THANKFUL THURSDAY

Today I am thankful that I started oil painting lessons last January. I have completed several pictures and have had a great time learning new techniques. I strain; I work hard; I get paint all over my hands and sometimes my clothes; I load up everything every week and go to class where I have made some great new friends; and I am having fun doing this. Now for the "show and tell" part.


The first painting I did is on the left--I had it framed and it is hanging in my den and I LOVE it! It makes me yearn for another trip to the beach when I look at it.


The picture on the right was a photo from New Mexico that I liked. I have it hanging in my hallway and look at it every time I leave my bedroom.


This next picture on the left is one that I did on my own at home. I found the picture at church and was fascinated by the hands. I wanted to see if I could get the skin right. I was also fiddling with the concept of the painted "frame" around the edge of the picture. It turned out okay, but I am still hesitant about beginning a portrait, although I have one ready to draw on a canvas. Anyway, I am not sure what I will do with this picture of the hands.


After bluebonnet season came and went, I had some lovely photos of bluebonnets and decided to paint a single bluebonnet. It was an interesting project. At first I made the background very dark, but later went back and made the background a little more misty. I liked the picture when it was finished and planned to paint a companion picture to hang over the bed in our blue bedroom, but gave the picture away instead.






I fell in love with a photo from a Santa Fe plant magazine and decided to paint this picture on the right. I loved working with the weathered old wooden door, the brick step, cobblestone walk and the stucco wall. The pot of flowers was tedious and time consuming to paint. Those grasses above the pot really were a challenge to get curved just right and keep them even. However, the art instructor taught me to use a specific brush that made the task much easier. I learned a lot with this picture.


A neighbor asked me to paint a picture of a sunset that we took in Hawaii a couple of summers ago when she invited me to go with her at the last minute. Our painting classes had been postponed for the month of July so I thought I would just whip the sunset picture out while the teacher was on vacation. Wrong! I struggled the whole month with that picture and finally gave up. I just could not get the sky colors right, so I put the canvas up and bought a new one for our first class in August. First of all, the teacher told me to use a limited palette of colors--a new experience for me. I was to use just 4 or 5 colors, plus white, to create the picture. She also said that I was being too tentative with my colors--just splash them on and make them vivid! Whew! That was hard for me. But the picture turned out okay and my neighbor LOVES it. I kept the other one which is softer and I like it also. She has put hers in a big gold frame and put it in a favorite place over her TV. Mine is still unframed but sits on my mantle.

The last picture is one my husband took of two pictures I was working on. I am still working on the poppy on the left and all but given up on it. I gave the bluebonnet picture to my sister for her birthday in August.

THANKFUL THURSDAY (Again on Friday)

Don't know what is happening, but I forgot my Thankful Thursday post on Thursday, but remembered it today. So, I guess you might call this my Thankful Thursday submission or my Thankful Friday submission--or maybe just absent-mindedness.

Today I am thankful that we have finally had some rain. Earlier this week we had two days when we had about an inch each day--our first significant rain event in several months. Today looks like rain, but I do see some blue sky between the clouds, so am hopeful that our yard will be under the rain again today. And the chances for more rain look pretty good for the next two days. The best part of all is that the temperatures have not been in the 100s all week! Whee! With September just around the corner we can begin to look forward to cooler temperatures in 3-4 weeks. That will be nice!

THANKFUL THURSDAY (on Friday)

Well, last week I missed my Thankful Thursday because I was helping with new grandson #2 and time just got away from me. This week I had a "routine" colonoscopy on Thursday and they gave me a "forgetfulness" anesthesia so that I would forget the experience. Well, seems like I forgot a few other things also. However, I am thankful that the experience is behind me now and even more thankful that the doctor said everything looked normal and I could wait another ten years before having the experience again.

THANKFUL THURSDAY

I saw the following quote a little while ago and thought I might share it with you on this hot summer day:

Despite all the gloomy economic news these days, now is a good time to show gratitude for whatever good fortune has come your way. Whether you're a glass half-full or glass half-empty person, you can probably find something to celebrate. A good place to start is with those dearest to us. So, find a cool, shady spot and concentrate on those things you're grateful for. It's a sure antidote to those "dog days of summer." - Larry Lehmer

And I am also grateful that grandchild #7 is on the way--tomorrow we will journey forth and spend some time with the new little one and his sister, Miss Ella Bella, and his parents. Stay tuned for pictures this proud Grandmommy will surely share with you ASAP!

Today, consider making a list of things you are grateful for and write a paragraph about one each day for a week.

THANKFUL THURSDAY

Today I am thankful for my Yoga class. Although being graceful has never been my greatest talent, I have always been relatively flexible and limber--we called it being "double-jointed" when I was young. In the past ten years or so I have exercised a lot because I was having multiple hip problems which finally culminated in two hip replacements. At first I was led to believe that strengthening my "core" or hip girdle area would make the hip pain go away, so I began a frenzy of exercise programs, work with personal trainers, water therapy, and so on. However, I shied away from Yoga and Pilates because I was fearful that I just could not do those things. Unfortunately, I just never checked them out.

Despite my frenzy of exercise programs, I ended up with two hip replacements. After my second hip replacement my wonderful physical therapist sent me to a place called "Core Power" for further strengthening. It was run by a physical therapist and her husband. Their specialty was a combination of Yoga and Pilates to strengthen the core muscles. I exercised with them for a delightful year of learning how to strengthen muscles to help my aging body work better without wearing out my joints. Now, this summer, I am taking a Yoga class and just loving it. The instructor started out with some simple moves that I was able to do--perhaps not so gracefully, but at least I can achieve the poses and hold them now. The last couple of weeks she has "ramped up" (her words, not mine) the routines and I have struggled to copy her graceful poses. There have been several times when I thought I would collapse due to exhaustion, but I managed to hang in there. My competitive spirit kicks in and I look around thinking, "If they can do it, so can I--huff, huff, puff, puff, breathe, breathe!"

And, so today I am thankful for my Yoga class. And I am even more thankful that my husband is doing it with me! In fact, the class is almost all male--I, as a female, am a minority in the class. That really surprised me when I joined the class, but it made it a good class for my husband to join also and I am thankful that he is there, paying attention to his own strength and flexibility.

THANKFUL THURSDAY

I am thankful to know that today is International Happiness Day. I came across this information on Sharon's blog where she goes into more detail about Happiness.

July 10 is International Happiness Day. You can find out more about the official undertaking by viewing the video at the International Happiness Day website.

I tend to agree with Sharon that I have not thought much about happiness in the past, but I do know that happiness is often a choice that I can make. When I wake up in the morning I can choose to be grumpy or I can choose to be happy. There are stressful times when I am not exactly happy, but mostly, I prefer to take a happy view of things. Doing these Thankful Thursday posts on my blog have caused me to focus more on the positive aspects of my life--the aspects that cause me to be happy and content.

I also agree with Sharon when she says that "the idea of an International Happiness Day especially appeals to me because I believe that happy people are peaceful, productive people, and the world just has to be a better place if more people are happy."

And so, I am thankful that we now have an International Happiness Day!

For those of you who are writers, Sharon encourages us to "write for ten minutes about your happiness level. Are you generally happy more often than not? What conditions contribute to your happiness or unhappiness? What would you change or do to be happier? Describe an especially happy time in as much detail as you can recall. What did the moment mean to you? What was going on? What memories are connected with it? "

THANKFUL THURSDAY

Today I am thankful for grandchildren. I have had more laughs, fun, and enjoyment in the last few days than I have had in a month of Sundays (that used to be an expression of my Grandmother's!).

There is nothing like the smile of a one year old to cheer me up! And there is nothing like a having a religious discussion with a five year old. And, best of all, there is the wonderful reward of having an eight year old and a five year old help me cook dinner! They are wonderful! They speed up the preparation process immensely because they have grown up in their parents' kitchen and know how to chop, slice, dice, and cook EVERYTHING! What a joy that has been! The only critical moment came when the eight year old looked at the serving plate and said, "Our dad would have added a bit of garnish before putting that plate on the table." Oh, well! Not everything around here is perfect!

THANKFUL THURSDAY

As I look at today's news and all the flooding in the Midwest, I am thankful that I am on dry land this year. Just this time last year our part of the country was in the midst of a "rain event" that had parts of our area under water--not to the extent of the Midwest, but bad enough for those experiencing the flooding.

How quickly things change. Last year we were experiencing too much water and this year we are talking severe drought, water rationing, and excessive use of electricity. I am so thankful that we have air conditioning and that my outdoor plants are still alive. However, this is just the end of June and I don't know how much longer the plants will hold out, but--so far, so good!

I just have to remember to be thankful for what I have TODAY!

THANKFUL THURSDAY

We have a wonderful neighbor who is turning, well, a bit older soon, and I wanted to write this tribute to him as a birthday present. We are very thankful that he and his family moved into our neighborhood several years ago. I know I have written about our neighborhood several times before, but today I am thankful for Patrick!

Patrick first came into our lives when he bought the house catty-corner across from ours and prepared to remodel it. He was very friendly and on a mission to meet all the neighbors. I suspect he met everyone the first day or two and knew the story of half of us by the end of the first week because Patrick is a “story gatherer.”

Patrick and his family moved into their newly remodeled house on Christmas Eve and we welcomed them into our neighborhood. Little did we know that Patrick would be instrumental in drawing our whole neighborhood closer together. Most of us had lived here for many, many years. We all knew each other but did not socialize much. We waved at each other and said hello when we passed on the street, but had little contact other than that. Patrick set out to correct that situation. Every Saturday morning Patrick was out in his front yard greeting neighbors, checking on everyone, visiting, working on his yard, and borrowing tools and help wherever he could. By doing this, he pulled all the neighbors together.

The Patrick we have come to know and love is full of fun! He bought a pedicab to take his daughter and her friends for rides, but the neighbors just love it when he picks them up for a ride. In the picture here he is taking the neighbor’s children and grandchildren for a late afternoon ride last summer. When I had my hip surgery, he devised a way to get me into the thing and took me on my first outing—a ride to visit the neighbors around the neighborhood.


New neighbors have moved into the neighborhood since Patrick and his family moved in, and, with Patrick leading the way, we have welcomed them and involved them in our gatherings. We have quickly gained new friends this way.

The first Christmas after Patrick and his family moved in, Patrick invited everyone to their house for a neighborhood Christmas party. It was a pot luck affair and we learned that our neighbors cooked wonderful specialties. We visited and got to know each other better that year and it has become an annual event. But Patrick did not stop there. He bought a large cowboy cooker that he uses to entice us out on cold winter nights to sit around the fire and share goodies, a glass of wine or cup of coffee, and discuss whatever world or neighborhood problems that need to be solved. In the summer we sit around the cowboy cooker (without the fire) and continue our problem-solving sessions.

As a result of Patrick’s efforts, our neighborhood has become very unified. We know each other much better, we know what is going on in each other’s lives, and we provide help and support where needed. Since the arrival of Patrick we have helped each other out in illnesses and surgeries. Our neighborhood has celebrated birthdays and holidays together. We have shared successes and worries. We watch each other’s homes when someone is away and we are so much closer to our neighbors now that we have Patrick to pull us together on a regular basis. Thank you, Patrick Fries, for standing out in your front yard each weekend and checking out the neighborhood—and gathering our stories!

Thankful Thursday

Last night we had a wonderful treat. About 6:00 p.m. we looked out our living room window and Bossy Mama (the leader of our deer herd) was out front parading her new, tiny, delightful twin fawns in front of our window. She was obviously showing them off for us as she walked back and forth in front of the window. I took a number of pictures through the glass, but when I tried to go outside and take pictures up a bit closer, the babies got skittish and began to leave.

Bossy Mama had her babies about a month ago and we knew she would keep them in some protected place for several weeks before she brought them out for the public to see. It was so wonderful to see the two perfect little things with their tiny, delicate faces, vivid white spots and twig-thin legs. It was also wonderful that Bossy Mama brought them down the street for us to see them. Thank you, Bossy Mama, for showing your babies to us!

THANKFUL THURSDAY

I am thankful for many things today, but most importantly I am thankful for my health. This time last year I had just had my second hip replacement. For about 3-4 weeks after the surgery it was really difficult, but then things begin to improve. I am now able to do many, many things that I had discontinued doing before the surgeries due to the pain.

This morning I went to the gym and did the treadmill, the Nautilus elliptical machine and all kinds of exercises to keep the ole body fit and working properly. One of my friends pointed out how well my hips are working compared to a couple of years ago. I am so thankful that I had the surgeries but I am really thankful that it is a year later and I have all that behind me!

Thankful Thursday

Today has been a great day so far. I have so many things to be thankful for. For instance, the temperature was delightful this morning so I opened all the windows and let the cool, fresh air into my house. Then I washed sheets and towels and hung them out on the clothesline--a very favorite task that I love this time of the year. My clothesline is in an isolated part of my wooded backyard and that area is a nice place for me to retreat, listen to the sounds of nature, and glance up into the one opening of blue sky amidst all the trees in the backyard. I call that opening in the trees my glimpse into heaven--sometimes cloudy, sometimes wispy with thin clouds and sometimes the deep, deep blue of a clear sky. Today it was deep blue and clear as a bell after several days of dark clouds.

Next I went to my mother's for a special Mothers' Day Luncheon. It was lovely with delicious food and even better desserts! Yum! Mother had just had her hair done and she looked beautiful. I am so lucky that she is close and happy to be where she is at this time of her life. Here are a few pictures from the luncheon.

And for my last thankful item: a friend is taking us out to eat at one of my all-time favorite seafood restaurants! Yippee! I don't have to cook dinner tonight! Thankful to have a cook's day off!

Thankful Thursday

Junk mail! No, I am not thankful for JUNK MAIL because I think it is a shameful waste of manpower, paper, postage and additions to our landfills. However, this week I thankfully got a newsletter with a list of ways to fight Junk Mail. Here are a few of their suggestions:

1. Send a letter or visit junkbusters.com and "opt out" from the five main list vendors. If you tell these vendors not to rent information about you or your household, you will cut back on Junk Mail from hundreds of companies. Junkbusters' website gives you the address and even a draft letter to send.

2. Call your phone companies and tell them you want to opt out of "CPNI sharing." Unless you tell them not to, phone companies generally have the right to sell all the information about you that appears on your phone bills: they can sell the number you call, the time and duration of the call, anything on your bill. Marketers use this information to target Junk Mail. Read more about CPNI sharing at epic.org/privacy/cpni.

3. Tell the credit bureaus to take you off their "pre-screened" list. These lists are the reason you get so many credit card offers. (When I get a credit card offer, I personally fold everything up, put it in their prepaid envelope with a note to NOT send anything else to me. I then mail it BACK to them--it has cut back on my credit card offers!) Call this number (1-888-5-optout), and tell them you want to opt out. You should stop getting the offers in about six weeks.

4. Make sure you have registered your phone number with the "Do Not Call" database. Call 1-888-382-1222 for this service.

The newsletter urges us to start our plan today to feel protected and safe. I am beginning today! I look forward to receiving a lot less Junk Mail--and Junk Phone Calls--in the future!

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful that I decided to begin taking oil painting classes last January. I had painted years ago--before I got married and for a while after I married, but then gave it up for other endeavors, like raising four boys. The oil paints and brushes had been stored in the garage for those many years, but most of the supplies were still usable. Amazing!

This past week I finished another painting. It was one I began when my brother sent me a picture of the snow on a mountain near his home. The photograph of the picture does not do it justice.

My next painting is a single bluebonnet. It seems like it will be a lot of work with all those little flowers on that stalk and all those leaves. I have the background in now, but still need to work in more background and begin the leaves and flowers. I will take a photo of it when I finish it. Otherwise, I am considering beginning a landscape with a path leading into some trees and I am having lots of fun dreaming of all the pictures that I am going to produce!

Thankful Thursday

I was thinking this morning that I am so grateful for all the wonderful friends that I have. I have lots of friends here and then I have friends who live far and wide. I have a wonderful friend in Prague who comes for the summer months to work on a project at the University. We have a great time sharing and catching up when she returns every summer. Last summer she taught Granddaughter #3 to make dumplings.



I have a friend in New England who lets me come and teaches me all about the beautiful fall color in her area. She also taught me to eat lobster fresh off the boat--YUM! We visit on the phone periodically and have deep and weighty religious discussions.

My husband and I also have wonderful friends in other parts of the country that we enjoy visiting and having them come visit us. But I will also be eternally thankful for the many wonderful friends I have here. I enjoy breakfasts and lunches where we meet for discussions, sharing and learning.

My friends enrich my life in many and varied ways and I am so thankful for each and every one--true treasures!

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for the beautiful weather we are having this first day of spring! Trees are green, flowers are blooming, and birds are singing. It is a lovely day! I think the following poem is an appropriate one for today:

A Prayer in Spring
Robert Frost (1915)

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.


And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.


For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfil.

Thankful Thursday

We have been battling the flu bug around here for a long time! While I was visiting Son #2 and family, my daughter-in-law, Kara, told me about an immunity broth that her sister had come up with. Her sister is a dietitian and nutritionist. Well, I am always thankful for "natural" ways to stay healthy, so I decided to try the broth since I was not feeling quite up to par yesterday. I went to our health foods store and got the ingredients for the following recipe:

IMMUNITY BROTH
A recipe to provide immune support. This recipe was given to us by Dr. Jon Kaiser at one of the education events The Houston Buyers Club hosted. We are not recommending or prescribing this recipe for any condition - just simply sharing a broth recipe that may help provide immune support. For those who aren't familiar with some of these ingredients or how to cook with them, you can find most of these ingredients at mainstream grocery stores, except for shitake mushrooms. These are almost always found at specialty grocery or organic stores such as Whole Foods Market.
*4 cups of organic vegetable or chicken broth (I prefer chicken broth, it tastes much better than the vegetable broth)
*4 ounces of organic cooking greens-a mixture of chard, kale, collard greens, mustard greens, spinach. etc.
*Chop a few cloves of garlic and a half onion (yellow or white) and sauté them in a ¼ cup olive oil. When the garlic starts to turn brown, pile into the pan all of the extra greens(not used for the broth) and sauté them in the pan.
* 5 shitake mushrooms. Do not buy the packaged-dehydrated shitake mushrooms. Buy them fresh.
* 2 shallots and/or garlic cloves, chopped Shallots are a type of small brown skinned onion and usually found near the onions. In the broth, (I usually include both garlic and shallots).
* 2 or more carrots, sliced.
Bring the shallots, mushrooms, carrots, garlic and broth to a low boil for five minutes. Stir in organic cooking greens. Stir for two minutes, cover and remove from heat. After ten minutes, drink a cup of the warm, nurturing broth, then serve the vegetables over rice, noodles, or anything else. (prep time: 15 minutes).
*Optional additions: chicken, tofu, shrimp, seitan.

I used kale, spinach and red chard for my greens. I also added some shrimp. I did not add any seasonings and found the broth just delicious. My husband had some and came back for more a couple of hours later--we finished the whole pot last night. We ate the greens and other ingredients with the broth. This morning I went to our local grocery store to see if they had organic chicken broth and shitake mushrooms for another batch of the broth. Sure enough, I was able to get both at our neighborhood store, so another pot of the Immunity Broth is on the stove now. Yum! And so, my Thankful Thursday thanks goes to Kara and Kim!!