earth

Earth crawler

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Thursday Challenge

Next Week: TOOLS (Cooking, Construction, Cleaning, Gardening, Repair,...)

christmas is knocking (#776-791 of 1000 gifts)

Christmas comes in softly

Soon you see it there,

In fancy foods and children's eyes,

Holly wreaths and angel hair ...

... Christmas comes in softly

As a feeling in the air;

Keep your heart alive and listen:

See and hear it everywhere!"

- D. R. Barnes (From Christmas Ideals 1978)

The second advent candle signifying preparation was certainly appropriate for the week that was. I decorated my house this week, something I've started doing in stages, which makes the job much more fun than doing it in one marathon day. And the Christmas activities have began. Both of these seasonal traditions figure into my gift list this week...

776. The special guest at our women's Christmas event was Sarah Schieber. (She popularized the song "Christmas in Heaven.") We were touched by her story and so enjoyed her music.

777. An added gift was spending the evening with my sister.

778. Getting a couple of first drafts done—early! (Now for a little spit-and-polish, and they'll be ready to send off to their respective editors.)


779. A Christmas banquet with hubby.

780. There Johnny Forrest (of Don Messer fame—yes we are old-timers) entertained us with songs from bonny Scotland.

781. Some gorgeous winter days where the colours are subtle, but still present. Now we depend on twigs to tint the scene.

782. Meeting with cousins. Though the occasion was sad (a funeral) the time was rich.


783. Reflecting on a life well lived.

784. Happening to sit beside the lady who bought my mom's suite (you could call that a sweet serendipity).


785. We're lighting advent candles at church. (We are not of the liturgical persuasion and this is something new. I love it!)

786. A wonderful Sunday with first a service at our favourite church, followed by one of our favourite walks, then lunch at one of our favourite restaurants, and finally home to watch curling, my favourite sport!

Mud Bay Park - Surrey, B.C.

787. Critters—we saw several on our Sunday walk. A heron was fishing in a tidepool.

788. A racoon was up in a tree. Why?

789. Perhaps he was in a standoff with these eagles, perched nearby? 

790. Tansy, still smiling its cheery yellow smile even though it's December.

791. Now that the house is decorated, I love the long sparkly evenings of December. This is my favourite decoration. 

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If you'd like to join me and many others collecting One Thousand Gifts, please do. Some members of this gratefulness community post their gifts on blogs, while others list them in private journals. Instructions on how to join are here.

thankful on the treadmill (#727-739 of 1000 gifts)

"Start by doing what's necessary, then what's possible and suddenly you are doing the impossible." - St. Francis of Assisi

I prefer to live life with a certain leisureliness. But that hasn't been the way it has unfolded in the last few weeks. When my calendar is too full, I easily get distracted from gratitude—absorbed in just staying on the treadmill. I am trying to learn to be more elastic. To take deep breaths and inhale the joy, even if the interlude is brief and I need to get on to the next thing.

I missed posting my gratitude list last week. The time got away on me. But I'm determined not to slump into the habit of procrastination. Instead I want to make a habit of giving myself fully to each task, to doing what's necessary, then what's possible. Perhaps I will discover, with St. Francis, that that's how the impossible items also eventually get crossed off my to-do list.

Some gifts from the last two weeks...

727. A ticket to a ukulele concert—a gift from my sister. 

(This is the kind of music they play.)

728. A colour swatch of autumn.

729. Mt. Baker, saying goodbye to the day. 

730. It's time for flannelette sheets.

731. Nature's order.

732. Popcorn bushes. 

733. Cheery orange pumpkins everywhere.

734. A fascinating few hours spent listening to Joel Rosenberg.

735. My friend's artful corner.

736. A Sunday walk on the White Rock Promenade.

737. Pampas grass.

738. Autumn roses.

739. Sunday lunch at a favourite Greek eatery.

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If you'd like to join me and many others collecting One Thousand Gifts, please do. Some members of this gratefulness community post their gifts on blogs, while others list them in private journals. Instructions on how to join are here.

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more little things (#670-683 of 1000 gifts)

"I know well that happiness is in little things." - John Ruskin

Yes, indeed, Mr. Ruskin, as is gratitude.  And so I continue on with my list of little things that make me happy and grateful...

670. A week of summer! If I complain about the weather in the days ahead, remind me of the week just past.

671. Breakfast on the deck, soaking up the morning sun.

672. Our placid river in the morning.

Lots of fall beauties...

673. Spotted Jeweled Touch-me-nots blooming beside the creek.

674. Butter-and-eggs I think these are, though they are not spiky, as my wildflower book suggests, so maybe they're something else.

675. A fun Saturday morning at the Good Times Cruise-In with streets and streets of old cars.

676. A Sunday walk at Mud Bay Park.

677. Late summer asters.

678. Even loosestrife and thistle have their beauty.

679. An assignment finished and delivered early.

680. Another published book review.


681. Reading a fascinating book about heaven.

682. A bumper crop of blackberries...

683. ...with more on the way.

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If you'd like to join me and many others collecting One Thousand Gifts, please do. Some members of this gratefulness community post their gifts on blogs, while others list them in private journals. Instructions on how to join are here.

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blue

Kayaks on the Nicomekl

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Thursday Challenge

Next Week: FIRE (Flame, Burning, Hot Things, Matches, Lighters,...)

simple pleasures (#504-516 of 1000 gifts)

"In the end, what affects your life most deeply are things too simple to talk about." Nell Blaine

My gratitude list and photos for the week that was...

504. Nearing the finish line on a long project.

505. Roses are out! These days their fragrance adorns most of our walks.

506. Working with Scrivener — great software for all kinds of writing projects.

507. A bunny sighting.

508.  A coffee date with good friends from long ago.

509. Canada's National House of Prayer. The Parkers who oversee it were at church on Thursday. They told us many stories of answered prayers in regard to government. Through efforts of the National House of Prayer there are people praying in the Gallery of the House of Commons whenever parliament is in session.

510. French lavender.

511. How about those Canucks! I'm not a hockey watcher but am pulling for the home team in my way, along with the rest of the province— would you believe the country?


512. Passport applications filed - FINALLY!

513. These wayside beauties are out. They have the clumpy name of Dame's Rocket but their perfume is delicate and besides white they come in shades of pink to mauve. 

514. A Sunday walk at Mud Bay Park. I love that place. It smells fabulous - like peppery plants and the sea and roses...

515. Seen on our walk - lupins! That's partly why I wanted to go to Mud Bay: because it's lupin season. I was not disappointed.

516. Water parsley is out too. Their flowers look like giant heads of Queen Anne's Lace.

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If you'd like to join me and many others collecting One Thousand Gifts, please do. Some members of this gratefulness community post their gifts on blogs, while others list them in private journals. Instructions on how to join are here.

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