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| Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park, as viewed from an overlook |
I apologize for not commenting on your blog posts this past week; John and I took a vacation to Yellowstone National Park, leaving behind our computers and, to a large extent, cell phone service. We escaped the outside world and just spent time in nature. Though we have friends near Yellowstone (who we love to visit) we made this trip just about us, so please forgive us if we were nearby and didn't stop by. The crowds were minimal (though we did mask up whenever we passed someone on the trails) and we spent our days hiking, taking photos, and watching geysers erupt.
Today, we are back home and back to work, and, in the case of my computer, back to old shenanigans like not letting me import my photos. (I was able to add the above photo by using blogger on my phone, but that isn't my preferred method.) I want to write about Yellowstone and have photos I want to share, but will leave that for another day, after I'm caught up with the laundry and have patience to figure out why my computer is behaving badly. In the meantime, here's my Ten Things of Thankful post for this week, which I mainly composed prior to our trip:
Last week, I focused my Ten Things of Thankful post on General Conference, so this week I want to look back over what else has happened the past two weeks that has made me thankful. Let's jump right in:
1. I'm thankful that my printer, though not reliably, will resurrect itself occasionally (and without warning!) and decide it can indeed communicate wirelessly with my computer. I get frustrated trying to figure out what its problem is, so I am thankful when the problem seems to fix itself. (Maybe my computer and my phone will have similar bursts of cooperation?)
2. One evening, John went to a fast food restaurant's drive-through. What's even nicer than not having to cook dinner? Having the person in front of John in line decide to pay for his order! I'm thankful for that sweet surprise.
3. The fifteen-year-old van passed its smog test! (Not without a bit of hassle, but all's well that end's well, right?) I'm thankful.
4. I stumbled across a death certificate for a baby girl, Alma May, who was born and died in 1910. In my family history research, I found someone else had listed a Effie Fay with the same birth and death date. I suspected perhaps they were twins, but I couldn't find any source records for Effie Fay. Finally, I thought to search for her under the last name of Brackett instead of Brockett. When I did that, I found not Effie Fay, but Herma Fay. I was able to change Effie's name to Herma and attach sources. Alma and Effie were premature twins, and both died about a month after birth, but on different days. Their mother died the day after they were born. I'm thankful I was able to find proof that these little girls were born.
5. I'm thankful I was able to solve another mystery. I walked into my office one morning and immediately my nose was assaulted by a funky smell. At first, I couldn't figure out what in the world was causing the stench, and I was afraid some critter had died in the vents or walls. As we were getting ready to go out of town, I really wanted to find the source. Fortunately, I finally figured it out! I had received some garlic bulbs but hadn't planted them yet. I moved them out to the shed until it's planting time, and now my office is smelling better again. Bonus, no vampires! I'm thankful.
6. Our church congregation is doing a secret service activity, where each family who wants to participate is assigned another family to do little acts of service for. Because of the pandemic, I think most of the service is going to be dropping off small gifts or notes (at least, that's what we're planning on doing.) Anyway, the first day of the event, I found this sweet little package on my porch. Inside was a ceramic pumpkin candy dish, Halloween candy, and a little hand sanitizer. It's nice to be remembered, and my bottle of hand sanitizer that I keep in the car is almost gone, so it's nice to have a replacement.
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| A ceramic pumpkin candy dish with Halloween candy and a bottle of hand sanitizer is wrapped in cellophane and tied with a green ribbon. A Halloween-themed tag is attached. |
7. Our garden, though pretty much done for the year, provided us lots of tasty fruits and vegetables, right up until the nights got colder. I'm thankful to be able to eat well from our own backyard.
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| A dinner plate filled with cantaloupe, tomato slices, Swiss chard, and breaded yellow summer squash |
8. BYU Education Week, normally held in August, was postponed this year due to the virus, and the method of delivery has gone online. The good news is, it is now available! I look forward to watching the presentations, and am thankful that the event goes on, even in this strange year.
9. "Strange" is probably an understatement in describing 2020. John and I decided that visiting Yellowstone in October would be an appropriate vacation. We could be outside most of the time (or in our car), and by going in October, it would be easier to avoid crowds and we could more easily maintain a proper social distance. I'm thankful we can still find ways to take vacations together, and I'm thankful for this beautiful world.
Oh, what fun! We went to Yellowstone when i was very young, and i have never forgotten.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely a memorable place!
DeleteYellowstone in October sounds perfect, especially the part about no crowds! Yeah, "strange" is one adjective for this year. I think this year we've realized just how important getting away, even for a short time, is. As to #2 - What a wonderful gesture :)
ReplyDeleteIt was a wonderful trip. I hope to get a more in-depth post up this week, assuming I can get my photos to load. Spoiler alert: while October is a great time to visit, I highly recommend warm clothes! (Fortunately, I had packed snow gear. ) :-)
DeleteWhat a nice getaway! It's so important to have time for the two of you.
ReplyDeleteYes, and even though it's just the two of us at home now, being able to get away from daily responsibilities is nice.
DeleteI'd go with 'strange' as the most effective descriptor as well.
ReplyDeleteGrat#4 sounds like a great idea for a detective series, 'Lilian Stone, Finder of Lost Souls'
you should write it, besides the 'hook' of genealogy you are in a part of the country, and therefore the culture that only a short time ago, everything was in motion.
(lol I'll stop now)
#6 surely is an excellent thing to do... paying forward and such.
Have a great week
If I ever do write that series, I will use your suggested name! Interesting concept.
DeleteClark has a great idea, Kristi.
ReplyDeleteThose tomatoes from your garden make my mouth water.
Glad you found the source of the foul smell. I took the lid off a big bucket this week in which I found a bunch of sunflower seeds. Who know how long they had been there, but they had decomposed into a messy, mushy, smelly clump. I'm sure your dad once had something in mind for them. The lid was on the bucket quite tightly, so the odor had gone undetected until. . .
So glad you had a great vacation.
Thanks for your vote of confidence, but I'm not sure when the book will make it to the top of my to-do list. :-)
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