Friday night grateful moment

Oh it is such a lovely night out, finally. After a week (or two or three) of funky weather--when's the next rainstorm? wait a few minutes!--it has finally warmed up and cleared up quite nicely. Not hot, but not cold... and you know the hot will come! When the sun went down tonight the whole world was golden, for a few minutes; those are my favorite kinds of day-endings.

This week I'm grateful for my family, the near ones and the far ones, for their continued health and safety. This is a crazy world we live in, and I don't take that stuff for granted, at all. I shared a quote via text with my mom today--it fits where they're at (on vacation) and where I am too (not on vacation): "After all, a vacation is not a matter of time or place. We can take a wonderful vacation in spirit, even though we are obliged to stay home, if we will only drop our burdens from our minds for awhile. But no amount of travel will give us rest and recreation if we carry our work and worries with us." -Laura Ingalls Wilder, from a book of essays. Hope your trip is fabulous, you two travelers!

I'm grateful that Seth passed his driving test last night. Whooo! I've actually never seen him so nervous before. He usually takes tests like he's eating cotton candy, but with this one there was some sweating. He had the biggest grin on his face when he walked back into where I was sitting and waiting while he drove around with the tester. Biggest. Grin. Me, I'm grinning because maybe, just maybe, my taxi days are behind me?!

I'm grateful for laughter. I had a number of really good laughs this week, mostly at ridiculous videos Seth showed me on YouTube. But still, get the laughs while you can, right? In case you missed my sharing on Facebook, I would highly recommend starting this one around minute two, watching only the first couple of minutes of this one, and just enough of this one to get the gist. (That last one might just be burned into your brain for a while; I apologize about that!) But I do hope you laugh.

I'm grateful for early summer eating. Fresh pesto. Strawberries. Asparagus. Kale. Baby potatoes. All the freshness makes me happy! There are even a few ears of corn around here, and a watermelon... those might be pushing the season a touch, but I do love heading into this season of flavors!

I'm grateful that General is a) still here, and b) has settled in just beautifully, and c) that he and Chief do well together. Last weekend when we were working around the property, he was gallivanting here and there, trying to keep up with Chief, chase Seth on the mower, etc. When we came inside he collapsed. Like, in a heap, sound asleep. I thought we might have killed him from exertion... But he slept soundly overnight and woke up happy. And he's continued to just feel like a part of the family, which makes ME very happy too.

Nap buddies. 

Life on the farm is hard.

I'm grateful for hand-me-downs. This week I got two things handed down to me... and through the network of small-town generosity, both originated from the same lovely soul (let's call him Tom). A friend emailed me and said he didn't have enough sun in his back yard to support two fig trees and would I like them? Um, yes! And then later in the week, another friend asked me if I wanted a sourdough starter that had originated from the fig-giving friend. Again, a solid yes. So, sometime over the summer, I will hope to make some figgy flatbread and give a big shout out to Tom!

I'm grateful for sleep--the promise of not having to wake early tomorrow! Twice this week either husband or I had early morning commitments that meant rising, really being up and at it, by 4:45 a.m. Which, of course. means that you then worry about sleeping through an alarm, and wake at 2 a.m., maybe 3 a.m., and definitely 4 a.m. Turning off all alarms for tomorrow, and please, no one call! (If that isn't an invitation to the pranksters, I don't know what is!)

I am always grateful for new mornings, fresh starts, renewed grace to face whatever comes our way. Every. Day. There are promises that have significant meaning to me, and reminders. Here are a couple that bring me peace, lately:

covered

God's handwriting

love

I hope you have an absolutely splendid weekend ahead, filled to the brim with good things.

Peace.

Friday night grateful moment

ot.

We're hot.

Seventh level of hades hot.

Okay, that might be slight exaggeration. It's certainly warm, and I think half of the feeling like we're melting like the Wicked Witch is that we're in a peaceful place surrounded by water, not usually associated with such warmth. This is the place where I usually ask to borrow a sweater, since I forgot layers are mandatory on this side of the Cascades. Or long pants, or shoes with socks, or an extra blanket for the bed... You get my drift. If it weren't deemed unacceptable (I'm just guessing here, but it seems reasonable to assume) and frankly rather uncomfortable, we'd probably all be wandering around nekkid. But no, we're sipping ice water and waiting for a breeze to waft by and the sun to shift behind the trees...

But we're grateful, even as we sweat. Maybe especially grateful...

For air conditioning (at home). I am always grateful for that convenience. I am not big of the frozen popsicle that a lot of places (I was in a freezing Starbucks the other day. FREEZING.) like to turn into during the warm months, but a little cool to sleep in is a very lovely thing.

For this idyllic setting for a brief getaway. Can you see the heat waves rising in front of the camera? Instagram needs a filter for that...

For Chief, our international traveler. I am SO grateful that this trip has gone easily for him. He's been largely relaxed and happy (probably lulled into lethargy from the heat, but I'll take it.)

For cool soups that make hot evenings a bit more palatable...

I'm so grateful for my parents' marriage: 46 years and going strong. It's a wonderful thing.

For the garden that gives and gives, and gives some more.

For ALL the summer eating we've been doing lately, from squash to corn to kale to tomatoes, finally with the tomatoes!

For afternoon naps (or are they afternoon comas?).

For the breezes, when they do waft through the house. And for shade.

For our TinTin boy, isn't he sweet?

For Mexican Train dominoes games, and Wii bowling tournaments...
all the fun things that we only do on vacation. 

For walks, and talks, and little trips to the market. Time together with family.

For unusual wildlife... well, unusual for us! I was out on the deck the first night we arrived, with Chief, and I heard this odd, low growl-hiss. I didn't look or think twice, I just scooted right into the house with Chief and asked my mom what *that* could have been... oh, just the raccoons, she said. A momma and three babies. So of course, we had to go back out and take a closer peek! 

Wishing you a peaceful weekend, filled with things to be grateful for. What's on your grateful list for this week?

Update: I did publish this list Friday night, really. But was an issue with blogspot.ca, and if you aren't subscribed through the RSS feed (which brings up the question, why not? It's a splendid way to get all your bloggy needs met in one place, so to speak), then it didn't publish to the blogger site. That should be fixed now!

Common Miracles: Week #42

 “Rejoicing in ordinary things is not sentimental or trite. It actually takes guts. Each time we drop our complaints and allow everyday good fortune to inspire us, we enter the warrior’s world.”
–Pema Chodron

t's been a while since I've participated in the Common Miracles project, and if I wait for actual time on my hands to jump back in, it won't happen. Too much, on too many plates. And they're all spinning, madly. (But happily.)

This video may be overstating it (you think?), but boy did I laugh heartily when I was thinking of illustrating plates, spinning, juggling things:



Meanwhile, what's going on in my miraculous world? Here's what I noticed today:

* Smiles. You know how "they" always say smiles make a difference? True story, that. One of those things where legend and reality meet up.

* Boots and tights. Wonderful for cold mornings. Especially cold, sorta-snowy mornings!

 * Our dear dog. So after he learns how to text, I want to teach Chief how to make my morning coffee. Seems doable, don't you think? He watched me making my latte this morning with such rapt attention and intelligence, I have to believe he could get the hang of it. (Kind of like those Geico guinea pigs rowing, right?)

* Dreams. I have been having some whackadoodle dreams lately. Co-workers, dogs (duh), my dad circa 1978 (no beard though), therapy circles in the grass, and a child I once thought was really sweet, apparently not so much! Basically my subconscious, once removed. Hilarious and kinda makes my day/night. Knock on wood there isn't a crossing over into nightmare-land...

* Robins. Saw a robin with a bright red breast in the snow this morning. The contrast was stunning. Obviously the groundhog forgot to copy the robins in on the six-more-weeks-of-winter memo! I got it, I just didn't believe it.

* Spontaneous singing. Must say, I have the best kid. Bursting into Am I a Man, or Am I a Muppet? in the kitchen and having your son join in? Bonus.

* Cheese. I was talking with husband this weekend about food cravings--of which he has very few. How is that possible? Me, on the other hand? I have them quite frequently, and they almost always involve cheese, in some variety or form. Am I predictable or what?!

* Family read/prayer time in the morning. It's quick and we're often hurried, but it is one of my very favorite parts of my morning... my day, too. I am blessed, we are blessed, and stopping for just a minute and remembering that, saying thanks for this family I am so thankful for? Bonus.

* Husband's key in the lock, home after an evening meeting. Love that sound.

* Music that makes my heart happy. Case in point today:



There. A snapshot of my common miracles, on this day (just like any other day), in this week (just like any other week), in this month (just any other month).

Except it's not. It was today. And there will never be another one just like it. I'm glad I got to live it. And I'm glad you did too.

To learn more about the Common Miracles project, go here.

What miraculous happenings took place in your world today?

Winter wonderland

We have lots of birds right now in the feeders outside the living room window. They are happy and chirpy and I love that we feed them.

Who has to snuffle around in the snow and get cold? Bad Dog Ruby, that's who. She's sweet and loves the snow like the crazy dog that she is, but doesn't really know when it's time to come in and get warm. Doesn't she just look so huggable, though? She really is, in spite of her bad dog ways...

Chief, looking like a prison dog there behind the wire... he was watching me come in from a little xcountry ski jaunt this afternoon...

I don't know if you can tell what this is, it didn't photograph well, but all over the fields there are these patches where hawks have come down into the snow to grab some rodent or something, and there are beautiful marks where the claws scrape the snow before the big grab. Anyway, it seemed picture-worthy at the time, made me wish for better photography skills... but I wish that most days anyway.

There's an idea of how much snow we've gotten. This sweet and wonderful birdbath was a gift from Corinne five years ago. I remember it showed up on a very particular day (sadness and joy, and the slightest glint of possibility for romance...) for me (Dec. 18, also sweet Lucy's day of birth), and it has meant a great deal to me over the years to look at that birdbath and think of our dear friendship.

He may look like he's guarding the property, but what Chief is really doing is watching the sheep at the neighbor's place. He turned his head back for me at just the right moment.