Expressing My Gratitude

 GRATITUDE IS NOT GRATITUDE UNLESS IT IS EXPRESSED.

quote from Pastor Jim Larson

So let us express our gratitude.

One way to do this is with Friday Fave Fives.  I join other people who want to be grateful for the blessings in their lives (the link takes you to Susanne's website to read more and write your own post)

1, 2, and 3.  Because the invasive Japanese beetles were chewing and destroying the sand cherry bushes in front of our living room windows (and because the bushes grew aggressively tall), we pulled them out.  (we meaning The Professor, Tall Boy and Y)  This week we bought new replacements:  boxwood! (that's #1)  Then, Tall Boy and The Professor put one boxwood in one day after school (#2).  Yesterday, when E and Y were here to grab some moving boxes from us, Y dug three more holes and placed in the rest of the boxwood plants. (#3) Now we have a new look starting in our front garden!

4.  One morning this week, I drove out to my friend's home and walked with her around her property to search for any medicinal plants that might be growing in her woods.  Besides learning what grows wild around here, it was just fun to spend that time with her.

5.  The grandkids' school year is over!  We celebrated by having dinner together at a favorite restaurant, Bombay Garden, where they serve both Greek and Indian food.  And both are delicious.  Congratulations to Tall Boy, Tall Girl and Short(ish) Boy for a job well done!  Congratulations to the moms who got them up every day, fed them and made them do their homework.  And thank you to all the great teachers!  Now let's enjoy the summer.

October Week One

Welcome!  Willow's Week One of October.  Here is the link to FRIDAY FAVE FIVES.

1.  I have been reading an interesting book.  The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning.  It's not as creepy as it sounds.  The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson.  It's not at all creepy or sad.  It's about 'How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter' with a focus on doing it for your family so they don't have to do after you die.  Lots of good thoughts and bits of humor.  I liked this quote: "There must be something wrong with the way I have organized my home if I have to continually mess up the place that I originally worked so hard to decorate and keep orderly."

2.  Fresh tomato sauce.  Yum! Our neighbor gifted us several tomatoes, so The Professor cut them up and added some fresh basil from our garden.  It smelled heavenly as it cooked.  I'm thankful both for the gift of the tomatoes and the sauce they produced.

3.  On Saturday,  I attended a tea party to celebrate the ninety-third (sshhh!) birthday of a neighbor.  It was so much fun, and World's Best Neighbor was there, too. The tea shop provides fancy hats and you get to choose the one you want to wear.  I couldn't decide.  Which one do you like?

4.  Fall weather.  The temperatures have cooled down some (not like in Montana or Canada!) and during our evening walks, we have donned our light jackets.  I know we will get some hot weather and wind (those Santa Ana winds!), but for now, I am thankful for the almost perfect weather.

5.  My granddaughter ZG's thirteenth birthday was this week.   She is growing so tall.  She loves little children.  She actually called me on her birthday!  She's enjoying school (I'm getting As, Meema! she said).  

I've had a great first week of October!  How about you?

There and Back Again, Again

I've been gone traveling.  Again.  Summer is like that for teachers.  We take advantage of those weeks off during the summer to wander around.  This time, we flew east to visit our girls and their families.  I'm so thankful for two weeks of grandchildren and adventures!  Linking with Susanne's Friday Fave Fives.

1.  But first, the knitting--
I finished two projects, one just before we left

afghan knitted in seed stitch

and one just before we returned.

Mara Shawl in grey

I also almost finished a pair of socks--photos when they're done.

2.  A visit to our nation's capital, Washington, D.C.

3.  The best part was the Library of Congress!

Did you know that you can FOR FREE receive a Library of Congress reading card??!!  The card gives you complete and total access to all of the library's contents for two years.  Yes, we got one.  :)

4.  In all our travels around the world and the US, we have never actually put our feet into  the Atlantic Ocean.   We've been in all the eastern seaboard states, swum in the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean, but not the Atlantic.  On this trip, we accomplished this milestone in Delaware.  (photo compliments of Daughter #2.

5.  We love playing outdoors with the littles and their parents.  On the east coast, it's so very different--trees, trees, green, and water.

There are so many more photos and adventures.  I just hit the highlights.  Over the weekend, I hope to finish up the picture downloads and post my favorites.

We Are Wild Travelers

One would think that we had already done enough traveling for a summer.  Evidently not.  Here we are on the East Coast of the US.  Three of our grandchildren live out here, so obviously, it's a travel destination.

The flora and fauna are different here (and yet strangely familiar).

Fortunately, the grandchildren love to be outdoors, hiking, playing in the water.

Young naturalists

Sometimes, they're just silly.

More February Fave Fives

How was your week?  Can you even watch the news any more?  I take a deep breath and focus and CHOOSE to be thankful, to not take life and beauty for granted.  Friday Fave Fives helps me do that.  Thanks to Susanne at Living to Tell the Story for providing this venue each week.

1.  After almost completely ignoring my garden for the past several months, this week I have been able to spend a bit of time out there.  This is what I found.  The first California Poppy is blooming in my garden!

The lavender and Point Sal sage are growing chummy and attracting the honeybees.

2.  I have been knitting through several skeins of wool yarn.  Around here in SoCal, people don't wear wool.  It's too hot.  So this yarn is being made into hats to give away.  I'm almost done.  Eleven more hats finished.  The fave is really double--I use up my stash and I can bless other people.

3.  Lent began this week.  It had kind of sneaked up on me, and I wasn't prepared.  Usually I choose something to 'give up', to focus my attention somewhere.  On Thursday, I was still pondering it when I had an interaction that brought everything together.  A young man who lives on the other side of the world and who I have never met in person has been part of our lives for more than ten years because we sponsored him through secondary and technical school in his home country.  Now he lives a long way away and keeps in contact with people through our amazing world wide access to social media and other internet venues.  My communication with him deeply touched my 'mother's heart' and I immediately realized that my Lenten focus is supposed to be increasing my prayer times for my children and grandchildren, including this grown up orphan who is making his own way in the world.  Having found an unused notebook, I decided to write the Bible verses which I am praying for them.  I am overwhelmed with gratitude that I can do this small thing for the children of my heart.

4.  I know that I have mentioned my TA and how much I enjoy her.  But she just keeps on blessing me each week with her attitude, her conversations, her talent in helping in class.  How can you not love a coworker who enters the room and exclaims, "I'm so happy to be here this morning!"  And she brought me a scone and an Americano.

5.  A little love from Phoenix showed up in my messages.

So that was Willow's Week!  So full of blessings!

Introducing!

I have the best reason in the world for showing up late for Friday Fave Fives.  How could I say anything about my week without making THIS my best, first fave?

Introducing my new little PAL.

Born on Monday evening.

We drove out to Phoenix Thursday afternoon and immediately ran upstairs to see her and hold her.  Oh, she is adorable!  Everything else about our week dims into insignificance.

However, in accordance with finding five faves in my week, I will add four more...

2.  Music.  On my way to work, I get a little bored in the car.  My brain tends to subconsciously move to singing.  I never know what song is going to pop up.  This week it was How Great Thou Art.  I felt like I was channeling George Beverly Shea.  Surprised that I remembered all the words to at least two verses, I sang all the way to work.

3.  More songs.  Saturday and Sunday, I spent many hours demonstrating my spinning craft at Reyes Adobe Days in Agoura Hills. Across the courtyard under the grape vines, the fiddler was singing and fiddling.  One favorite of the audiences gathered around was The Streets of Laredo.  Okay, I used to sing that song when I was a kid.  But I just realized that I originally learned the lyrics from The Smothers Brothers.  I never knew these weren't the real words.

I can see by your outfit that you are a cowboy;

You can see by my outfit that I'm a cowboy, too;

You can see by our outfits that we are both cowboys;

So get yourself an outfit,

And be a cowboy, too.

So now this song is alternating in my brain with the much more lofty hymn in #2.  Thanks to my posting these lyrics, you can join me in the endless Smothers Brothers Streets of Laredo song loop.  You're welcome.  

4.  Whenever I can, I offer my hand knitted hats for sale.  This weekend exceeded my expectations.  I sold all but ten hats!  Generate Hope is going to get a substantial donation.

5.  More PAL LOVE

Enjoy your weekend!

Two More Days

We've made it to Oklahoma City.  That's two long days of driving.  A mom, a grandma, two kids.

Flagstaff.  Winslow.  Gallup.  Albuquerque. 

If you belong to The Professor's family, you know about Winslow, Arizona and Route 66.

So we had to stop and take photos for Bapa.

Standin' in Corner in Winslow, Arizona

The Southwest has a beauty of its own.  I love the desert, the rugged mountains, the iron red cliffs of Arizona and New Mexico.

Overnighting in Albuquerque, we visited family to introduce Zoe Grace and Liam in person to great grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.  Another wonderful blessing.

There is just something about Oklahoma.  I love that state.  Maybe it's because it is greener than the Texas Panhandle.  Maybe it's because that song keeps cycling around in my head.  O--KLAHOMA, where the wind comes sweeping down the plain...

Even the tumbling down falling apart abandoned barns are picturesque.