O Lord, is everlasting
December 15, 2024
- safe travel
- the last college semester final of the year
- the last hockey game of the year
- a 7-year-old's vocabulary
- dance recitals
December 8, 2024
- December birthdays celebrated at Cracker Barrel
- birds at the birdbath
- long sleeves and snuggly socks
- warm blankets
- routines
- a trace of rain
December 1st, 2024
- traveling with my oldest daughter to visit her girls and grandson
- D's birthday party
- M's baby shower
- time spent together
- stress-free travel (mostly)
Earlier this year:
- rain - and no tornado warnings!
- cooler weather
- squirrels and birds and frogs
- getting the garden ready for cold weather
- our dogs and cat all snuggled up together - it must be cold in the house? I'm thankful that they all get along so well and truly seem to like each other.
- medical procedures are over - for now
- more hockey games
- breakfast with the "kids"
- anticipation of an upcoming trip
- rain, glorious rain!
- cooler weather
- a last harvest of cayenne peppers
- two frogs in the water trough
- a stray cat in the yard, keeping the mice under control
- more family birthdays
- more hockey games
- and more football games
- a new photo of my childhood home, taken by a friend
- birds bathing in the birdbath with solar fountain, with water drops glinting in the sunlight
- migrating butterflies
- squirrels in the oak tree
- Thor's mouse-catching ability
- family birthdays
- hockey games
- the all-star football team
- more dandelion, comfrey and woolly mullein leaves harvested
- leaves beginning to change and cooler weather this coming week
- visiting with our "local family"
- harvesting the "serpent of Sicily" zucchetta and more dandelions
- finding tea bags that work with my herbal tea: no more little plant pieces to strain out
- getting our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes at church this morning
- what would be my mom's 99th birthday
- rain and a cold front
- birthday party
- harvesting carrots, Brussels sprouts, butternut squash and dandelions
- conversations about football and dance classes
- losing a few pounds
- phone calls and texts from the kids and grandchildren
- a western leopard frog in my patio pond
- harvesting comfrey for salves and mullein for tinctures
- good neighbors
- observing the ecosystem in my garden
- extremely pleasant weather
- peppermint and garden friends
- research and knowledge
- old family videos
- clear direction and goals
- hockey lessons, dance team and football games
- cooler temperatures and rain
- the right to vote
- harvesting herbs from my backyard, drying them, making tea
- accountability partners and specific prayers
- several phone calls with our daughters and granddaughter
- air conditioning
- answered prayer
- a full cup
- bone-building teas and bone broth
- an opportunity to be helpful
- watching hockey lessons
- lunch with our son
- my lemon balm plant wasn't dead after all
- birds at the feeder and birdbath
- a new grandbaby on the way, and
- a new great-grandbaby on the way
- a true cold front and lots of rain in August
- safe travel
- our younger dog's "gotcha day"
- it's good to be back home
- good neighbors
- having G overnight
- visit to Wyoming
- parade, county fair and small-town America
- celebrating
- watching grandchildren's practices and sports games
- our 50th wedding anniversary
- heavy thunderstorms and rain in July
- harvesting potatoes and planting sweet potato slips
- neighbors
- the butterfly-shaped solar lights that make me smile every evening
- our oldest's birthday
- getting the last of the peaches into the freezer
- ripe tomatoes and peppers from the garden
- a classroom for our daughter-in-law
- quilt-fabric shopping
- fresh peaches from a farmstand
- a cool and beautiful day in the midst of summer
- a tiny bit of rain
- finding what I was looking for!
- evenings in the garden, watering plants, pulling a few weeds, quiet, alone with my thoughts, and watching the dogs run zoomies around the yard
- the first almost-ripe tomato, ripening on the windowsill
- the smell of fresh-mown grass
- a neighbor's new puppy
- our vet
- an opportunity
- herbal tea
- fresh produce from the garden
- sweet corn from Webber Falls
- a visit with a friend
- helping someone new to natural living
- sunflowers
- the first green tomatoes
- ready-to-harvest onions
- birdsong
- our dog Simon's second birthday
- remembering my dad this week on his heavenly birthday
- dinner with former coworkers
- the seeds our grandson planted are sprouting
- the ability to research and learn, and the large amount of information that's "out there." Being able to discern what is valid information and what isn't.
- keeping in touch with far-away friends
- our grandson spending the night
- eating big strawberries fresh from the garden
- a homemade fountain/birdbath
- letting the peas go to seed
- harvesting wild medicinal "weeds"
- butterflies
- phone calls from our grandchildren
- strawberries, peas, and cherry tomatoes from the garden
- our sweet dogs and cat
- ice cream on a hot spring day
- dinner with the kids
- more rain (we'll be thankful that we had so much when summer arrives)
- playing in the backyard with our grandson, and exploring the garden with him
- fresh peas, strawberries and cherry tomatoes
- phone calls from family
- my mother, grandma, grandmother, and all those who taught me and challenged me
- my daughters, daughter-in-law, and granddaughters
- dinner with the kids
- gentle rain that waters the garden and keeps our water bill low
- butterflies and moths, songbirds, and other beautiful creatures
- rain
- first harvest from the garden: strawberries and cherry tomatoes
- the reward of physical labor, and that I'm physically able to do it
- how much the garden grew while we were out of town
- prayer warriors
- safe travel
- visiting family, and a few side trips along the way
- making memories
- coming home
- good neighbors
- movie date
- finding an easier route home from the Big City
- phone calls and texts from "all my children"
- discovering prickly lettuce plants
- absolutely beautiful weather to be in the garden
- cardinals at the bird feeder
- beautiful blooms on the yellow iris
- longer days and warmer temperatures
- seeds sprouting in the garden
- phone calls from family
- watching the eclipse
- leaf buds on the oak tree - it survived after all!
- yellow iris flowers
- baby lilac bush
- more comfrey starts to pot up
- the goodness of God
- Resurrection Sunday, the empty tomb
- saved by grace!
- Easter dinner with family
- visiting my former coworkers
- a new job in the family
- redbud trees
- phone calls from family
- tomato plants
- family trip to the National Cowboy Museum
- working in the garden
- "working" in the garden, and the physical ability to do so
- peas and potato sprouts
- tomato and pepper plants
- last year's compost
- surprise daffodils
- gorgeous weather, and spending time in the garden
- rain
- cardinals at the bird feeder
- flowering trees and shrubs
- the right to vote
- much-needed rain
- tiny green leaves on the lilac bushes
- maybe an early spring? No freezing nights in the 10-day forecast
- our dogs and cat who get along so very well
- finishing up that month-long challenge to walk outside every day
- getting the onions and potatoes planted in gorgeous weather
- daffodils in bloom
- eating a weekday breakfast out
- phone calls and texts from our children
- our oldest granddaughter's engagement!
- spending the day with our son and his family
- watching the birds at the feeders
- spring breezes
- continuing to walk that mile a day
- a good report from the eye specialist
- sunshine after rain... and then more rain. Always thankful for spring rain!
- daffodil spears breaking ground
-Thor squeaking at birds through the window
- our granddaughters' birthdays
- two new raised garden beds in progress, to replace the two that were lost in last year's tornado
- a challenge to walk one mile outside every day this month. I'm at 100% - even though it's rained and I was bitten by a dog on the first day. Perseverence. Stubbornness?
- an excellent sermon. He doesn't mind stepping on toes, that's for sure.
- robins and meadowlarks
- sunny days in the 60's and 70's
- a new challenge
- new ideas
- a grandchild's birthday
- my birthday
- lots of slow and steady rain
- birds at the feeders
- a gardening event at the local college
- birthday phone calls and cards
- watching snow flurries through the window
- new house slippers
- finding two little comfrey plants growing in the grass in the garden, from roots that escaped from the potted plants. I left the pots sit on the grass too long and when I moved them, the roots broke loose. Viola! New plants!
- watchng our corgi Simon run through the snow, even though we only have a good dusting
- our daughter-in-law passing her teaching exam!!
- snow flurries
- warm blankets on the beds
- re-reading a favorite book
- opportunities and plans
- sparrows at the bird feeder, and a cardinal on the fence
- the "word of the year" He has given me for 2024: Multiply. I have no idea where that one will lead me, but I'm waiting in expectation.
- Thor, my cat, who is so happy to have "his" chair back in the living room after we took down the Christmas tree. He's so happy that he stayed in the living room while we had company (absolutely unheard of!)
- our son and his family's visit. We love having them over any time they can come! We had homemade macaroni and cheese for lunch, and worked on a very hard puzzle of cats. I don't know if we'll ever actually finish this one. It's crazy.
- blankets and coats and gloves and warm clothes for our annual January cold snap
- lumber for two more raised garden beds