Today, I am thankful for...#9

Today I am grateful for a good visit with my doctor. Diabetes is under control and I've lost 20 pounds. Got a new brace for my knee and while waiting for meds a man with a lousy elastic wrap on his right knee asked me about mine. After some discussion, He went to where I'd gotten mine and they gave him one. This was at Kaiser where you don't get anything without written authorization from at least a doctor. I saw him as I was checking out and he was so grateful. I thought it was a miracle; I think he did, too.

hugs, katie

thankful for another beautiful day of rain in the morning and clearning off to such an incredible day ahead.

Jan

ps good to here Zuzu is doing well after surgery.... paw hugs from my two collies to Zuzu

Today, I am extremely thankful to have the basics I sometimes take for granted such as having a place to live. I handle MK’s snailmail and she is involved with the homeless issue. A letter told of a community meeting later this month and gave the newest homeless statistics for our area. Those were spookier than anything I saw during Halloween. I assume itt is getting worse because of the economic situation.
I'm also thankful for convenience food. I just go to the fridge and pantry for ingredients. Maybe, a short walk to the veggie garden or herb beds. I never thought of that as a luxury or a modern convenience. But, this is Native American heritage month so we try to give our Thanksgiving dinner the feel of an authentic Creek feast and I’m learning to prepare the foods. It isn’t the extra work so much as the forethought required. It all reminds me of the rabbit stew recipe in one of the Foxfire books on traditional Appalachian life. (I think that is where I saw it.) Anyway, the recipe started out telling you how to hunt rabbits. :-) ~N~

I'm grateful to be home. And happy to see we have water & extra LED lights so dealing w/o power is easier. I'm hoping they get our power on soon. Its amazing how wonderful it is! Hot showers, running water, lights etc etc. (I was out of town on business for most of the week so my poor DH has been dealing with everything here on his own. So I am grateful he is so resilient too!)

Tam

Yea, Katie! That is wonderful news, and a great story.

Nadine, can you imagine having to collect your own eggs, milk the cow, and grind the wheat EVERY DAY?!? Thank Heaven for the 21st Century. :p

Jan, passed them on and she appreciates it. :)

Tam, I am glad you are home safe and that everything AT home is okay--including DH. :-)
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Today, I am thankful,

That this work week is over and it is Friday night

For the sturdy plastic shelving one of the boys dug up in the warehouse today. Going to be handy to store the baby daylilies I'll be carrying in when it is really cold. Travis' baby is still fine, Kay. :D

To be safe, warm, fed, and dry.

Tammy, I feel for you. We went thru that last winter.Also lost water cause our local water supply depended on an electric pump than broke down.We went into town for a night and got a motel room.Hugs for you.
I read the foxfire books in Texas. Would love to read them again.Our local library never has any good books like that.I keep saying I'm going to try the U of Ozarks library here but have'nt. This is probably a repeat gripe. The Johnson County library is one rotten library. They have signs up saying Theyll call the police if you try to donate books,magazines,or office supplys.(That is in cement on the side of the bldg)There always seems to be computers down.Of course there are NO magazines and few new books.The head librarian is in her thirtys and is a hillbilly who i doubt graduated from kindegarten.Guess I exagerate a little.But gee!!! I gotta live in this county.
Guess I really miss the Longview library who still lets me check out books when I go to visit. If you have a good library, Trasure it and be thankful.

Tam - Glad to hear you got home find.

The Creek festival sounds interesting. What are you serving?

Glad for health, heated running water, and electricity.

Tammy & others - there is a website, many of course, but this is one I particularly like, that gives a lot of useful information on "prepping". For those who are going through or watching those who have no power after a week and after an early storm that was not particularly huge, it makes you ask yourself what we all could do to get through those times. Some think it is a lot of doom and gloom to read and follow through on some of this info, but I feel it certainly can't hurt to be prepared. My solar oven is part of that 'prep' attitude. Now, if I could buy some solar panels just to be able to run the water well, I would be in great shape. Figure water is THE most important electric need we have. http://www.offthegridnews.com/

Today I am grateful for the rain we had yesterday. Our rainy season runs pretty much Nov. to March and I am glad the rain was gentle to start. A little chilly this AM at 38. Will need to bring some succulents in and prepare to drape a couple new, more sensitive citrus trees.

I am thankful our trash collection service is having a community clean up day where we are able to bring oversized stuff to the local H.S. Gotta go fill up that truck!

Thankful I was able to pretty much clean up/out 2 of the three oversized garage bays last week. Isn't it too easy to take something out of the house and yard and just put it in the garage for "awhile". Then it builds up.

quilty, how many of us live in areas where weather often takes out services? how many of us have lost hours of computer work--well, me, i mean :D--because we forgot to save it and lost it all when the power went out and the computer shut down? or had no water because the pipes froze? or because workers cut into the mains and it took several days to fix? or, or, or. i live in tornado alley. you live in earthquake country. nadine and jan live in hurricane country. tam lives in blizzard country. each of us could use that information. i don't think it is gloom and doom, just basic common sense. thank you for sharing the link!

so refreshing to hear the wonderful news. keep the reports coming yall.

I'm thankful for the weekend and health to enjoy it.

Jan

I'm thankful and grateful to have power! And with electricity comes water & lights. We have solar panels but they are no help as they are on a different meter/power line. :-( I am going to buy a good generator so we aren't in this pickle again.

Tam

My brother in York (PA) was without power also when I called to check on him after the storm.
I subscribe to the "Hope for the best, but plan for the worst” philosophy. I believe I've spent more time cleaning and maintaining my generator than I've ever spent using it, but I wouldn't be without it. . I haven't kept up the battery back-up for the computers. With Nadine now having a paying job that requires a computer, I probably should.
I don't think Nadine has decided for sure about the Thanksgiving menu yet. She has been experimenting with traditional ingredients like Pashofa corn and my BIL saw a wild boar while hunting deer. If he gets the boar, the main dish will probably be tanshpashofa. Otherwise, I guess the main dish will be venison. Someone inevitably brings a turkey though. In the minds of some folks, you can’t have a real Thanksgiving without a turkey. Mid-month, there is a heritage gathering and dance of all the state’s different tribes. I believe Nadine won’t decide for sure on the menu until she has sampled some of the foods there and wheedled the recipes.
We usually splurge on some authentic Chippewa wild rice and eat it reverently. For the holiday, we indulge in the delicate, hand-picked variety and not the tougher kind grown in commercial rice patties. All-in-all, our feast doesn’t stray too far from most people’s Thanksgiving dinner, except for a lack of wheat and dairy products. And, there is more meat and fewer sweets which suit me just fine. I never ate the candied sweet potatoes growing up, but a simple baked sweet potato sprinkled with pecans and a drizzle of sugar cane juice was an eye-opener for me. Yum!
Collies are my favorite breed of dog, but I haven’t had one since I was a kid. I’m afraid the heat and humidity here would make them miserable.
Oh great, Debra, more gardening encouragement for Travis. It does look like a given he will pick up the reins of Amargia when Kay retires. He informs Nadine she can stay when he takes over because she is a “good cooker.” I can stay too even though I don’t do much work just `cus I’m Grump-Pa and I make Mimi smile. Such a considerate child. ROFL. (Jim)

Today, I am thankful for:

Cornmeal mush. Okay, so the name's not glamorous. But trendy people cook it up, slice it, fry it, call it polenta, and, voila! Instant chic. (I'm out of oatmeal.)

Picasa.

Being able to stay in pajamas all day today.

Cornmeal mush!! um-m-m-m good.Nothing better on a cold winter morning.Baked Sweet potatoes plain. Guess I'm spoiled,love brown sugar and butter on my sweet potatoes too.Also fried sweet potatoes.
I have a generator but never use it. I like to see how i can make do without modern trappings once in awhile. Told you I was a throwback to Neanderthals. Can't do without heat tho.If worse comes to worse, I can always build a campfire. Got plenty of wood up here.
We had an earthquake tonight. Apparently felt alot of places. Wonder if any of you guys felt it.
No damage here. My animals never even blinked.The source was in Okla.
Unusual, The Memphis earthquake site was down for awhile. We never feel the ones in Eastern Ark.

Jim, you can never start gardening too soon. Just think of all the money he will save you in contractor fees when you put that strong young man to work! LOL

Today, I am thankful that:

I was a big brave girl, stayed very still, and only repeated "OW, OW, OW" over and over while the nurse at CareNow was shooting antibiotics in my hip (ear infection). My mother used to tell the story of the time she, the doctor, and the doctor's nurse chased me around the exam table until one caught me. Then Mom and the nurse had to hold me down while the doctor gave me a shot. I am better now, but not all that much. :p

I let myself talk myself into Domino's Pizza delivery. I won't feel like cooking tomorrow and now have lunch for my sister and me.

I live in Texas. Love, love, love Fall in this area. Walked the yard late this afternoon and found this glorious Arctic Queen Clematis bloom. It is planted by a metal fence pole that gets morning sun (dumb idea and it will be moved). Was really fried this summer, but is thriving now. Clematis are a whole lot tougher than one might think.

Flower looks beautiful. We have an artic queen on the north side of the house. It's blooms were spectacular this year.

Thankful for a good pumpkim soup recipe, healthy pets, and fresh greens out of the garden.

Debra! Wish I could have been at the doctors office. Would have been so much fun. LOL
Pumpkin soup sounds great. I was looking at pumpkin cookies receipes. Just learned that pumpkin is good for the digestive system and I love it. Always having pumpkin pies it's kinda hard to look at it as a veggie

Celene posted a recipe for squash/pumpkin soup that I like at http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1228262/

Grateful for a clean house and a DH who helps with that, greens out of the garden, and birds at the feeders.

Littletunia Petunias. Tougher'n any petunia I've ever seen.

Rotisserie chicken and preshredded taters. Mix with the ubiquitous Cream of Mushroom soup, add some preshredded cheese. And we have lunch fer tomorrow.

It's raining. :-)

Yay for rain for TX!!! We had two days of light stuff but this weekend is supposed to be a storm. DH better keep those horses in the corrals. Aftter he had them running free through our 'more rain than usual' season last year (nov-April) it took a long time to clean up after them. The palm trees still have not fully recovered! But then you are tired of me going on about that.

Today I am thankful for not having traffic too bad driving to DH's USC hospital AGAIN. Still having post surgical problems. back again tomorrow. He is now being seen by doctors in 4 counties, egads. We have big counties too.

quilty, you go on about anything you want to. :-)

Thanks for the pumpken soup receipe. Raining here too.
Thankful for candle light and hot cocoa on a rainy night.

Just finished putting up a chain link fence 200' and two walk and a drive gate . Thankful it looks as good as if we had paid a professional do it
Thankful my puter is up and running now and I can keep up with all my D G friends .

Well congrats on your new fence. Glad your puter is up too.
Vickie

Thanks sweetie , now I can let my pooches out in the morning to run instead of leashing them . Great way to enjoy my coffee while watching them run .I still want to see your place and enjoy a cup with you .

I don't think I've ever had pumpkin soup. I'll check that recipe out.
Thankful a new produce stand just opened nearby.
Also thankful for my new hard surface vacuum. Sweeping hurts my back. (Jim)

What kind of vacum did you get ?

Yea, Sally!

Yeah, Jim, those are much better than using leaf blowers. :D

Hiiiiii, Vickie!
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Today, I am thankful for efficient insurance adjusters.

For a good chicken casserole. (Ended up feeding six other people at the office, too. :p)

For rain this morning. Without steady frequent rains over the winter, we will be at Stage 4 water restrictions by Spring. No landscape watering AT ALL. Don't want floods, but am praying for a lot of useable precipitation. :-)

Read through the recipe as there are some ingredients listed in the cooking instructions text that are not listed in the main ingredient listing. She has instructions on the types and amounts of liquids to add and also spices that get added in order to make curried soup in the text.

Sometimes it just helps to say what you are going through in order to move forward with what you need to do. Been there on the multiple doctor’s appointments and it does get old going to all of them. Hopefully he’ll move beyond that stage soon.

Grateful to have two clocks that automatically adjust their time for the transitions to and from daylight savings, to have a dog who likes getting wiped down after rainy walks, and friends.

Today I'm grateful to have a couple of vacation days ahead. And for the opportunity to see my cousin and her daughter. I apparently met her when we were 10yrs old, when attending my grandfathers' funeral. I don't remember it but she does. My dad has been helping the family with a little extra money to help care for his sister. (She has alzheimer's - the 3rd of his 8 siblings to have this disease). THis led to my cousin coming out east (from Utah) to visit us. She's come here twice. I'm gonna have to get out there someday. Anyway - they are coming to my place tomorrow & staying over night.

Tam

Enjoy your visit ,Tam

Today, I am thankful for>

Making myself consider what I should be thankful for today. Feeling blecky and tired. BUT! Here I are... :-)

Having adequate design tools that let me make fun stuff for an employee's brother and cousin. Both are law enforcement and they find the "Here to protect your butt, not kiss it" goodies very funny. Given the lopsided challenges of the cities in which they work, I kinda suspected they would [snicker, snortle, chort]

My Zuzu did not pop her spay stitches and is healing okay, just too active and has some swelling. Boy, is THAT a relief. Was feeling like the worst dog mom on record because I didn't remember to confine her to one room yesterday and she jumped on the couch a lot. Bet if I had a camera on her, it would have looked like a kid bouncing on the bed simply because they ain't SUPPOSED to!! :D

Zuzu sounds like a pup with lots of personality. Do you have a gray-water system to help with the water restrictions? I quickly learned the value of those when I lived in NM.

The new vac is a Dyson DC 23. A canister vac with a long handle and enough power to really work. I tried using the blower to clean the porch once. I will never do that again! I didn't know pine needles would embed themselves in wood. :-O
That soup looks really good. I love curry. (Jim).

LOL I have a couple nephews in Law-in-forcement.They'll get a kick out of that too.
HUGS Debra. No one has to feel thankful every single day.Ya can hollar "Life is the pits" "I hate prunes" "I refuse to smile at that idiot that pulled in front of me 3 days in a row even if it is my boss." "That was not a new wrinkle under my eye."

Vickie, I know. Some days I choose to not post because I don't want to or too tired or something. I just feel better about my days in general if I find SOMEthing to be thankful about. Doesn't diminish the impact of what is going on around me. I still feel annoyed or worried or in pain. The effort simply helps a little to not feel so physically sick when I get mad (rarely mad, thankfully!), ease some pain or avoid getting too depressed about it. Thank you for the encouragement, and the hugs. You give good ones. :)

After meeting Vicky , and reading her posts for another five months , I think if I was around her for awhile , me and you could get rid of a lot of "tired old woman " issues, don't you think , Debra ?

I'm thankful for a friend who is at rest now and suffers no more. She fought a long and very draining battle with cancer and pass away on Monday 11/7/2011 at 50 years of age. I hope all of you will say a pray for her family and friends as well as her two four legged companions whom she loved so much, they were her children.

Jan

Jim, Garland doesn't allow greywater systems I am disappointed to say. Although at Stage 4 some of us might be able to persuade city council to amend that ordinance. Something to keep in mind.

Sally, you are absolutely right! :-)

I am sorry about your friend, Jan. Even though it is hard on the ones left behind, sometimes it is much kinder for a person to pass on than live in pain and continually worsening debilitation.
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Today, I am just thankful that the first stage of the project on which I have been working is finished. Now I can go home, put feet up on couch, remote in hand, dogs keeping my side warm, and not look at another computer screen until morning. LOL

My son's in with his D W and I'm going fishing !