Thirty Days of Thankfulness: Day 26

I'm so thankful that I have the day off tomorrow!  I'm looking forward to sleeping in, doing some Thanksgiving prep, maybe going for a swim or taking a yoga class... it's going to be amazing.  I can feel it. 

Thirty Days of Thankfulness: Days 24 and 25

Karl works overnight every Sunday, which is fine, but we really miss the Sunday night movie nights we used to have.  We'd light a fire, snuggle in with some popcorn, and be ready to face the week on Monday morning.  Those were the days... until he randomly had last night off of work!  It was fantastic.  He got home from deer hunting just in time for some sweet potato casserole and a fire in the fireplace.  I'm thankful for...

• A Sunday night off for my husband!
• An 8-point buck that rode home in the back of Karl's dad's truck
• An inch or two of fresh snow on the ground this morning
• A very short work week
• Lots of fun plans for Thanksgiving weekend

Thirty Days of Thankfulness: Days 21-23

I'm thankful for:

• Thursday and Friday off of work!  And a short week next week, too! 
• A movie date tonight with my book club
• A good book on my nightstand

Thirty Days of Thankfulness: Day 20

I recently lent my button maker to an acquaintance.  She returned it a few days ago, but I just got around to opening up the box today.  Inside the box were several delicious little treats, two pretty pencils, and a coupon for a product she knows I like (we once ran into each other at Whole Foods).  So sweet!  I'm thankful for little surprises and thoughtful gestures.   

Thirty Days of Thankfulness: Day 19

I'm thankful for a super-sweet, hard working husband!  Karl never ceases to amaze me with his capacity for kindness, patience, and compassion.  Plus he's pretty handsome!  ♥

 

Thirty Days of Thankfulness: Day 18

I'm thankful for purple pens.  They've always been my favorite.  Especially these:

 

Thirty Days of Thankfulness: Day 17

I'm thankful for the turkey that is now in our freezer!  A friend won it when we went to play Bingo at an American Legion, and she gave it to me.  Eleven and a half pound of poultry... sounds like Thanksgiving to me! 

Truthfully, I secretly don't even really like turkey, but still, it was pretty fun to see my friend win a turkey (actually, she won two, and gave them both away).

Just for kicks, here's a screenshot from the Legion's website, announcing the big night:

 

Thirty Days of Thankfulness: Day 16

I'm thankful for a pantry full of tomatoes, applesauce, pickles, salsa. soup, and jam!  

Thirty Days of Thankfulness: Day 15

Today I'm thankful for a day off and a big deadline met!  

Thirty Days of Thankfulness: Day 14

I'm thankful that I work within walking distance of:

• a Post Office
• a coffee shop
• a co-op grocery store
• a swimming pool

Being able to run to the Post Office during lunch or swim before work is super convenient, especially on the days when I'm on the bus or my bike.  Hooray!
 

Thirty Days of Thankfulness: Day 13

I'm thankful for flannel sheets and pjs!  And my new slippers (thanks, Mom)!

 

 

 

Thirty Days of Thankfulness: Day 12

Today I'm thankful for a coat to keep me toasty in the sudden winter we're experiencing!  I wore thick wool socks for my bus ride today, and it's lunchtime and I haven't taken them off yet... I might wear them all day and enjoy my warm feet! 

Thirty Days of Thankfulness: Day 11

Look at what my mom dropped off the other day!!!

 

A whole bag of Sassy magazines!  I'm thankful for lots of reading material from 1989 and 1990.  

Thirty Days of Thankfulness: Ten on Ten Edition

... also known as Weekend Visiting Two of Our Favorite People Edition

 

Knitting in the car 

One of my all-time favorite sights to see 

 Stained glass guinea pig in the window at my brother and sister-in-law's house

 

Brunch and a visit to the toy store with a friend from library school and her darling daughters 

There are live frogs in there!  They are tiny and of varying degrees of liveliness.

Karl and Ramona were instant friends  

 

 

 Bye-bye, dollhouse 

Favorite Ikea purchase

Thirty Days of Thankfulness: Day 9

Today I'm thankful for reminder notes!  I have a post-it note front and center that says "10 on 10!!!"  Tomorrow I'll be taking ten photos of our weekend frolics.  And I owe it all to my reminder note.  Also I'm thankful for post-its, especially the large lined ones like this:

Those are my favorite.

Thirty Days of Thankfulness: Day 8

I'm thankful for:

• The end of the work week
• Fall flavors and colors
• A hard-working husband
• Three new books from the library
• Several delightful knitting projects on my needles

Thirty Days of Thankfulness: Day 7

Today I'm thankful for butternut squash!  It's so delicious.  Three dinners at our house this week were butternut squash based:

 

 

Roast butternut squash and onions with black beans and guacamole

 

Butternut squash soup

 

Salad with butternut squash, smoked salmon, and goat cheese

 

 

 

I'm already thinking about making a butternut squash casserole this weekend!  

Thirty Days of Thankfulness: Day 6

 

 

A few years ago, I knit an Advent calendar for my friend Caitrin... here it is, hanging over her fireplace.  It's made up of 24 little stockings, and the idea is to put a little note or surprise in each stocking so that someone (like Caitrin's daughter, Macie) can open one each day in December as a countdown to Christmas. 

 

 

For the past few years, my birthday gift to Caitrin has been a box full of little goodies to pack in the Advent Calendar stockings for Macie to open.  I look forward to putting the package together every year.  Here's a little peek at the box I sent this year for Caitrin's birthday... soon to be tucked inside stockings for Advent! 

 

 

I'm so thankful to have friends who let me love their kiddos! 

Thirty Days of Thankfulness: Day 5

 

Today my Felties Club for grades 5 and up begins, and I cannot wait!  'Tweens plus teens plus little felt animals is a recipe for delight.  I'm thankful for this, the part of my job that I really love. 

Thirty Days of Thankfulness: Day 4

I recently lost my camera on a trip to Colorado.  I rarely lose things, so of course misplacing my camera drove me up the wall.  Even though I was sure I had left it in our cabin, I filed lost item reports with the rental car company and the airline.  And I am so, so, so thankful to have received this response from Hertz:

 

Thirty Days of Thankfulness: Day 3

I'm thankful for my family's new tradition of choosing a theme each year for Christmas!  I absolutely love themes, so this is really fun for me.  The themes we've had so far have been:

• Feliz Navidad: A Mexican Christmas in 2009 (this was our first theme, and it was mainly reflected in the food
• Woodland Critter Christmas in 2011
• A Very Nautical Nativity: Jesus, Mary, and Joseph Take to the High Seas in 2012 (during which I apparently forgot to take any pictures or write anything down)

This year, our theme is really good...

 

Here Comes Santa Paws: A Canine Christmas! 

 

It's going to be amazing. 

Thirty Days of Thankfulness: Day 2

I'm thankful that Karl and I got to have all kinds of fun this summer, including our annual visit to the raspberry farm on our wedding anniversary.  We had a lovely, long summer, which really just ended a week or so ago, so I was still in a tank top on September 20th! 

Thirty Days of Thankfulness: Day 1

November is here!  I'm thankful to have some motivation to write on our blog after a loooong break! 

I'm also thankful that some people in this world like to go all out on Halloween decorations... they make up for people like me, who own one Halloween item and most of the time can't even locate it. 

Take a peek at the decorations one couple (the camp hosts!  How do you become a camp host anyway?) had up at a campground in mid-September...

 

"Deflated Ghost and Pumpkin" by The Stanleys