Thankful Me

John stands by our garden, where the corn which was knee-high on the 4th of July now towers over him on the 24th of July Here in Utah, July 24th is a holiday: Pioneer Day, commemorating the day in 1847 that the pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley. Tonight, firework displays will go off all over the state. Today's Ten Things of Thankful post will be written with history in mind. I'm thankful (1) for the legacy of faith the pioneers left. Even though I don't literally descend from pioneers who crossed the Mormon Trail, I am impressed by their dedication to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I moved here to Utah 3 years ago, and it was hard work! Compared to the pioneers, though, I had it easy. I drove in a van, I was neither hungry nor cold, the journey was completed in a day (or two, I don't remember now if we took two days or not), and no one died along the road. Those pioneers rode in wagons, or walked, pushing handcarts, for months. They were hungry and cold, and (especial...

stock photo of a microphone, found on picmonkey My family did not own a television for much of my growing-up years. No, I was not born before the invention of television; my parents had a TV when I was born and made the conscious decision to get rid of it when I was in elementary school. They didn't get another one until all of the children were grown and out of the house. Perhaps in part because of their decision to not have a television in our home, we were a family of readers.  We owned plenty of books, and always had library books on hand, too--from the school library as well as the town's local library. I read voraciously, and can still picture in my mind exactly where in the school library I could find the L.Frank Baum Wizard of Oz series, or Joy Adamson's  Born Free. Books transported me through time, space, and imagination. Reading the Little House books, I became a pioneer. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler  opened the wonders of a New York Ci...

"Fear not, I am with thee, o be not dismayed, For I am thy God and will still give thee aid."  source This week, I received news that a friend has an advanced-stage cancer. She has requested that her friends send her inspirational thoughts and images to help her during this difficult time, so for this week's Ten Things of Thankful, I thought I would express thanks for those things that I have found helpful when I am going through hard times. Hopefully, something in my list will resonate with her, too.  1. I'm thankful for music. It has the power to soothe souls, bring peace, and spark motivation. As you read through this post, feel free to listen to this collection: 2. I'm thankful for faith. My friend and I happen to both be members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , but regardless of your religion, faith in God can bring strength beyond what is humanly possible otherwise. The power of prayer is real.  A photo of clouds over the ocean, with the ...

A small corn patch grows in a raised bed between strawberries and squash and beans The expectation for corn-growers is that the corn will be "knee-high by the 4th of July." I failed to take a photo of my corn patch on the 4th, but the above photo was taken on the 30 of June. While I'm still waiting for corn harvest time, I am thankful (1) that I've been able to harvest other crops. We've enjoyed lettuce, radishes, basil, strawberries, yellow summer squash, yellow wax beans, beets and turnips so far, and more crops are gearing up. (And suddenly, writing that sentence made me think of the movie,  SecondHand Lions. )  Long story, but John and I have a travel trailer we are getting ready to sell. I'm thankful (2) for the internet that provides endless how-to information, as well as (3) recommendations for companies that can be hired to do the work we don't want to tackle ourselves.  I'm also thankful (4) for a washer and dryer. It's so nice to be able ...

Cars and trucks on a highway travel toward the rising sun                                    John and I made a quick, task-oriented trip to California last week. We wore our masks and stayed at an acceptable social distance from others (which is hard for grandchildren to understand, but we mostly succeeded.) We're now home, and at the "I need a vacation to recover from my 'vacation' " stage, which makes sitting down to compose a TToT post a bit of a challenge. However, I know that I will feel better by the end of this post, so bear with me if you will.  1. I'm thankful that we had no problems with traffic going there or coming home. We left our hotel at about quarter to four on Friday morning. The early start, fewer families traveling this year, or, most likely, a combination of the two, made for an easy drive.  2. I'm thankful for books to help pass the time. We haven't actually finished...