Surprise Mail -- With Surprises Inside!

Today, after we finished tending the garden and returned home, I checked the mail.  I had jokingly told my husband I was going to check and see if we got any love notes.  And then told him I'm sure we hadn't.  He said, "Unless you mean bills."  Well, I wasn't expecting any of those either.  And, quite honestly, I wasn't expecting anything at all.

So what a surprise it was to find a piece of mail for me!  From my dear friend Donna.  It was a treat, and I was excited to get inside and open the card and see what she had to say.

And then I was surprised again!  Inside, she had taped two little tags -- for adding to my quilts!  How cute is that?!?  So, as I put the binding on, I just sew those in as I do the label, and my quilt has a little tag with more love on it :).  I am beyond excited to use them!

And, honestly, I'm touched that Donna thinks of me across the miles.  That she still is my quilting mentor and friend.  And I'm grateful that these quilts will have another little piece of her in them...  Because I'll see that tag and remember how good she has always been to me -- and how blessed I am to know her and call her my friend.

Yep, this surprise mail -- with these surprise little taggies -- just totally made my day and made me smile :).  (And it was a pretty awesome day all the way around, too :)).

Bibs

So back when our munchkin was just learning how to eat solid foods, I used bibs religiously.  We anticipated her being messy while grasping the whole "eating" concept.

But then she got really good at eating off a spoon (held by me, of course) and the messes were pretty non-existent.  So I got lazy (and forgetful) about the bibs.

Until she started staining her clothes -- now that she feeds herself almost everything.  (I still do most spoon feeding, but am starting to let her practice, since she needs to learn some time!)  And now I'm trying to retrain myself to remember to put her bib on for every meal.  Because even the foods you wouldn't think could be messy...  A toddler can show you how they can be ;).

So I'm thankful for bibs.  And thankful we have many of them!  Because they are definitely saving her pretty clothes :).

What are you grateful for today?

Road Signs

...I think road signs are among those items you only realize how grateful you are for them... when there aren't any.

So...

This afternoon, I rode with one of the other Young Women leaders up a mountain.  The Young Women (and some other leaders) were coming down from there 3-day camp, and we were meeting them at the trail head with cold watermelon, frozen popsicles, cold Powerade, and cold water.  We figured they'd be happy to meet us. 

I was navigating.  With a map that was -- according to both the man who explained our route to me and my husband -- easy to use and plenty accurate and able to get us to where we needed to be.

...As long as you know how to read hair-pin turns and ess curves as indicators...

Because, guess what?  There were no road signs.  Or, I guess I should say, there were no road signs down the wrong road we took first...  For about 20 minutes.  Until I finally saw a road sign.  And five minutes later was finally able to find it on the map. 

Let's just say we were a little off course.  Because, let's just say we took the wrong tine of the fork -- at our very first fork.

Anyway, thankfully we found our mistake, made our way back, and were only about 20 minutes late to meet up with the girls.  And, thankfully, even though we were lost for a time, I eventually figured out how to read that stinkin' map.  Including the hair-pin turns and ess curves.

But I'd still have preferred more road signs.  They are good stuff :).

P.S....  Never send your kids into the wilderness with me... ;).

What are you grateful for today?

Our Vacuum Cleaner

This is one of the many things in our household that my husband got from someone because it was "broken"...  and then he fixed it.  Hence the bright pink tape :).  I told you, he's sort of like Macgyver.

Anyway, I never had as much appreciation for a vacuum cleaner until my munchkin (who also likes this thing -- that's her head in the foreground) started feeding herself at her high chair.  And everywhere else...  You can pretty much tell everywhere she's been with food.  She leaves a trail like a slug ;).

So I'm grateful to have a vacuum cleaner that can suck up all her crumbs.  You know, just to keep the house looking somewhat presentable.  Especially when we're going to have company ;).

What are you grateful for today?

The Heat

Well, since I spend so much time complaining about the heat (every year)...  I decided to acknowledge the good points about it -- and be grateful for them -- and (to a lesser degree) for the heat itself as a result.

Because there are good things about it warming up every year. 

First of all, my garden loves the heat.  And I love the harvest.  And my harvest wouldn't be nearly as good if it weren't for the heat.  Squash plants, tomatoes, peppers...  They all want it hot hot hot.  (Even if I don't ;)).  So, when it's hot as blazes out...  Well, my garden is just soaking it up.  And pumping out the good stuff that makes the fruits and veggies grow grow grow. 

Another plus is that we no longer need to run the heaters.  The heaters (our apartment is all electric) really really jump up our electric bill.  We got our most recent bill, and let's just say it was phenomenal the difference between when we run the heaters (at all) and when we don't.

And in other news about saving money...  My clothes hang out on the line -- even under a covered porch -- and dry.  For free.  Not too shabby, if you ask me.

I'm probably never going to yearn for the heat of summer.  It's just not Nilla-like.  But it's bound to come every year.  And I do think there are good things to almost every situation (if not every one).  And so I figure I might as well make the effort to focus on those :).

What are you grateful for today?

Watermelon

It's true, I may not look forward to summer for many reasons.  But there is one thing I do look forward to about summer...  all. year. long.

Watermelon.  Ripe, red, juicy, sweet watermelon.


I actually spend a lot of the rest of the year craving it.  Being that we live in the times we do, I'm pretty sure I could manage to get a watermelon most of the year.  But somehow, the knowledge that they aren't "in season" ruins it for me.  And I pretty much assume they wouldn't be delicious enough to justify the cost.

So I wait.  For summer.  And then I buy watermelon.  A lot.  Because it's just so darn good.

You can ask my munchkin.  She pretty much devours an entire quarter of a slice (bigger than that pictured) all by herself.  And then she smiles with a red, sticky face.  And it's pretty much the greatest.

What are you grateful for today?

Squash... In Abundance

Harvest time is already here for our squash plants.  The crookneck are looking a little puny, but I think my husband picked these to encourage the other 8 on the plants to get bigger.

But our zucchini (both yellow and green) are producing like gangbusters!  Today I shredded 4 yellows and 5 greens.  And these were on my counter when I got home from Young Women's activity tonight (hubby went to the garden without me, because I ran out of time).

I am grateful, though, for this huge abundance.  The zucchini lasts me all year in the freezer, and I make zucchini bread and zucchini brownies year-round.  I'll need to try to find some other baked-goods using zucchini, just to change up the routine this year... 

Of course, we also eat stuff fresh.  For example, we had a yellow zucchini pasta in a cream sauce tonight.  I thought it was pretty good -- and I'll make it again before summer is out, I'm sure :).

Anyway, I love having a garden.  The harvest time is such a boost -- and such a blessing.  Even when you end up with zucchini coming out your ears ;)!

(We're happy to share, by the way, if there's anyone interested.)

What are you grateful for today?