An Important Day

 It's Friday and the end of the first week of February.  It is also Friday Fave Fives day. (the link takes you to Susanne's blog where you can join us) But that's not what makes this day the most important.  

So why is it an important day? 

1.  It's Tall Boy's Birthday!  He's eighteen!  How did he grow up so fast??  He went from this

to this,

to this,

(a year ago, and so he is even taller)

As he answered me this morning when I texted him "Happy Birthday", "we are the same age now"... yes, he's an adult!

2.  It has been very very cold all week.  And then more snow arrived this morning.  I am so very thankful for a warm house and all the warm blankets.

3.  Earlier this week, two young men from a local chimney company came to inspect our fireplace.  The result was the best we could have asked for.  By the end of this month, we should have a safe and functioning wood burning fireplace, again!

4.  I am a bit later than usual today posting my FFFs because I was busy doing something else.  That something involved hot tea and homemade scones.  My daughter in law invited me to spend an hour or so with her.  We discussed all kinds of things.  One topic was the Well Read Mom group we are in is going to be reading Dante's Purgatory in February.  I have never read it, but of course, The Professor has and owns an interesting translation of it.  We spent some time comparing our versions.  I am loving having my daughter in law living just two miles away from me.

5.  The issue with my computer not playing nicely with my camera will be solved soon.  The solution is that I will be getting a new computer as my current one is old and quite outdated.  The Professor has been researching all the options and has come up with the best choices and prices.  I am happily anticipating having a new computer.  And being able to post new photos.   And.  I am thankful that the other person who lives in this house is so knowledgeable and experienced with computers.  (If you are a new reader of my blog, you may not know that The Professor taught computer science/literacy at a California State University for the last ten years before he retired.   And before that, he worked many years for Intel Corporation.  So, yes, he knows his computers.)

I hope your week has been filled with many blessings, too!

Home!

Welcome to Friday Fave Fives, my first entry on the blog since we arrived HOME.  If you are a frequent reader of Willow's Cottage, you will be familiar with FFFs; if you're not, follow THIS LINK to Susanne's blog where she hosts this weekly exercise in being thankful and finding blessings in our daily lives.

1.  We made it HOME safely.  I am thankful that The Professor is a good defensive driver.  There are crazy  drivers out there and we are glad to be home safe and sound.

2.  I am thankful that we arrived HOME to a cool house that had the AC running efficiently.  Our temperatures have been extremely high this week, in the mid to high 90s, and the humidity index has been racing to keep up with those numbers.

3.  I am thankful that we have been able to just rest a lot since we returned HOME.  Advantages of retirement are that we can travel and that when we arrive home tired, we can rest.

4. Our daughters and grandkids were appointed to try to keep our garden alive.  It wasn't easy in those hot temperatures.  But I am thankful that most all the flowers and veggies survived.  I wouldn't say that they are all thriving in this heat (but then neither am I).  However, we have had many many cherry tomatoes, an abundance of kale and plenty of carrots to enjoy.

5. Earlier this week after we were HOME, I had a minor surgery performed on my upper arm to remove a non aggressive cancer spot.  I am thankful that I have good healthcare, that my dermatologist PA recognized it and had it biopsied last month.  Now I am in the healing part of the procedure.  Cleaning.  Applying Vaseline.  Using a non-stick dressing.  Thankfully, all is going well.

These are my Five Faves, my Five Blessings from this last week of August.

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

It's October!

 Can you believe it is October?  We have only three months left of 2022!  And here we are at the end of the week.  It's Friday.  And time for Friday Fave Fives, my weekly focus on being thankful.

1.  Our granddaughter ZG turned sixteen!  We celebrated by having dinner at Cracker Barrel (her choice) and then returning home to enjoy some cake.

2.  Finally, I pulled out my small cricket loom and wove a scarf!  It has been awhile.  It is finished, and I will have to take some photos of it before it gets mailed off to its new owner.

3.  And along with that, I have to state that I am thankful that The Professor always helps me with the warping.  (that's the first part where you have to place ALL.THE.STRANDS of yarn on the loom length wise.

4.  The patio is finished!  Maybe if it is not too chilly this evening, we will lit our first fire.  Our contractor even brought over a pile of wood and placed it in the firepit for us to burn.

5.  And last but certainly not least, a visit from very dear friends from California.  We were in a Bible study small group with them for more than ten years, meeting every week at their home.  They were in our area for a funeral and saved Saturday evening and Sunday morning to spend time with us.  We know each other well enough that when all the plans for meeting them for dinner tanked because they couldn't get a rental car (it was closed!), we just went on the plan B and then plan C.  All the laughter, memories, conversations.  Then they managed to get a rental car in the morning and made it to attend church with us Sunday morning.  I really do think their visit was the highlight of our week.

Rejoice Always

 It is hard to believe that this is the third Friday of September.  But, here it is.  (And next week is the beginning of autumn!)  This month has been so busy that it is flying by.  But I need to stop and reflect on the blessings of this time.  "Rejoice always!"  One] way I help myself focus is to join several other people in Friday Fave Fives, writing FIVE ways I have been blessed or encouraged this week.  [follow the link to join in]

1.  I am so thankful for email and cellphones.  I live 2,500 miles away from my only sibling, my brother.  I am also very close to my sister-in-law, having been BFFs in high school.  So when we are able to easily pick up our phones and talk to each other or send a text or email, it is wonderful. (did you notice the extra fave in there? my brother married my best friend)

2.  This week we again met our friends T and S for coffee.  They are so much fun.  Knowing that they would be a few minutes late arriving at our pre-chosen destination, they decided to prank us and text us about the time they arrived, asking us if we were on our way to another location.  (we messed that one up a few weeks ago)  Just about the time, I read that text, they walked in the door!  Good prank!  We had a great laugh about that one.

3.  Younger Daughter and her two children are mostly moved in to the new house.  There are a few things in the basement and garage that still need to be transferred.  All those people helping was a major blessing.  We can expect that to be done in the next week or two.

4.  Older Daughter and Tall Boy are packing like crazy because they move tomorrow!  (To be very clear on this, the two families are moving in together--same home.  Being two single moms now, they realized that having two adults in the house is a big help.  And since they grew up together,  well, they know how to live together.)  Friends are lined up to help them move.

5.  A major thing is happening at Willow's Cottage right now.  Our patio was becoming uneven and sinking in one area.  We had been thinking about making some changes in that area, so we decided to just get a new one installed.  We've been waiting most of the summer for our wonderful contractor/landscape guy to start it.  The whole process has been fascinating, loud and crazy.  After two days, this is what it looks like.  I am so thankful that the work is started and we will soon have a new patio and firepit!

removing cement is a little scary

no more cement, just dirt

after two days of work for three workers

The perspective isn't great in this photo; no, our backyard is not an acre long.

I hope you can find more more than five wonderful things that happened in your life this week.

Coming to the End of July

Friday already?  I had good intentions of writing more blog posts this week.  Obviously, that didn't happen.  But here I am on Friday, being faithful to be thankful for all the wonderful things in my life this week.  Here are my Fave Fives. (follow the link to join in!)

1.  Our recently transported near us family/friends have been helping us this week with a house project.  We have been wanting to insulate our garage, so Y and The Professor have installed the insulation and hung almost all the drywall.  It looks like tomorrow we will see all the drywall finished and then it will be time for taping, mudding and painting.  How I appreciate their hard work.

2.  And while the guys are working in the garage, E has cleaned my house.  In California, they owned a house cleaning business, so she can get through my place and clean it up so fast.

3.  Today while Y and The Professor were working, we girls did a project, too.  I have been wanting to change the color of two really dark things hung on the wall by my front door-- a cross and a picture frame.  According to E, we weren't 'working'; we were doing 'artwork'.  I love the new look.

4.  There have been lots of coffee times this week.  Of course, we had our usual weekly coffee time with our friends.  But I also had coffee with two different ladies who have asked to meet with me.  I love coffee.  But I love the connection more.

5.  Weather.  This week the temperatures have moderated slightly, and we have had rain.  Perhaps because I am a native Pacific Northwest girl, I love rain.  The sound and smell of rain makes me happy (not TOO much rain...).  And, when it rains, I don't have to water the garden.

I hope you have had a week where you can find many many blessings.

More October

Hello!  I am writing on my new computer although I still don't have all my photos available.  Most of my files have been transferred and The Professor will most likely finish that task tomorrow.  Here I am to post my Friday Fave Fives.

1.  Safety in travel.  As we were leaving Humboldt County, we drove through California wine country. Yes, that wine country which has been burning in the fires.  We passed through the area Saturday afternoon.  Friends from the reunion last weekend had difficulty getting through the areas affected because they were traveling on Monday.  I am so sad for all the people who have lost family and homes.  So thankful we are safely home.

2. 3. 4.  Yes, we are happy to be home.  A wise proverb states that there are three great goods in life:  a comfortable bed, a hot shower and a good cup of coffee.  We are home and we have all three!

5.  Toward the end of this week (having recovered some from our trip) we decided to drive down to eastern Los Angeles County to visit the Southern California RV Show.  It's a long drive with horrendous traffic, but we were curious just what is available in the RV market these days.  A fave that resulted from it was that we were admitted FREE because The Professor is a (card carrying) military veteran.

Bonus:  An evening and a morning with Dr. Mike as our paths intersected in Stanford University area where he was giving a talk and we were overnighting on our trip.  I love it when serendipity happens!

I hope you have a great weekend with many unexpected blessings--watch for them, make note of them and be thankful.