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| Photo: Two patio chairs with blue cushions sit on a nearly-completed brick patio in the middle of a wild hillside |
Putting aside some syntax, because I'm going for "conversational" and not "stuffy," but already fearing that this glimpse into the angst of writing an introduction is now bordering on "off-kilter," I'd better just stop while I'm (hopefully) ahead and jump into the purpose of this post: to share Ten Things of Thankful!
1. I'm thankful for raspberries. Specifically, I'm thankful that my neighbor shared her discovery of a U-Pick raspberry farm not far from here.
2. I'm thankful for the progress we are making in our backyard. The sprinklers are installed, the fire pit area is nearly complete, a shed will be built in the next 6 weeks or so, and generally, we are seeing more clearly our vision for the place. Hopefully, by this time next year, I will be picking raspberries off my own plants.
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| Photo: John stands in a patch of dirt, that he is clearing and leveling in preparation for the arrival of a shed |
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| Photo: Nine spike dracaena plants share a plastic container and sit on a windowseat |
4. I'm thankful for family history discoveries. This week, I found a photo of my daughters' biological grandmother on Ancestry.com. They didn't have a photo of her, and it's fun to see the resemblance. My oldest granddaughter looks a lot like her.
5. I mentioned this recently, but I'm thankful to be an ambassador for RootsTech 2020, to be held in Salt Lake City in February. I really enjoy family history, and I love to help others get started on their own history. If you have questions about genealogy, I'm willing to try to answer them!
6. I'm thankful for the co-hosts who alert me to "out of the ordinary" things happening with the blog hop. Inlinkz started a blog hop directory, and I gave the OK to list the TToT in it. As a result, we are seeing more people linking up this week. We welcome new participants, but do want to keep the posts focused on thankfulness. I'll try to do a better job explaining that in the future. (I'm just thankful that--at least at the time I am writing this--the linked posts are at least nice, though rather off-topic, posts. I do have the ability to remove posts, but will give the benefit of the doubt to non-offensive, off-topic posts--at least initially.)
7. I'm thankful for texts, messages, and phone calls with my children. There are so many inexpensive ways to keep in touch now. No having to wait until it is the weekend or evening rate to call!
8. I'm thankful for the opportunity to donate platelets. I have donated whole blood before, but this week I donated platelets. (The Red Cross flattered me into it by telling me that I had a high platelet count and one of my donations would benefit 2 or 3 people.) It was a different experience than donating whole blood--not as easy for me as whole blood donation--but I'm glad I could help and wouldn't mind doing it again.
9. I'm thankful for humor. John and I frequently attend Dry Bar Comedy Club, which tapes shows for YouTube. The comedians have a financial incentive to keep the shows clean, so although there is no guarantee what will come out of the comedians' mouths, we've heard very little that would warrant editing. The comedians have been very funny. Here's a clip from Robert Mac, who we watched last season:
10. I'm thankful for John. He was just about as excited as I was for the raspberries. Even though I'm confident in my ability to eat copious amounts of raspberries, it is more enjoyable to share. Tonight we will laugh at the comedy club, then come home and enjoy a raspberry dessert. My favorite part of the day will be spending time together, though.
As you can see from this post, no clever introduction is necessary to participate in the Ten Things of Thankful--only a willingness to share what you are thankful for this week. Won't you join us?
Linking up with posts of gratitude:
The Prolific Pulse
MessyMimi's Meanderings
A Season and a Time
Backsies is What There is Not
The Wakefield Doctrine
Raspberries! Yummy! I didn't like them as a child, but it was artificial flavor. When I tried real ones I loved them. What fun to find clean comedy! There's something like that here with comedy and trivia. We've not gotten there yet. You may have motivated me.
ReplyDeleteArtificial raspberry flavoring tastes nothing like real raspberries! I'm glad you tried the real deal.
DeleteI'm glad we found Dry Bar Comedy. Clean comedy, and, as the name implies, no alcohol.
Don't worry about ending a sentence in a preposition--that old rule is a leftover from when Latin was taught (in Britain) and the rules transferred to English. It is impossible to end a sentence in Latin with a preposition, but perfectly fine to do so in English.
ReplyDeleteRules like that are hard to let go of. ;-)
DeleteRozy Lass is right, i have looked in grammar books from grade school through college level and not a single one says you may not end a sentence with a preposition. It never was a rule in our language.
ReplyDeleteWonderful list, and there's nothing like belly laughing at good, clean humor.
It is good to laugh. :-)
Delete"Putting aside some syntax, because I'm going for "conversational" and not "stuffy," but already fearing that this glimpse into the angst of writing an introduction is now bordering on "off-kilter," I'd better just stop while I'm (hopefully) ahead..."
ReplyDeleteFun isn't it? (well, for your secondary clarklike aspect, it is)...
Not to worry, we got the kilter all set over here...
Number 6: spoken like the kind but fair host that you are.
I enjoy yard projects if for no other reason than 'the scale', you change the earth (albeit, a relatively small percentage of it, but still!)
Have a good week.
The intros are often the most time-consuming for me to write, but I didn't have time for it to take time this time, and the result was that doozy of a post. Glad it made some sort of sense.
DeleteI enjoy yard projects, too, but am also thankful that John is doing the vast majority of the work! :-)
Those raspberries! I've thought about them several times over the past week!
ReplyDeleteHow cool that you found a photo of your daughter's biological grandmother, and that the family resemblance has carried down so many generations!
My husband can tell you all kinds of cool stuff about how blood is used when you meet him in two weeks!
I remember those days of waiting until nights or weekends to make long distance calls! When my husband and I were dating long-distance, our phone bills were ridiculous!
Raspberries are the best. Family history is so much fun, and I can't wait to see you soon!
DeleteThe DryBar comedy video made me laugh.
ReplyDelete#7 is a real blessing
I need to call you about #4. What a great discovery!
What do you plan to plant with the spike dracaena in the spring?
I'll probably plant more geraniums and creeping jenny; they seem to do well on my porch.
DeleteAs my own daughter is growing up (much too fast) and spending more time out in the world at activities, etc. I am also thankful for ways to keep in touch with her and know she's safe when not with us. May it continue as she grows.
ReplyDeleteI have always struggled with the TToT intros. LOL That is all.
Goodbye, summer! Hello, autumn! I can't say I feel like the summer flew by this year, but I definitely find myself looking at my daughter and thinking how in the world is she this old already? I'm not ready yet!
Kids do grow up so fast! My oldest is 30 now and it just isn't possible.
DeleteMaybe we should have a "no intro" rule. It's probably in the book of rules somewhere, come to think of it. :-)
1. Raspberries are my favorite of all berries!
ReplyDelete9. Dry Bar Comedy is wonderful! I have the Dry Bar app on my iPhone and it gives access to full stand-up routines for a whole lot of comics. I like to preview them on shorter youtube clips and when one tickles my funny bone, I go to the app, find that comedian, and watch their entire special.
Thank you for your wonderful list!
We're on the same page about raspberries!
DeleteI'll have to check out the Dry Bar app.
Thanks for stopping by!