Thankful Me

A bright rainbow, with a fainter double rainbow above it John and I have been busy this week taking care of things around the yard and house, and the result is now being able to enjoy a more beautiful yard and a more organized and clean house. We've had rain and rainbows, gathered with family to celebrate my in-laws anniversary, and gathered with friends to celebrate the life of a neighbor gone too soon.  I have a pad of paper that has printed on the top of each page, "Lists Make Me HAPPY." It's true. Lists allow me to see what I want to accomplish, but also let me see what I have done. I like to see on paper what is OK to postpone until later, too. Having it written down means I won't forget it, but it doesn't take priority right now. Right now, I can relax for a moment and just enjoy.  Lists also allow me to look back and review what I am thankful for! (How's that for a segue?) Without further ado: 1. I'm thankful that the road leading up to my neigh...

  A orange-yellow sunset over mountains, with the Mt. Timpanogos temple in the middle of the photo and treetops in the foreground Time fascinates me. I remember a conversation my grandma had once when I was a child where she was able to figure out what year something happened based on something else--where she was living at the time, how old a child was, etc. I was amazed that some arbitrary year number could be remembered in such a way. I also remember turning 10 years old and realizing that I had just entered the "two-digit" phase of my life. Never again could my age be described with a single digit, and it would be a very long time before I entered a "three-digit" phase. Perhaps because I've always been focused on time, I think about the past and look forward to the future. However, that fascination with the past and future sometimes means the present gets a short stick. I'm learning to enjoy the little "now" moments, without my brain telling me...

A rapid covid test with a negative result That photo sums up a huge thankful on my list: both John and I are once again testing negative for covid. (Thankful #1)We didn't have that bad of cases, but we certainly were wiped out. We now understand the phrase, "binge watching TV," as John has gone through season after season of Fear Factor, and I managed to get through all of Virgin River. (A strange, but nonetheless thankful #2) We've had lots of discussions on who would do which part of the stunts if we were ever to face Fear Factor challenges. (I will gladly be covered in boa constrictors, but John will need to do the walking around 80 feet in the air. If either of us has to eat scorpions, we might as well forget it.) Virgin River was an enjoyable, albeit formulaic show. Basically much of the conflict in the series comes about because someone told someone something that they were asked to keep confidential. However, the characters do have depth and development, so wha...