Thankful Me

January is over, or will be in a few more hours.  I didn't accomplish everything I had hoped to do this month--in fact, I didn't even begin some projects.  January comes with such hope:   this  is the year I will (fill in the blank.)   Sometimes January ends with resignation and defeat.   Oh well, there's always next year.  Why do we do that to ourselves?  We don't have to wait for another year, another month, another week, or even another day.  If there is something you want to do, make it happen!   (At least that is the little pep-talk I sometimes give myself.) One thing I was going to do in January was to write about the #52Stories Project .  In short, the #52Stories Project provides prompts each week to help people write their personal history. I was going to introduce the concept and then write a post each week that went along with the weekly prompt.  Obviously, that didn't happen.  I have a couple of differ...

Yes, I'm going to post my TToT on Saturday rather than Sunday this week! Slowly (but hopefully surely), I am getting more organized.  I'm thankful: 1.  We had more rain this week.  It's sunny again now, but it's so nice that we have been getting so much moisture.  Some of the precipitation was even in the form of . . . 2.  Snow.  It only fell for a short time on Tuesday morning here on the valley floor, and it was too wet to stick, but it was fun to watch the big flakes coming down.  It stuck in the mountains, though. Photo:  Snow blankets the nearby mountains 3.  I'm thankful for Craigslist.  I was able to find front seats for John's Ford Anglia this week, which then necessitated a . . .  4.  Road trip to San Diego.  San Diego is the land of perfect weather.  Yes, I like rain, and yes, I like occasional snow, but San Diego just makes me happy with its sunshine and shirt-sleeve weather.  Youngest dau...

Sometimes, we give advice that goes unheeded.  This was not one of those times.  Linking up with Ivy's Six Sentence Stories .  This week's prompt:  given. (And if this seems familiar, you are either an astute reader or a family member; I realized after writing it that I have already related this story three years ago , in a remarkably similar fashion.) I have heard it referred to as the "arsenic hour"--that frantic time right before dinner, when the kids can't wait any longer, but the food hasn't quite made it to the table.  Whatever it is called, I was in it.   If I could only slow down the constant, "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" demands.  Trying to be patient, I advised, "Just hold your horses."  Amazingly, it worked.   My toddler trotted off to his room. . .only to return obediently--with a little plastic toy horse held firmly in each hand! Thanks for sweet memories.

I have been dreading Inauguration Day 2017 since the primaries.  I knew that I was going to be unhappy with the result of the election, no matter which side won.   I couldn't bring myself to cast a vote for either Clinton or Trump.   I cast my vote for someone who realistically had no chance of winning--but, living in California, no one but Hillary had any chance of winning, so I didn't feel like I was "wasting" my vote.   The election (and now, beyond) has been nasty, on both sides of the aisle.  My Facebook feed makes me sad.  Name calling, unfriending, and an inability, or at least unwillingness to civilly listen to opposing views, come from both my conservative and my liberal friends.  I know my conservative friends are not the uncaring monsters the left describes, and I know my liberal friends are not the crybabies the right-wingers assert.   I always vote, but I usually avoid political discussions.  The other day, however, I ha...

Inauguration Day has come and gone, and I am still formulating my thoughts before writing anything about the national events of the past few days. However, this week reminds me again that I feel peace not from external events, but from within--my faith brings a sense of calmness to me regardless of what is going on around me.   This week, I'm thankful for: 1.  Rain.  I can hardly believe how many weeks in a row we have received rain!   2.  Humor.  Though I am guilty of making the occasional grammatical mistake, I do tend to laugh when I see errors in print.  The front-page news in the local paper warned us of the "more stronger" storm we had on Friday. 3.  Kind people who want to help others.  When I was shopping this week, I told the store employees about this car's predicament. It was not new news, as many people before me had alerted the store. Unfortunately, store employees were unable to locate the owner in any of the shops in...

This week, I got a new phone.  I was (relatively) late to the smartphone scene; I got my first smartphone 2-1/2 years ago. I'm not one who upgrades at the first possibility, but decided it was time because I was running out of memory.   (My mind is running out of space, too, but I haven't quite figured out how to upgrade that yet!)  I ordered a protective case for the phone because, though I am not exactly rough with phones, I have been known to accidentally drop my phone.  The new phone arrived before the case did.  In an effort to keep the phone somewhat protected while I waited for the case to arrive, I didn't remove the flimsy plastic.   I had fun picking ringtones, and even gave specific ringtones for particular callers.  It was so fun to hear the phone ring, and know immediately who was calling!  I put the phone to my ear. "Hello!" ". . . . " "I'm sorry; I have a new phone.  I can barely hear you.  I'm going to have to ca...

The much-anticipated day arrived this week; my grandma turned 100 years old.  I saw relatives I haven't seen in decades, met relatives I had never met, talked, laughed, ate, watched old videos, took photos, posed for photos, and just generally had a great time. And that was just Wednesday!   Photo:  Grandma wears a birthday banner and crown and is presented with her cake