Friday night grateful moment

ur gorgeous weather just keeps on coming! As I write this, the sun is setting, and while I don't think it will be one of those rockin' Walla Walla sunsets, it's still pretty amazing to have these pleasant evenings capping off a day of pure sunshine and warmth. I am so thankful for our weather this summer (when it finally arrived).

This week I am also so thankful to have almost completed another yard project, this time a small pond that has been in our minds for years, seriously, and in the works all summer. I gradually dug away at it and then when the brick/edging was done I concentrated on it... I am so thankful to be in a place to sit back and enjoy the yard a bit more, even though there are still things to be done.

And when I was getting stone to edge the pond, I asked the lady at the nursery if she had any pond plants. She didn't, but told me about a couple across the street from the nursery who have ponds and lilypads and fish, and sometimes sell the plants... so I wandered on over and said hello and saw their pond setup. They offered me two plants and seven fish! Fabulous. The pond is now semi-stocked, and I'm thankful to live in a small town with friendly people who are gracious and lovely and generous. Great energy.

On the grateful food list this week are figs (of course) and watermelon... I feel like the "good" watermelon has finally arrived! Some summers it seems like you can't get a bad one all summer long, but maybe my watermelon mojo has been off this year, because I've picked some pretty sad ones out, so far... until now! There is nothing like a sweet, juicy watermelon!

 cheese (My mother pinned this on Pinterest this week, and attached my name to it. Ha. Does she know me, or what?!)

Also grateful for the tomatoes... they are slow this year... but finally coming on, which makes me very happy. I wish we could extend the tomato season for another few months (I know, pipedream!)... the difference between home-grown and store-bought is so profound with all vegetables, but feels especially so with tomatoes. I'm grateful for our garden patch, and all the squash, beans, onions, potatoes and other miscellany we have going on... and corn! Corn will be along here soon as well...

I'm thankful that post-wheat-harvest, the bunnies have found their way back to the front yard... for quite a while I would see them popping in and out of the wheat, and it worried me that they might get sacrificed in the harvest... but I can see three "generations" of bunnies out there now, and the babies are just precious. Yesterday I came out the front door and startled a very tiny bunny who, rather than bolt, decided to do the "if I lay really still and low with my ears and body flattened, she won't see me" thing, and I got really quite close before he decided that bolting might be the wiser choice. Hilarious, little white tail bopping along. Now, if they would stop eating the plants I try to cultivate in the front flower bed, that would be swell... I came home from vacation to both perennial geraniums and echinacea laid low by bunny nibbles. So, those plants got moved and replaced with something hopefully a little less tasty...

husband

As every week, I am thankful for love. From husband, especially... I am a blessed woman, and I know it.

Color comes up on my thankful list so frequently as well, and having color in the yard makes me happy happy. Color ANYWHERE is great, but having color in the flower beds is always a bonus... next up: turning the herb garden green jungle into something more colorful and orderly... wish me luck!

And my gratefulness list would never be complete without noting my thankfulness for prayer and meditation. When I slow down and take the time, it always always always impacts my outlook for the positive. I can't say it always always always impacts my actions, since I'm a rather stubborn and forgetful child of God. I swear, the memory of a gnat. But that's the journey, eh? I do know that my days are better, by leaps and bounds, when I start out with the heaven-ward gratitude for my life and all the opportunities I have on a daily basis to give and live as I ought.

 meet

What are you thankful for this week? I'd love to know. I hope that in the midst of life and all its muck, you're able to find a few precious things to hold on to.

I wish you a peaceful weekend, one filled with gratitude and grace.