Thankful Me

  The interior of a travel trailer shows an aqua-colored couch next to a dinette area I don't know about you, but for the past six months or so, each week seems to pass very much like the others. This week, however, has had some variety, and for that, I am thankful (#1).  2. We listed our travel trailer for sale and I'm thankful we have had good response. Although I really hoped to have a sale finalized prior to publishing this post, I will have to be content with several good leads. Hopefully one of them will pan out in this coming week.  3. Thursday, we had a sectional couch delivered. I feel spoiled, as it wasn't really needed (so very few things in life really are), but it fits our space better than the furniture we had in the space before.  4. In our game of *musical couches (couch in front room down to basement, one couch from family room up to front room, another couch from family room out to garage), I remembered that the back pieces of one of the couches cou...

  John, my nephew, and my brother, all wearing masks, presumably smile for the camera before my nephew goes off to college The past few days, I've been masked up in my own home, as my brother and nephew stayed here prior to my brother taking my nephew to college. Though it was strange to have visitors, and strange to wear masks inside the house, it was also refreshing to be able to spend time with family. My nephew has moved into his dorm, and I took my brother to the airport Thursday morning, so now I've taken off the mask and am getting back to the routine. I'm thankful: to have spent time with my brother and nephew.  that Moon's Rare Books is still open for business and I could share that amazing store with my brother and nephew.  for game nights. My nephew introduced us to Richard: The Lionheart, and we taught him (and my brother) Splendor. Together, we tried to save the world from Pandemic. for Rockwell Ice Cream . The honeycomb flavor is great, but I especially ...

  Yellow lab, Drexel, relaxes next to the garden and looks at the camera Mid-August already! Although schools in my area start very soon, it still feels like summer to me. Like Drexel in the photo above, I'm enjoying watching the garden grow. I love autumn, but am content and "in the moment" with summer this year. I see friends in California posting screen shots of the weather forecast, and I remember those days of just enduring until October. I'm delighted that summer is again a delight to me. Even when temps near 100, they rarely go over that here, and even when they do, it's not by much nor for long. We've been in Utah now for 3 years, but I'm still tickled about enjoying summers again! This week, I'm thankful:  for firefighters. (1) Some of my friends in California have been evacuated due to the Lake Hughes fire, and many others have posted photos of the big, billowing smoke from the fire. I hope that the firefighters are able to get a handle on th...

A wild sunflower shows its cheery yellow petals My teacher friends are preparing to return to the classroom, whatever that looks like in their district. In any other year, I would be getting excited about BYU's Education Week. 2020 isn't like any other year, though, is it? Ed Week has been postponed to a date TBA and changed to an online format. While I am happy that I am getting projects done around the house, and I'm generally content to live the life of a hermit, I'm literally dreaming of going to Disneyland, which makes me think I must be getting a little case of cabin fever. (I'm not usually a big dreamer, or if I am, I don't usually remember my dreams. This one was particularly funny, I thought: I was in line to get into Disneyland. In front of me in line were the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Elder Cook was having trouble and his ticket wasn't scanning. I said to the cast member, "He's OK. I can vouch fo...

An antique typewriter I'm linking up this week with another Six Sentence Story . This week's prompt: random. Go over to Denise's blog to read entries from other bloggers--and feel free to link up your own story, too.  ************************************************************** Every day, his older sisters ventured into the big brick school building, to do who-knows-what. The outdoor playground equipment looked like fun, but he had no idea what happened inside the classroom. His turn would come in the fall, but kindergarten was a mystery. Fortunately, his sisters had experience. Unfortunately, the current kindergartener's description did nothing to ease his fears: "Math is really hard because no one tells you the answer and you just have to guess a number."

A quail perches on a wooden support and keeps watch for predators Summer 2020 reminds me of childhood summers: my calendar is open, my responsibilities are few, and the hot days stretch out seemingly endlessly. The months, however, pass quickly, and here we are in August. Parents and teachers are trying to figure out what back-to-school will look like, while children are trying to enjoy the last days of freedom. There is much to be thankful for, even as the pandemic continues. I'm thankful for: 1. Looking back over the two years we've been in this house and noticing the changes we've made in the backyard. Before and after collage of the backyard in August 2018 and August 2020. The land was pretty bare and wild in 2018; now the land has been purposely contoured, there is a fence, sprinkler system, fire pit, dry creek bed, garden area, and new planting bed. A view from the top of the yard: dry creek bed and planter box of red twig dogwood on the left, fire pit in the middle, ...