Thankful Me

Photo: A short gravel driveway leads to a one-car garage attached to a small, cream-colored house This week, John and I went out to dinner with his parents, and his mom asked me out of all the houses I had lived in as an adult (well, she didn't say, "as an adult," but I just assumed that), which was my favorite. I gave her an answer, then agonized the rest of the evening that somehow my opinion was wrong (not for anything that anyone said; just because my middle-aged, menopausal mind can't seem to turn off.) 😆The truth is, I have liked all of the homes we have lived in, for various reasons. The home I gave as my answer was the smallest, oldest, least expensive, had only one bathroom for all seven of us, and was just one field away from the train tracks. It was also the home where birds made a nest in my hanging fuchsias, my youngest daughter splashed in mud puddles, my youngest son's pumpkin that he planted in kindergarten grew to take over our garden, and a...

Photo: A black-and-white image of my great-grandmother, Edna Anna Hunt, as she holds two babies and stands in front of an antique car.  Do you have boxes of old photographs or slides that you intend to get around to digitizing someday ? You are not alone; although I have scanned and saved some pictures to my computer, the process takes time and I have so much more to do that it is easy to feel overwhelmed. The other day, however, I discovered a fast, easy, and free way to save my old images: I went to a Family History Center that has equipment to scan photos, slides, and documents. In less than two hours, I had successfully saved over 900 images! To check to see if the Family History Center in your area has the necessary tools: f irst, follow this link to locate your nearest FHC:  https://www.familysearch.org/locations/centerlocator? , then look on their website to see if they have photo scanners. You might need to give them a call or make an online reservation to reserve...

Photo: My great-grandfather, Donald Joseph Telfer, stands in his WWI uniform Genealogy comes to life when stories emerge from the list of names, dates, and places; and with the abundance of online resources, stories and pieces of stories are easier to find than they used to be. Digitized newspapers provide details into our ancestors' lives that otherwise might be lost. Recently, I searched on newspapers.com for my great-grandfather, Donald Joseph Telfer. Newspapers.com is a subscription site, but it does offer a free 7-day trial. I didn't bother to cancel after my trial, as I had good success in finding articles that were useful to my research. I knew that I would most likely find an article about my great-grandfather's death (he died in a tragic mining accident), but I was surprised to find several other interesting articles about him. The earliest article I found was about his time in the Army during WWI. I have a photo of him in his uniform, but really didn't...

Photo: John and I stand next to Berry, the mascot of Strawberry Days.  Summer has officially arrived, at least by the calendar. Mother Nature was definitely not having a hot flash yesterday; the high temperature was only in the mid-sixties. However, summer festivities went on as scheduled. In our town, that means Strawberry Days. What does your town celebrate? (We lived briefly in a tiny town that observed Egg Day; I look back on that time fondly.) Summer and celebrations factor into this week's Ten Things of Thankful list: 1. I'm thankful for summer, and the cool temperatures.  Last summer, we moved into this house. The previous summer, we moved to Utah. The fifteen years prior to that brought triple-digit temperatures in the summers, and not just a day or two at 100, but multiple days when temperatures soar over 105, 110, even 115. I'm not a fan (pun intended!) For the first time in a long time, I'm excited for summer itself. I'm neither packing boxes nor ...

Photo: A preschool-age girl sits on a rock at the edge of a lake Her small brow furrowed in concentration as she carefully placed the wriggling worm on the little hook.  "Ready, Daddy!" she called, and Daddy came over and helped her cast the line into the lake. To the amazement of both of them, soon the bobber took a dip into the water. Daddy talked her through reeling the keeper-sized fish onto the shore. "I'll name him Lucky, because he is lucky I caught him!" she proudly announced. Lucky's luck ran out, though, when he realized this wasn't going to be a catch-and-release situation.  ************************** I'm joining again with the Six Sentence Story link-up. Go read the other entries, and feel free to add your own. This week's prompt: release.

Photo: Battle Creek Falls, a 50-foot waterfall over a rocky edge The last time I posted, we were celebrating the 6th anniversary of the Ten Things of Thankful, and what a celebration it was! We combined with the Finish the Sentence Friday blog hop, and so many bloggers participated. I enjoyed reading everyone's posts, and it became a reunion of sorts. What a fun way to start the summer months! We extended the time the link remained open, so you'll probably want to go back and make sure you didn't miss reading any of the posts.  Also, I mentioned in my last post that I have some Ten Things of Thankful sticky-notepads to give to anyone who would like one. I still have some available, so if you'd like one, let me know in a comment and I'd be happy to mail one out to you.  Photo: The design on the sticky note pad: Light blue sky and fluffy clouds are on the background. "Ten Things of Thankful" is written at the top, with the numbers 1-10 going d...

Photo: Four assorted cupcakes sit on a white plate. The plate is on a red, pink, yellow, and blue floral tablecloth, and a burlap banner spelling out "Thankful" circles the plate. Six years ago (nearly to the day), while reading Christine's blog, A Fly on Our (Chicken Coop) Wall , I was introduced to a brand new blog hop, the Ten Things of Thankful, started by Lizzi of Considerings . I eagerly and excitedly joined this wonderful community of bloggers. Through the years, participants, hosts, and co-hosts have come and gone, and as life gets busy and situations change, that's totally understandable. And while everyone is always welcome to link up with the TToT, and we LOVE it when new bloggers join us, this week will also be a reunion, with several familiar faces stopping by to say hello. In addition, Kristi of Finding Ninee , who was one of the early co-hosts, and hosts a blog hop called Finish the Sentence Friday , is using "Ten Things of Thankful" as ...

Photo: Aerial view of a snow-covered Mt. St. Helens The gentle stir of unrest grew until the rumblings could no longer be ignored. She knew that big changes were coming, even though some of those living closest to her thought she would never be anything other than firm and steadfast. She felt the pressure growing from deep within; a rage that needed an outlet. Finally, on May 18, 1980, she could take it no longer, and with a rush of emotion, she transformed the top third of her peak into a billowing cloud of steam, dust, and ash. Boulders flew and entire forests bowed down to her. No longer, she thought, would anyone dare to underestimate the power of Mt. St. Helens. *********************************** Linking up again this week with Six Sentence Stories . Prompt word: mountain. Go read the other entries, and feel free to submit your own!