Mindful

Continuing in Thankfulness

I am thankful for reminders.  I like sticky notes, e-mail, and phone calls-and the people who make them.  Right now I have a sticky note to take care of.  Earlier today a friend called asked for some materials I have and reminded me of others I needed to deliver.   I am grateful.  I may or may not have remembered either but now I will.  Yay!

One Year

Day 365, um, no.  I've gone through the blog twice and I don't know why 365 days do not equal a year but they do not.  Maybe some summer day I'll browse through it all again. 

I am thankful for frost on the grass, warm sweaters, driving gloves, and socks.   Most of the year I am not thankful for socks but to all things there is a season.   Today was a crisp and cool fall day.

If I get the numbering right this might be the one year mark for Folding Thankfulness!  I owe myself several posts so I'll keep going for a few more days!

More Evidence of the Season

Continuing in Thankfulness

I am thankful for the chill in the air, the recent rains, good travel, and anticipating days of work and days of vacation to come.

Front yard and back yard:

These roses are amazingly plump for end of season roses.  They fill my hand.  Must be the recent rains.

Crafty

Day 365

I wandered back through the days and found at least 8 counting errors.  I think I'll be fixing them!  I also found two placeholder posts so I owe myself two more days of thankfulness, lol!  Update:  I've recounted a couple times and I'm calling today 365!  I do owe myself a couple posts.

I am thankful for a peaceful day of craft fair and arts and crafts store shopping.  I found a couple of gift items and a fun tree of jingle bells that Sis pointed out.   She and I had another companionable day together.  Then I had a nice drive home.  I didn't beat the storm but it wasn't wet until I got into the valley.  The clouds and mountains make for a pretty drive.  I don't think any of my front seat photos came out.

One

Day 364

I am thankful for the companionship of family.  We shopped a little, had a picnic at a winery, saw miniature donkeys and a zebra-donkey hybrid, a zonkey!  Later Sis and I went to the craft store to look for a coordinating yarn and I came home with none!  Shocking.   After a wonderful dinner some of us watched Avatar, my first viewing and everyone elses 2nd or 3rd.

It was all easy, kind, loving, and companionable.  I love that there is no stress, no strife, no arguing, no drama.  What a wonderful blessing this family of mine is.  I am continuing in thankfulness for the parents who raised us all, for the marvelous spouses, for friends who have become like family, for my brothers and sisters who will always be my first home no matter where life finds us.

Two. Family

Day 363

I am thankful for family.  We enjoy each other quite a bit.  Today was a day of good cooking, playing board games, and card games, and chatting all the while.  I miss those who couldn't come and hope for good days to visit soon.

Three. Thanksgiving eve.

Day 362

I am thankful for a day of ups and downs.  I had a busy, disjointed day but there were so many small joys and fun moments.  Here are some of them:  A student brought cookies to share.  The children sang instead of acting shy when we took the turkey song on the road.  Flowers for a friend's birthday were half off.  Shopped for a pair of pants and got a blouse free.  Went to church cranky, found thankfulness and learned a thing or two while I was there.  What a great day.  Reminder to self:  don't skip dinner on Wednesdays. 

Finished mitts:

Four. Seasons

Day 361

I am thankful for seasons.  I love the changes between the seasons, the changes in the landscape, the relief that comes from leaving behind heat or cold.  I take delight in the new buds, flowering trees and plants, summer shade, and autumn colors.   Delight leads to praise for God the Creator.

Today brought an early winter storm, fast moving changes, and in late afternoon this rainbow.  A friend and I marveled and wondered what Noah's face might have looked like when he and his family saw the first rainbow.

Five. Making Music, Making More

Day 360

I am thankful for music.  More specifically I am thankful for opportunities to participate in making music.  Ringing in the bell choir at church brings me joy in the ringing and the hearing of the sounds of the bells, the amazing experience of 12-14 people using the same instrument,  a circle of friends who by the very nature of the instrument need each other.  We make music and mistakes together.  We laugh and weep together.  We pray together every week.  We are focused and we are distractable.  We are a bell choir.

I am also thankful for the adult vocal choir who has changed it's name from "Sr. Choir" to "Celebration Choir".  There's never been a "Jr. Choir" and I think as we get older together we needed young people not to think you have to be over 50 to join.

Singing with a group, having a director who inspires and teaches, being blessed with a vocal coach who can direct when needed is more than I ever thought singing in a choir could be.  Individually, unless we had taken lessons, there was no training among us.  With the dedication of our leaders and patience of our accompanist we have each grown in our vocal and musical skills.   We have learned to listen to each others' voices and tune ourselves to those around us.

That listening and tuning defines our group as a mini-congregation or very large family as well as a choir.  We sing together, we pray together, we play together, and we take a trip together every year (retreat).   But, when all is said and sung the glory of being in a choir is hearing our voices together making music to the Most High God.   To have the words of our anthems soak into our hearts is to memorize scripture and pray with our song.   "He who sings prays twice."  (commonly attributed to St. Augustine)

Six. Friends

Day 359

I am thankful for friends.  I am so thankful for a friend who has known me for 25 years.  Our conversations just pick up right where they left off.   It is good to be with someone who knows me so well.  I am also thankful for choir friends.  These are the people who pray with me and for me, those whose needs I know well enough to remember them throughout the week.   I am thankful for internet friends and acquaintances who enrich my life.  I am thankful for colleagues who have become friends even when we move to new schools and don't see each other much we manage to stay connected.  I am thankful for family friends who become extended family to us.  For the love, the prayers, the companionship, the conversations, the sounding boards, for everything a friend brings I am grateful.

Here is one of my friends, a 25 years long friendship:

 Snow level in the local mountains was

3500 feet last night.  Looks like just 

a dusting.

Seven. Blessed to work.

Day 358

I am thankful for work.  I'm thankful for the entire journey starting with parents who put me through college and encouraged me to keep figuring it out.  I thankful for the work that I'm suited for, that lights me up, that provides a life.  I am blessed.

 A little knitting this week:

November roses on a rainy day:

 Autumn leaves in the front yard:

 Reflection of a favorite house ornament:

Eight! Yarny goodness.

Day 357

I am thankful for yarn.  I'm even more thankful for Provocraft's Knifty Knitters knitting looms.  I learned a new hobby at a time when I needed something simple to keep myself occupied.   My loom collection has grown to include many sizes and gauges.  My yarn stash occasionally gets out of hand but I'm better at not buying yarn because it's there, or there and on sale, but buying yarn to suit a project.  I get a great deal of joy from making things for other people and for myself.  

Because of yarn and looms I've connected to a whole new group of friends and acquaintances at Ravelry.  I've found designers of loom knit patterns, people who like the same types of patterns and yarns that I like, an entire group of special ed. professionals who are kind, creative, and supportive, and opportunities to use this craft to give to others.  (Hats for Hunger)  There are even groups at Ravelry for fans of TV shows and, yes, I've found the group for Bones.

Eight!  Eight more days of folding thankfulness daily.

Nine. Reading is like breathing.

Day 356

I am thankful for reading, for books.  Hardbacks, paperbacks, and e-books are all fine with me.  I like science fiction, adventure, mystery, fantasy, some non-fiction, biography, devotional material and children's books.  Reading is my go to activity when there is free time to be had.  The world isn't right unless I have the next book lined up and ready to read.  I think the anticipation of a good book is a big part of my enjoyment of reading. 

Nine!  Nine more days of thankfulness!

Ten. Diversions

Day 355

I am thankful for tv shows, knitting, websites, books, kindle, radio programs, and all manner of entertainments.  It's part of how our culture is so rich, so wealthy.  It's part of how we can be so distracted and unproductive.

Ten!  I have 10 more days to write what I'm thankful for each day.  I am sure thankfulness will continue.  I have no idea what will happen blogwise after that but I suspect that once I think of a new name the blogging will continue...just not something that requires me to post everyday.

Rumblings

Day 354

I am thankful for sick days, chicken soup, naps, and knitting.  Everything I need for a day of tummy rumblings.

Preparations begin

Day 353

I am thankful for one last sister hug before work and her drive home, for great days at work, and for the evening bell rehearsal that reminds me the celebration of the birth of our Savior will be here soon.

Great weekend

Day 352

I am thankful for good teaching at church, a great visit with Sis, and finally being able to see my niece compete in gymnastics.  State finals! 

Collection

Day 351

I am thankful for a visit from Sis!  We drove out to the Fruit Depot, then to the grocery, and had dinner out.   When we came home we sorted most of my cookie cutter collection into two giant apothecary jars and six giant canning jars (decorative).   Now I can see my collection and it's contained and won't get dusty.  Yay!

Shrinking to do list

Day 350

I am thankful to be feeling better. My cold is almost gone.  Maybe now I'll get some sleep.  Sadly, though, my other assistant is now coughing.  I hope her cold passes quickly.

I've whittled my knitting "to do" list down to two projects, I think, lol.  Sis's scarf is still not revealing which size loom is going to work.  I'm slightly frustrated but in a relaxed way, it will come.

Veteran's Day

Day 349

I am thankful for a day off, for the sacrifice and service of our veterans and their families, and for dinner, knitting and Bones with a friend.  It was a lovely evening.

2nd evening, 2nd hat!

Wednesday, November 10

Day 348

Oh dear, I did it again.  This time I didn't fall asleep but I was knitting a hat for a cancer patient who is a dear friend to my brother.

I am thankful for the chance to knit hats for her.  I had forgotten what fun it is to whip out a hat in an evening and I had a happy romp through my yarns looking for just the right one.  I had several picked out but then remembered an even better yarn and went back to find it. 

I skipped choir because I'm having end of the cold stealth coughing-the kind that sneaks up on you when you aren't ready and makes you hack your head off for a few minutes.  I hope there is less for Thursday evening as I'm looking forward to seeing a friend.

Autumn at School

Tuesday, November 9

Oh my, fell asleep so early I forgot to blog!  So for yesterday...

Day 347

I am thankful for cool autumn air, trees turning color, a house that is cool when I get home, and wearing socks to bed.  Delightful!

Cool

Day 346

I am thankful for making it through at work.   I've got the cold, at least half the class has post cold coughing, and one assistant was out with the cold and possibly ear infection.  We have such good kids that the day went well.  Good kids and a fabulous assistant will make any day go well. 

On the fine side of life we had an honest to goodness autumn day.  By 6 p.m. it was 55*F outside and I wore a sweater.  I've worn my lightweight, short sleeve sweaters in the morning but not an honest to goodness, keep you warm sweater.  Delightful!

Finishing projects

Day 345

I am thankful for time to get projects done.  I finished the blue scarf/shawlette today.  I finished the premie hats for a colleague a couple days ago but hadn't taken pictures until tonight.

I think it's perfect!

Couldn't stop at two. 

Howling wind

Day 345

I am thankful for a change in the weather.  It kept me in instead of trying to get any errands done.  Good to stay in when you have a bad cold.   We had lots of wild wind.  I had to take several wind chimes down.   Along with the wind came a bit of a dust storm.  No need to be out in that!  At some point it must have rained just a bit.  When I went outside to check things out after sunset the top of the car was wet but there wasn't much evidence of rain on the ground. 

I'm going to go be thankful for a nebulizer now-ensuring good breathing for night.  :*)

Conveniences

Day 343

I am thankful for all the places that have what you need and want.  It's especially apparent when you're not feeling good-how richly blessed we are to have grocery stores that are so convenient, pharmacies on every corner-some that deliver if you wish, we even have pre-made foods that are mostly healthy.   It's an embarrassment of wealth and abundance.  

On top of everything else we change our clocks this weekend and gain an hour of sleep!

A good day

Day 342

I am thankful for dinner with a dear friend.  We had a yummy dinner and a great chat.  A bit of knitting and a bit of putting stickers on foam fish caps off a good day.

Positive change.

Day 341

I am thankful for good lab results.  In May my triglycerides were off the chart high.  Today, after 6 months of lots of flax and making changes to how I eat, my triglycerides were high but less than half what they were in May.  I have a ways to go to get all the numbers better but this was great to see.

Gettin' it done.

Day 340

I am thankful for cooperative children.  I was assessing a student's language and speech skills and Mom was generous enough to bring him two days in a row.  He and I worked hard and got everything done in two hours.  Whew.  I'm happy I don't have to do that every week.

Ring Out!

Day 339

I am thankful for one more new experience in the new chapel at church.  We held our bell rehearsal in the chapel this evening.  I thought the experience would be more spectacular but I learned that the person ringing the bell is not going to be the person benefiting from the acoustics.   I did notice, though, that the bells sound like bells again.  Our bells sound great!  The muffliness of ringing in an acoustically dead space is gone.  A greater benefit to the bell ringers is that we could hear each other.  I could hear every part and every bell.   It took a while but we were noticing when we were off, when key changes were rough (and why), who had the melody, that cool run in the lower trebles, the "let vibrate" undercurrent of the bass to the treble melody and harmony.   We're able to hear when one part overwhelms another and even better-we can fix it!   My reaction was much more subtle than when we first, second, and third time sang in the chapel but no less deep in it's impact.   Joy multiplied.