Thankful Thursday

I don't have a lot of Thankfuls this week. I can't believe it's already been a week since I wrote my last post. For the last several days, I've been noticing signs of spring. I first noticed that the Callery Pear trees at Home Depot were in full bloom. You may know them as Bradford Pear or pyrus calleryana. They're a trash tree from Asia and have made the Texas Invasive Species List. But they do have an impressive display of white blooms every spring. So starting my list is:

1. I love spring! I haven't seen any wildflowers in bloom yet, but the dandelions have bloomed and gone to seed. I even like dandelions because the honey bees love them, and because they attract aphids which keeps the aphids out of my garden. I've heard dandelion wine is good, but I've never tried it. During the depression, people used to eat all parts of the dandelions, from the roots to the blooms. Thanks to the dandelions in bloom, I've also seen my first butterfly of the year, a sulfur, flitting from one yellow blossom to the next. I've also seen the first grasshopper of the year and the first mosquito. I'm not thankful for them though.

Free photo from Pixabay

2. I like my town. I am so glad we moved here and wish it had been sooner. The other day I had to mail something, so I grabbed it and headed to the post office where I picked up a padded envelope, carefully stuffed my project in it, and walked up to the counter where I realized I had forgotten the address. I started to take my project out (it wasn't a free envelope), but the postmaster waved me off and told me to take it home, put the address on it and pay for it when I brought it back. Small town trust!

3. I like my Sketchers. I noticed this week that they are starting to come apart at the seams and it makes me sad that I won't have them much longer, but they have given me 4 or 5 good years and maybe the next pair will too.

4. I'm adding this hours after posting this, but Hubby came in this morning and said the purple martins have come home! It took awhile for all four of them to be out at the same time, but he took a few pictures for me. Whoohoo! Spring is definitely on the way. These may only be scouts, but they seem to have claimed a couple of nesting boxes, so we'll see.

♥   ♥  ♥   ♥  ♥  ♥   ♥   ♥

This week, Leeanna's prompt is: "Tell us about a time you knew someone was for you... in honor of Love month, I'm thinking a mate but it can be a best friend, or your dog/cat, etc.

How did you know, what did they do or say that made you look again, this time knowing they were your person?"

I feel incredibly lucky to have several friendships that have lasted over 60 years. I think they have lasted so long because we have so much in common, but also because of trust. Without trust, I don't think any relationship will last. Let me tell you about two times that I knew someone was going to be in my life forever.

First was the boy I had known since I was 13. We went to the same church but not the same junior high so I only saw him a couple of times a week. We went to the same high school but we weren't in any classes together and dating different people, so didn't see each other much. But at the end of our senior year, we went out as friends, and we had a nice time. Thanks to years of frienship, there wasn't any first date awkwardness and then we started seeing each other more often. I think I started falling in love with him the day he came over to fix something on my car that he had noticed was broken. We both dated other people too, but it really wasn't until someone else asked me to marry him that I realized I only wanted to marry my best friend. A year later, we did get married and after 47 years, I'd rather spend the day with him than anyone else I know.

Second is a woman named Ruthie who I met on my first day at a new job. She sat at the desk in front of me and from that first day, it was like we had known each other forever. We weren't allowed to have personal conversations at work except during breaks, so we developed a kind of conversation shorthand where sentences went unfinished because we knew what the other was going to say, so it was a series of sentence fragments. It was an odd workplace, with co-workers who barely spoke to each other all day. But somehow, Ruthie and I communicated with nods and goofy facial expressions. We'd wave goodbye after work and then call each other as soon as we got home to have real conversations and laugh that we thought the same things about all the silent communication at the office. On weekends, we helped each other with home projects or went shopping. We moved away first and our conversations and visits became less frequent until they gradually stopped. Then, a few years ago, I googled her name, called her, and it was like no time at all had passed. She had also moved and now had cystic fibrosis. We began talking every day again, but as time went by, it was harder for her to talk very long and once again, we spoke in sentence fragments and still understood each other perfectly. I miss Ruthie but I know if we could talk today, we'd take up right where we left off.

I'm joining the usual Thursday linkups:

Thankful Thursday

I like Thursday

Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday

Leeanna, at Not Afraid of Color, posts a thoughtful question every week, and I want to start with it this week.

"How do you celebrate Valentines day, what do you like about it, special memory of one now or as a kid... you get the idea. Love is always good."

When I first saw this question, I thought about skipping it, because we really don't celebrate "Hallmark holidays." But then I remembered things we do or have done to show our love - without commercialism. We don't ignore that it is Valentine's Day, we just celebrate it without standing in lines with credit card in hand.

I start the day with hot tea made in a teapot decorated with hearts. One year I made French toast and cut the bread with heart-shaped cookie cutters. The kids loved that and wanted it every year after that. We'll wish each other a happy Valentine's Day and I will wear a silly Valentine's shirt which usually starts the Valentine's jokes. I usually make Hubby's favorite cake, a red velvet cake, in heart-shaped pans. When the girls were little, we made heart-shaped sugar cookies and iced them pink and red. Hubby's contribution is cinnamon candy. In the evening we will call the kids and grandsons and hear all about class parties and who brought treats to work. We will have a nice dinner at home, dust off the candles, and maybe even eat on the good china. Or it could be paper plates and celebrate a night without doing dishes. That's a special treat too. But our favorite part of the day is cuddling on the sofa with hot chocolate and popcorn while we watch a movie.

We don't give wrapped gifts, or send cards. I think our love language is acts of service.

******************

Thankful/I Like Thursday

1. I am thankful for the rain we've had this week. Yes, it's cold, gray, and miserable, but we've been in drought conditions for months, so this is a welcome relief and hopefully will give us an extra hay cutting this spring.

2. I like bluebonnets, and we are going to have a bumper crop (no, not really a crop) this year.

3. I like living in the 21st century. I read a biography of a pioneer family who lived in Kansas. They had to make every single thing they needed. Need to wash clothes? First have to butcher the pig and render the fat, then make the soap. That took two or three days. Doing laundry was an all-day affair which included hauling buckets of water from the well, heating it on the stove, and then scrubbing clothes in tubs, and hanging it to dry. Later, everything was ironed, even the sheets. That took two days every week or two. And through all that, the daily chores had to be done, the milking, the cooking, the cleaning and the garden. Life for pioneer women sounded like pure drudgery. Today, we are so very, very lucky to have so many conveniences which give us free time for our hobbies and travel. As simple as those times were, they weren't easy.

4. I like audio books. I appreciate the authors and readers who make it possible for me to close my eyes and listen to a novel. I don't remember anyone ever reading to me at bedtime when I was little, but I could really get into bedtime stories for grownups. I think I'd pick the soothing words of Lucy Maud Montgomery read by Megan Follows. She was my favorite Anne. Right now I'm listening to The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian. It is our book club selection this month and does require some concentration, so I don't listen at bedtime.

5. I like rocks. I've picked up rocks for over 65 years, and I'm still amazed at the colors and shapes that are just lying on the ground. Of course, I like the unusual ones best. I found these two in my driveway. I assume they are fossils of shells, but I like to imagine that they are dinosaur teeth.

What are you thankful for this week? Join me at these very special linkups, where people share their thoughts and inspire us.

Thankful Thursday

I like Thursday

Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday

I am Thankful

1. That my mother is still here to lead by example. When she moved here last year, she said she was determined to make the best of it and she has. I'm sure she has been sad many times about missing the friends she left behind, the house she lived in for over 60 years, most of her possessions, and probably most of all, missing her independence, but she has never complained to me. She is always thankful for what she has now and never fails to thank us for doing things for her. She does talk about missing Mia who now lives with us, and I try to take Mia to her on days we aren't going anywhere else, although Mia wishes Mom would come here instead. Mom still enjoys learning new things even if it is more difficult than it used to be, and I hope I can say that when I am 91.

Mom called me last night and asked what a pdf is. I explained and then asked why. Well, she had come across a website with free crochet patterns. It's lovecrafts.com. (Have you heard of it? If so, what do you think of it?) Anyway, Mom said she tried to download one of these free pdf patterns but it didn't work. So while we were on the phone, I went to the website too, and finally found the pattern she wanted and asked if she had clicked the black Download Now button. No, she had only clicked on the picture (the snapshot) in the page of patterns. I told her to look for the Download button and she finally found it and said nothing happened when she touched it. (That should have been my first clue. She was on her laptop, which is at least ten years old and doesn't have a touch screen.) I wanted to see if that was the problem, so I clicked it with my mouse and it opened a signup page. Have you ever tried directing a 91 year old on how to do something on the computer by phone, without Skype or Facetime? She could not figure out how to type the underscore ( _ ) in her email address without it becoming ( ___________ ) and after much instruction, she couldn't find the log in button. I suspect part of the problem is that she hasn't updated her computer in years and she wasn't seeing the website the same way I saw it. The short story is that I signed her up using my laptop, so all she has to do is find the main page of that website where there is a big log in button. Now I just hope she has enough memory space to download some patterns. They do have some cute ones.

2. My dog, Mia. Or rather Mom's dog. Truth be told, she is Hubby's dog. Even Mom says that Mia never really attached to her. But Mia adores Hubby. I call him Mia's Beloved. Mom got her from a local shelter, so we don't know much about her previous life except that her original owner had to move and couldn't take Mia (who was first named Agnes). So that owner gave her to a friend and after a couple of months, that friend surrendered her to the shelter. We suspect the original owner was a man because Mia prefers men. Or maybe she's just a natural flirt. Last Saturday, at Hubby's ham radio weekend, she was the perfect hostess to a bunch of men. There were a couple of women who came, but it was mostly men and Mia wanted to greet each one. If they wanted to pick her up, she was fine with that too. One man in particular wanted her to sit with him, and I could tell she was uncomfortable but she stayed with him and made his day. He was an older man who felt like he was in the way while the younger men were setting up radios and antennas all around our house. So he sat in the living room and cuddled Mia while talking to me. I'd like to tell you that Smokey the cat was equally charming to our guests, but, he wasn't, so he spent most of the weekend in his catio.

3. For a beautiful weekend for the ham radio club. Since we were gone last year, they hadn't done their Winter Field Day since 2021 and they were all excited about their weekend. If you are wondering what Winter Field Day is, it is where ham radio people all across the country, or maybe even countries, leave the comfort of their indoor radio rooms and their permanent radios and antennas, and go outside. They set up mobile antennas, tents, trailers, and tables for their radios, and try to connect with as many other ham radio stations as they can. It runs from 1:00 Saturday to 1:00 Sunday and they endure whatever weather Mother Nature throws at them. There are people enjoying the weather in Florida talking to people freezing their toes off in Maine. Portable heat is allowed, but there are rules on how far they have to be from a building with electricity. The weather was nice Saturday, with a high of 60 and a light breeze and it stayed in the 50s all night for the night people. A cold front came through soon after breakfast on Sunday though and the men hurried to take their antennas down before the wind did it for them. That put an early end to the weekend. Now they will start planning Summer Field Day, which is in July and the hams will be sweltering instead of freezing.

4. That I didn't have to drive to work this week during our ice storm. Today we are listening to the ice slide off the roof and crash on the ground. At least it is finally melting.

5. Snuggling in the living room around the tv watching a family movie. Even Smokey wanted to watch this one, Dog Gone with Gonker the dog.

Eventually I convinced him that he could watch it easier from my lap.

****************************

I Like Me

1. I wanted to be able to say something positive to myself everyday, but I am still struggling with this. I mentioned above that an older ham radio operator stayed in the house and talked to me while the younger members were setting up. I don't do well with inactivity. Even when I watch tv, I either have a book in my hands, sewing, or the computer. I also don't do small talk well for very long. So I'm going to give myself a pat on the back for making this man, and another, for sitting and visiting instead of running off to do my own thing.

2. This isn't an I like, as much as it is a self pep-talk. Venture outside your comfort zone and join the ladies at coffee in the morning, or see what is going on at the senior citizens center. When my In-Laws first moved here, my mother-in-law was very resistant to even visit the senior center. I think it made her feel old. I finally understand how she felt. But who knows, maybe it will make me feel younger instead.

*************************

LeeAnnas thought question today is: What do you think of the panetone color of the year, Magenta?

I love magenta. It's a great jewel tone color, rich and vibrant, and looks good on most people. I don't think I would like it painted on the exterior of most houses though there are some "gingerbread" turn of the century houses around here that would shine with that color as trim. I think it would be pretty overwhelming inside as wall paint too, but as accent fashion, it would be fantastic.

*************************

I'm joining the following Thankful linkups:

Thankful Thursday and Fashion Files (I don't know what Fashion Files are though.)

I like Thursday

Thankful Thursday