Friday night grateful moment

ust a quick blink-and-you-miss-it week since the Kandt family was gathered on Vancouver Island. In a way, it seems like much longer ago than seven days, and yet... yeah, yeah, like yesterday. Ah well. The passage of time... I'm still waiting to hear from a few of you on the whole "slowing down time" thing, whether that's a pause button or what exactly, I'm not sure.

And yes, like every week, things to be thankful for. Some new, some old, some big, some small.

Thankful for safe travels for Seth and I. I don't take that for granted.

So so grateful to be home again with husband, who was missed mightily.

Glad to have had some days with Ma and Pa on Mayne Island, just chillin' and hanging out, making ice cream and napping. Oh boy, that was quite the relaxing vacation. Even our day in Victoria was pretty mellow. We did get a couple of really good walks in, Ma and Seth and I, but other than that it was ice cream and napping. Oh, did I mention that already?!

Thankful to have parents that are a pleasure to hang out with. I don't take THAT for granted either!

And a son who is a joy on road trips. We have the Brian Regan pretty much memorized ("The yellow one's the SUN!"), and are working on Jim Gaffigan too. We're both pretty much enamored with Jim's "I am speaking as an audience member" voice; that cracks me up every time. Other than the comedy, we both inflicted music on the other (Ratatat from him, for some reason I was in an ELO mood yesterday morning coming home) and of course just chatted and solved the problems of the world too.

Here's a clip of Jim. I love his understated style.



And here's a funny one of Brian too. I think he's just got childhood figured out; well, mine at least. He makes me laugh out loud and almost drive off the road (right, aunty M?), whereas Jim makes me chuckle with an occasional snort.



Very grateful husband got to the bottom of the water issues while I was away. Sorry he had to deal with them, but happy that (knock on wood), the issues have been resolved. I'm very reluctant to say anything too optimistic, for fear of Ye Olde Jinx, but we'll take it as it comes and hope for the best in the coming hot days. Yes, hot. Supposed to be 101 on Sunday. Holy hot day!

Grateful for the garden and the pile of zuccchini, summer squash, cucumbers, dill and basil I hauled in this morning. I just snipped the flowers from the basil and ended up with a giant bag of it! That was lunch, and will be some happy pesto for pizza this weekend, too. Oh the basil love, it is strong.

Thankful too for the plethora of fresh fruits that are on my kitchen counter... the peaches and nectarines and apricots, watermelon, cherries and blueberries too! Oh my. Happy summer eating, the best of the year!

 

  
Thankful for my time in the car wash this afternoon. (The picture above is of the cleaning foams, from inside. I just love the colors, naturally.) I listened to the last few minutes of The Hour I First Believed and just sat in quiet for a few minutes, pondering. Good book; I'd recommend. SO much more than about just the Columbine incident. Lots of family history and background, drama and intrigue. And the protagonist isn't a good guy in the typical sense--he can be a bit of an ass, he makes a lot of mistakes and is pretty selfish at times. But you want him to get out of his own way, and make a good life for himself, so you end up pulling for him and hoping for his success.

Thankful for my laundry slave. I told Seth today I'd feel comfortable leaving him at home to do laundry by himself now--he's graduated, definitely, from the need to be micromanaged, and I don't think any of our white loads will turn pink under his watchful eye. He loves cleaning the lint screen especially, so I also wouldn't have to worry about him burning the house down!

Grateful for traditions like our Friday night supper of haystacks. I don't think I could ever get tired of those...

Grateful for Kim and our walks and talks. For putting up with me and my "let's head off into the hinterlands and see where we end up!" And our expert GPS navigation of Campbell River--wow did we turn over every rock in that town looking for a pool for the kids! Thank you, sister, for good times, making memories.

Sitting here by the beautiful roses my husband put out for my arrival home, it seems easy to say "stop and smell the roses;" but wherever you are, even if the scent isn't quite as perfume-y as actual roses, I hope you get a chance to savor a moment of gratitude for where you are and how you got there. And if it's not a particularly good place--we've all been THERE for a minute or two--I hope you find some hope that tomorrow will be better than today, and that one foot in front of the other can really take you out of the woods/weeds and to a better place.

Off to the fire pit now, to make s'mores and sit with my men and watch the sun go down. Lots to be thankful for, hope you feel the same.

Art source.