Fall arrived a couple days ago, and winter arrived today. John was out of town this weekend. When I turned the thermostat from "cool" to "heat" yesterday, the furnace fired up for a few minutes, then stopped. The inside temperature was 59 degrees this morning, which was better than the 40 it was outside.
Several situations have me heated up, though. I could choose to focus on them, or I could look back over this week and remember the things for which I am truly thankful. I'm taking the grateful route, knowing that it will make me feel better, and will allow me to see the situations in their true light--which is that they are annoyances, but nothing of long-term importance.
1. I am thankful for the cool weather and changing seasons. Though I'm not ready for snow here yet, I do enjoy seeing it on the mountains.
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| Photo: The snowy peaks of Y mountain (it has a white Y for BYU painted on it) stand in contrast to the still-green leaves of the trees in my neighborhood |
2. I'm thankful that John is Jenga-master and was able to fit the rest of our things from California into a trailer. We are officially all the way moved now! (Hopefully in a week or two I will be able to report that our escrow has closed, too.)
3. I'm thankful that John was able to figure out what was wrong with the furnace, and we currently have warm air flowing into our cold rooms.
4. I'm thankful for fall flowers that popped up, seemingly overnight. I'm curious now about what I might see in the spring.
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| Photo: Pale purple fall crocus push up through the bark groundcover. Assorted fallen leaves and green grass are also in the picture. |
5. I'm thankful for a Relief Society night, where we went to homes of new moms to drop off flowers and perform small acts of service. It was nice to spend time getting to know women from church, and it felt good to be able to be helpful.
6. I'm thankful for the women's session of general conference that I could watch on Saturday night. Even Drexel appreciated the encouraging messages and the beautiful music.
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| Photo: Drexel gazes at the television. On the screen, a women's choir sings at the conference center. |
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| Photo: A human skeleton (wearing a cowboy hat) rides a T-rex skeleton. The T-rex stands on the balcony of a house. |
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| Photo: The Mount Timpanogos Temple, constructed of white granite and topped with the gold angel Moroni statue. |
10. I'm thankful for John: John the Jenga-master, John the furnace-fixer, John the adventure-partner. I love spending time with him!
Well, it worked. Thankfulness has wrapped me in its warm blanket, making me feel all cozy and secure, and realigning my perspective on things. I can't think of a better way to end the weekend than to join up with the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop. Won't you join me?
Even though I grumble about the change of seasons, I appreciate living in an area that has four (most years) distinct seasons. Every season has its special beauty.
ReplyDeleteI'm thrilled that you are getting settled in your "new" community.
I'm looking forward to four seasons, as well.
DeleteKristi, I'm so glad you are settling in. How was the move for Drexel? You certainly moved from extreme heat to early seasonal cold. We haven't yet put our heat on in NJ, but are having to replace the furnace (It's 27 years old and not very efficient). Glad the things that are important in your life are not closer geographically. That temple is a beautiful structure. Yay for John. My hub is also a fixer and it saves so much time and money for us. See you next week.
ReplyDeleteDrexel is very easy-going and adaptable, as most former guide dog puppies-in-training are. The biggest change for him is probably getting used to having to go outside in wet weather to relieve. I'm curious to see his reaction to snow!
DeleteWhat a great list! I find it interesting that you have crocus emerging now - here in the UK it's normally the first sign of Spring. I've never seen them in autumn :)
ReplyDeleteFall crocus isn't actually related to spring-blooming crocus. I didn't know about them, either, until they popped up one autumn in my garden in a previous house. Here's a link that tells a little bit about them: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/bulbs/crocus/autumn-crocus-growing.htm
Deletegood news! (heat and new-home-to-be)
ReplyDeletehey! the 'Y' on the mountain...is that a tradition/practice? A few years ago I went to Salt Lake City a couple of years in a row for business and there was big 'Y' on the side of the mountain there too.
Saw your fb photo of snow on the mountain while you were getting rain, it's amazing how elevation will make such a marked difference in the weather.
I'm a bit confused about the Y you saw in SLC. There is a U there, for the University of Utah. The Y stands for BYU. (The only thing I can think--and I don't know if this has ever happened, let alone happened several years in a row--is maybe you were in SLC at the time of the "holy war", when U of U played BYU in football. Maybe some BYU fans put a temporary Y on the mountain near the U of U? Just a guess, but again, I don't even know if that ever happened.) Anyway, as far as the Y in Provo: Apparently the original plan--over 100 years ago--was to put all three letters[BYU] on the mountain. The Y went up first, to center the letters correctly. However, the students underestimated the time and effort it would take to put the letters up, and stopped when the Y was done. So now BYU is known as "The Y."
DeleteSo many wonderful things to be thankful for. congrats and good luck with the house. It's 90' in Baltimore and I'm a little envious of your snowy mountains. : ) Have a great new week.
ReplyDelete90 in Baltimore probably includes a bit of humidity, right? I'm sorry! Hopefully fall will come your way soon!
DeleteI have never seen the process of writing a TToT post fail in its effect to adjust my attitude and redirect my thoughts toward what is uplifting and good, it's such a blessing in that way, especially during times of frustration, and so much negativity swirling about us!
ReplyDeleteI am delighted to hear that your former house will soon close, and even more so that you've found the perfect new one in a great spot! Obviously this move was meant to be, and I wish you many happy years together at the foothills of such majestic mountains!
It must be wonderful to have your temple so close by now! I loved Drexel sharing the tv conference message with you, my furkids love music too! Service to others is love in action, and I've always known that love is a verb, I know you enjoyed it as much as the young moms did!
Whew, I am glad that your John was able to get that pesky furnace up and running, it seems like they love to act up just when you need them, or the AC goes out when it's hottest outside. It is good that the cold of winter hasn't hit yet, but your snow-dusted mountain view is amazing!
I know how relieved you are to have all of your belongings moved now, my daughter learned much in the process of decluttering, sorting, packing, loading, and hauling of hers this past week. It was a great relief to me as well as her and her husband when they finally arrived safely in Dallas last evening. It is an exhausting undertaking and certainly teaches us the wisdom of paring down what we own!
The T-rex/cowboy skeletons were delightful, and I learned something new here today... I thought crocus only emerged in early Spring! Have a truly blessed week ahead, a nice relaxing one would be great! :-)
Fall crocus aren't actually related to spring crocus. I first learned about fall crocus years ago when some popped up in the yard of a house we were living in at the time. I was so surprised!
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