Thankful Me

  Multnomah Falls, with its iconic bridge across the water Today I'm adhering to the "a picture's worth a thousand words" mantra. Hope you enjoy, and can notice the beauty that surrounds you! Check out the other entries on the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop ! A portion of the Washington Park Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon A sparrow perches on a cluster of pink roses A bee enjoys a yellow blossom A moss-covered log sits at the base of the upper Multnomah Falls Delphinium and mock orange are putting on quite a display this year Pink phlox brightens a corner of the garden The "Top Hat" tomato I'm growing from seed indoors is starting to produce Lettuce and basil also are growing well indoors A polka-dot plant is putting out big pink leaves John, doing his best to swallow a waterfall and make me laugh

  My dad holds me as we attend my first family reunion (I wrote this on Wednesday, thinking it was a day later and I'd be able to link to the blog hop if I stayed up late enough that night. Then the days went by and I forgot until this morning. All this to say, take the "tomorrows" and other time references in this post with a grain of salt.) :-) Say the words, "family reunion," and I immediately think "picnic." My great-great-grandparents' descendants started holding annual picnics more than 100 years ago, and settled into a favorite location about 65 years ago. As you might imagine, many of the original picnic-goers have left this world, and many of the descendants have moved from the state. It has been almost 20 years since the last reunion, but this year, some of us are gathering again.  My great-grandparents, dressed to the nines for a picnic circa 1920 The couple standing at the back left are the same couple as in the photo above. My grandma ...

  My two-year-old granddaughter buries her face in a pink peony blossom This is the weekend that the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop celebrates its tenth birthday! Ten years! As I reflect back, I think about global/national events, family changes, the TToT community, and how participation in the TToT has changed me personally.  Wars, a pandemic, political divisions, natural disasters, etc. can make the world seem a dark, scary place. But even in the midst of all those challenges, light can be found, and taking time each week to find ten things to be thankful for brings hope and peace.  Ten years ago, I lived in California and still had a child living at home. My grandma was still alive. I had one grandchild. Now, John and I are empty-nesters in Utah, my grandma has passed away, and John and I  have 6 grandchildren. The TToT has helped me remember to be thankful throughout change. Lizzie began the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop, and she has a gift for creating commun...