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Ten Thing of Thankful: Finding Your Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow

Little candy pots of gold at the end of rainbows The post title above captures what the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop is all about: finding those glimmers in life that bring a sense of gratitude. Whether rainbows (and their proverbial pots of gold) appear amidst dark ominous clouds or fluffy white ones, we take hope in them and our mood is lightened.  Here's a glimpse into my life this week: Last night, John and I watched our grandchildren in their home while their mom and dad had an evening out. I'm thankful we could spend time with them . When we first walked in the door, youngest granddaughter asked me excitedly, "You're going to take me to the library?" I'm thankful that we share a love of the library, even if we don't go there every time I visit. We did, however, read bedtime stories together. With St. Patrick's Day as an excuse, I looked online for  easy snack ideas that the kids might like. I found the pot of gold idea on The Typical Mom blog
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Ten Things of Thankful: Quietly Springing Ahead

  A bouquet of multi-colored tulips, with cast-iron bunnies in front It was another quiet week here, but quiet is good. Here's a list to prove it!  I'm thankful: 1. The plum tree in the yard is blooming. 2. Hummingbirds are visiting the feeders I recently cleaned and filled. 3. Colorful tulips brighten our space. 4. I found the cute little bunnies in the photo above at the thrift store, and decided they weren't really a "shoe scraper" as the tag said. (Although they would have made the cutest little shoe scraper ever!) 5. I made it through the 3rd week of the couch-to-5K program. I love how gently the program progresses. 6. The scale continues to move in the desired direction.  7. The temperatures here are pleasant. 8. The landlord's goats are going to have kids sometime soon. 9. Drexel loves the toy banana I got him earlier this year. He brings it to me nearly everyday. 10. John continues to love his job.  How was your week? Don't forget to set your clock

Ten Things of Thankful: Kaleidoscope of Cousins and Other Delights

  My cousin and I in a life-size kaleidoscope at RootsTech 2024 I just got back last night from fun-filled days at RootsTech, a large family history conference. Originally, I had not planned to attend this year, but my cousin contacted me to ask me if I was still going, even though I'm living in California for the year. Before she knew I was moving, she had told her husband she wanted to go to RootsTech for the first time, because she "knew" I would attend and we could visit. She didn't have to twist my arm! We quickly made plans to drive to Utah together, stay at my house there, attend RootsTech, and generally have a great time.  This cousin is not one that I spent a lot of time with growing up, as our families lived in different states and our age difference seemed greater as children. I enjoyed getting to know her these past few days, and am so glad she reached out to me about attending RootsTech together. Hopefully we have started a new tradition!  1. I'm than

Ten Things of Thankful: Rain and Routine

  A river floods a dirt road While I was in Oregon, southern California got a lot of rain, and John sent me a video of a raging Santa Clara River, which is normally just a dry wash near us. I figured I had missed my opportunity to actually see it with water in it. Guess again! Earlier this week, we had more rain. I walked down the dirt lane and saw that the river again had water, though not as much as before. Later that same day, the river bed was empty once again. I'm glad I got to see it with water in it. It would be lovely if it always flowed, though that would require a bridge for safe egress! 1. I'm thankful for water. Although Monday was President's Day, John still had work, so the week was fairly routine. I enjoy routine, though. It might not be exciting, but there is something comfortable about life's normal ebb and flow. The hum of the washer and dryer, the gentle (or sometimes louder!) snoring of our dog, Drexel, the quiet click of the keyboard--these are calm

Ten Things of Thankful: Coming Up Roses

  A bouquet of red roses and white chrysanthemums  I left Oregon this past week. My sister stayed for a while longer with my parents. My dad is recovering well from his surgery and making great progress. Although I enjoyed spending time with my parents and siblings, and visiting with my cousin, it is nice to be home with John again.  As I walked into PDX, there was a notable lack of people in the airport. I walked right up to the counter to check my bag, then walked right up to the TSA agents to go through security. As I approached them, I started to say, "I've never seen such a big airport so empty," but just as soon as I said the word "never," they both started shushing me. They didn't want me to jinx it for them! They were enjoying a quiet day at work.  The flights (I had a plane change in San Jose) were uneventful.  When I arrived in Burbank, my suitcase was the second one to come down the luggage chute onto the carousel. As soon as I got my bag, John wa

Ten Things of Thankful: A Trip Down Memory Lane

  My granduncle, Theodore Kimes, dressed in a suit and cap, leans out the passenger window of a brand-new 1923 Ford Model T I'm still in Oregon. My dad is doing well in his recovery from knee surgery ( thankful #1 ). My brother drove home last Sunday (totally unrelated to the photo above!). He had an uneventful, safe drive ( thankful #2 ). As my dad's recovery progresses, my mom now has mental energy and time to think about other things ( thankful #3 ). Mom has had a desire to visit Arkansas on a family history vacation, to see the sites that were so familiar to her mother. We've talked about it for a while, but this past week we put in on the calendar for this fall ( thankful #4 ). We've started planning where exactly we will go and what sites we will visit. My grandma kept detailed journals and photo albums ( thankful #5 ), and my mom has them now (thankful #6 ), so we were able to take a vicarious trip down memory lane as we read about the old places we've never

Ten Things of Thankful: From A to Zebra

a Scrabble tile of the letter A, with a 1 to the lower right, indicating point value I'm switching things up today and opting for an alphabetical order for my Ten Things of Thankful list, so without further ado: A: My dad had knee surgery this week, so I flew up to Oregon to see if I could help. (Not with the actual surgery, of course. I think I mainly provide comic relief, though I pitch in with chores and trips to Lowes as required.)  No matter what the occasion for gathering is, one constant is that the Scrabble board will come out. When I drew an A from the bag, I knew I would go first. Though that was nice, I'm thankful for the simple family tradition of Scrabble. B:  My brother arrived on Thursday night. Although his military and civilian work schedules demand a lot of his time, he was able to carve out a few days to come. We make a pretty good window-washing team. (I promise my brother did more than just take photos of me working!)   I'm thankful for my brother and h