First Week of Advent

 December!  Wow, can you believe it is the last month of this year 2022?  After a month of giving thanks, we now enter the month of celebrating Advent and Christmas. So much more for which to give thanks.  and so here are my five thoughts on my list of gratitude.  Friday Fave Fives is a great way to join others and give thanks weekly for all the blessings.

1.  Advent!  HOPE.  We joined a small group of people for dinner, Advent reading, and prayer time.  It was wonderful!

2.  Older Daughter had a successful business trip and arrived home safely yesterday.

3.  I had a surgical procedure done on my left hand this morning (hence my rather late FFF post).  The whole time was much less than an hour, and the doctor proclaimed it a success.  He was observed by three residents/medical students which is normal for a teaching hospital.

4.  I am so thankful that Younger Daughter was able to be with The Professor and me at the surgical center (she works in another center of the hospital) and was with me until the time for the surgery.

5.  Afterwards, I felt well enough to make a quick Christmas shopping stop and then grab a peppermint mocha.  And now I am home resting my hand and taking pain meds.

Bonus:  guess what!  I am not allowed to wash dishes for two weeks.  Too bad, huh?  I am thankful that The Professor is willing and those dirty plates won't just stack up.

How was your week as we begin December?

Thanksgiving Joy

My laptop computer is not functioning properly,  so I am atempting to post my Friday Fave Fives on my tablet.  Sorry for the delay... 

This is what I am thankful for this wee1k focused into one day.  A Day of Thanksgiving at our house.

1. All the people.  Fourteen.  We had expected more, but some people were sick.  Our usual seven.  Plus our new family of four. That makes eleven, right? Then we added a twelve year old girl who flew in from Virginia to see Younger Daughter's family, a twelve year old boy who flew from Texas to spend the week with Older Daughter and Tall Boy, and a co-worker of Older Daughter who recently moved to the area.

2.  I am thankful for a full table of food. I realize that not everyone in our world has abundant food to eat.  I am thankful for God's provision.

3.  Pies. So many pies! As The Professor states, "You can't have too many pies."

4.  There was so much laughter around the table.  I am so thankful for family and friends who bring so much joy and fun to us.

5.  Most of all, I am thankful for my husband.  He did almost all of the cooking, the baked ham, the barbecued salmon, the roasted vegetables.  He helped me knead the dough for the homemade rolls. He's a keeper for sure.

Since I cannot access my computer, you will have to enjoy photos of our April England trip.  Just fun random pictures. 

November Travel Thankfulness

Friday Fave Fives!  I am a little bit late posting, but it is still Friday.  Looking back over the past week as we continued and finished our road trip, I am filled with thankfulness for all the beauty and friendship and family. 

DONE!!!  (Note:  I took bundles of photos, but I am having trouble getting them to download so I can post them.  I will keep trying, so come back later for the photo feast.)

1.  Time with FAMILY.  We had meals with The Professor's sisters and their sons.  All the conversations and reminiscences.

2.  Dinners at our favorite restaurant, SHARKY'S.  Like, four times...  Eleanor Elizabeth loved the chips and salsa.

3.  Time with Younger SON in San Diego.  It was wonderful to have three days to just hang out, visit sightseeing places in San Diego and talk and talk with him.

4.  Time on the BEACH.  (Here's where you get lots and lots of photos!)

I am always happy when my feet are in the sand.

5.  I am thankful to be home.  Two long flights but we landed safely and were picked up by Younger Daughter and delivered safely HOME

Traveling Fave Fives

We are having the best time on West Coast Road Tripp 2022.  So many blessings!  I have had to choose Five to share with Friday Fave Fives (the link will take you to where you can join us in writing your five faves from the week).  How do you decide when there are so many blessings like favorite people, favorite restaurants, favorite places?

1.  Time with our granddaughter PAL.  She wanted to share Musical Instruments Museum with us.  We also attended the wedding of Lily Bunny and Paddington Bear.  In fact, The Professor officiated the marriage!

2.  We stopped for a short visit with someone we knew in college and to meet his wife.  It was so fun to catch up on our lives.

3.  Now we are in our old home town and staying with World's Best Neighbor in our old neighborhood for a few days.  How many former neighbors would invite you to stay with them?  This has been a great time of catch up and remembering, driving and walking around the familiar streets.

4.  Lunch in Malibu with one of our best friends who lives in one of the beach cities in Los Angeles.  I think we stayed for more than two hours just talking and catching up.  That was the best of the best!  Even the drive along Pacific Coast Highway gazing at the beach and waves was wonderful and so refreshing.

5.  Lunches and dinners and coffees with other friends.  Hugs from our pastor and secretary at church.   Yesterday, we stopped in to the place where The Professor's sister was volunteering and surprised her.  Oh, that was so much fun!   And we're not done yet!  Three more days here.

Bonus!  Here in the US, we celebrate Veteran's Day to honor our military, past and present.  I come from a long line of proud veterans.  Here are just two of them.  My father and my husband.  And now my son who is a military chaplain.

Enlistment photo, World War II

Hot, tired and a long way from home.

Vietnam

Chaplain, USAR. On the way to Afghanistan, 2008

    

A Month of Thanks

I am a bit late posting my FAVE FIVES (follow the link to join!)  My excuse?  I am on a road trip.  Driving across the US.  But I just can't not post even if I am late.  What are my Five Blessings for this week, this first week of November?

1.  Four days on our road trip.  All safe.  That is a huge blessing.

2.  We did a thing on Day Two.  We walked across the Mississippi River!  Did you know that there is a walking bridge that spans the Mississippi at St. Louis?  Originally, it was the bridge that Rt. 66 used to cross the river.  Old Chain of Rocks Bridge.

3.  One morning as we were leaving our hotel, I commented to The Professor that the best thing I have seen in a long time is automatic doors that open as you approach them.  No pushing, no handles.  Just walk to the door and presto!  It opens.

4.  We arrived safely in Arizona to spend a few days with PAL.  The best welcoming was PAL and her mom standing on the driveway jumping up and down and giving us lots of hugs.

5.  We have long time friends who moved away from where we all lived.  Then we moved away.  And we hadn't seen them for a long time.  Recently they moved to Arizona, and so we spend most of the day with them today.  A wonderful hike and a long lunch and it seemed like we had never been apart.

I hope you have had a great week full of blessings!

Finishing Up October

FRIDAY FAVE FIVES.  I pause in my week to reflect on blessings and little or large things that I am grateful for.  Monday evening at my Bible Study, we discussed being grateful and decided that we would focus on THREE THINGS each day that we were blessed with.  Just like the FIVE THINGS in my week.  If you want to join in, use THIS LINK to get you to Susanne's blog where she hosts us.

1.  A wedding.  On Saturday, we drove an hour each way to attend the wedding of a young man who we knew back in California.  He lives here now and married a young woman from here.  It was beautiful!  And we were able to chat with his parents and sister who flew out here for the wedding.

2.  That drive through the country to and from the wedding was lovely.  I posted lots of photos of the autumn scenery and old barns here on the blog a couple of days ago.  This is the link if you love barns and autumn leaves.  Or just scroll down to the next blog post.  Here are three pictures to whet your interest.

3.  One little blessing really cheered me up this week.  We were in a big box store looking for a new ceramic pot for my shamrock plant.  When we took it to check out, we realized that there was actually supposed to be a plant in the pot.  Since there was no plant (probably it had died), the store just gave it to us for free.  I think I like this store and will be back.

4.  Since we own the home Younger Daughter was living in, we decided to sell it and not continue to be landlords.  We already have a buyer and things are moving along quickly.

5.  I can never tire of enjoying backyard bonfires.  On the weekend, we invited our next door neighbors to join us and we sat and chatted until late evening.  I am so very thankful for my new beautiful firepit!

Barns and Trees

Are you ready for an autumn tree photo dump?  Accompanied by lots of old barn pictures?

All the fall trees and falling leaves.  We drove for an hour each way to attend a wedding through all the farm land and trees and fields.  I might have taken a few photos...

Enjoy!

And the barns!