Five things that made me happy today – 11/20/19

The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them that we call them everyday things. – Hans Christian Anderson

1. It was 41 deg. and clear as a bell when I got up this morning. It never got above 48 deg., even in the sunshine. It looks like there’s new snow on the mountain.

2. Big Al spent the day at the Food Bank. He really enjoys handing out bread and talking to the little kids who come with their parents or grandparents.

3. Since Al wasn’t home for lunch, I indulged myself and ate a whole can of purple hull peas with salsa, onion, and a corn muffin. Al doesn’t think cornfield peas count as food, so I have to wait until I’m eating alone to have some. Lots and lots of tasty fiber!

4. I worked on being able to step up on the little stool to get on the train today. We still have two more sessions to work on it before we leave next week. I’m feeling pretty confident, although I still require somebody’s arm to hold on to. I know it’s just mental, but I need to practice before I set off.

5. There’s another Democratic Debate tonight. I hope my preferences will become more clear. Right now, there’s no one who really stands out as a favorite for me. I’m afraid they all have fatal flaws. Thank goodness I don’t have to vote for another couple of months.

How about you? What made you happy today?

Five things that made me happy today – 11/19/19

The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them that we call them everyday things. – Hans Christian Anderson

1. It was 48 deg. and still raining when I got up. The sun came out off and on from about noon on, and it warmed up to 50 deg. 2 whole degrees!

2. We did a quick overview of the liturgical year at Bible study this morning. We looked at Advent texts in John and Isaiah, Christmas text in Mark, Epiphany text in Luke, Holy Week texts, and Easter texts, and Pentecost in Acts. Probably a good idea because there are many folks who are new to Presbyterianism who don’t have that progression in their heads, yet.

3. The Bistro was closed today, so Big Al and I went to Maria’s for Mexican food. Very tasty. I had a combo plate with cheese enchilada and beef tamale. Big Al had a chimichanga.

4. The powers that be moved the current occupants of Memory Care to the new facility. They will have a couple of days to settle in before some new residents from the community will join them. It’s really hard on folks who are struggling with memory issues to have anything new going on around them. Pray for them, and for the new folks who will be moving in later in the week.

5. I’m also happy that the skilled nursing occupants will be moved to their floor in the new facility tomorrow. Once that is accomplished, maybe parking will improve on campus. As it is now, it’s really difficult.

How about you? What made you happy today?

Five things that made me happy today – 11/18/19

The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them that we call them everyday things. – Hans Christian Anderson

1. It was 48 deg. when I got up. Then it was cloudy and cool until lunchtime when it started raining, and it’s been raining ever since. It’s 50 deg. right now.

2. I went with Senior University to the Hotel Murano this morning. They have a wonderful collection of glass by many different artists. My favorite, I think, was this piece by Susan Taylor Glasgow.

Very impressive.

3. We had a rerun of the chicken tetrazzini for lunch since I was out most of the morning, and you know I love that!

4. The laundry is just about done (just waiting for the last load to dry). Everything else has been washed, dried, folded and hung up.

5. It’s Happy Hour tonight with my tribe at Gazebo Group. This is (hopefully) the last time in one of our houses. We’ll be using a room in the old Health Care center from now on. We’ve completely outgrown our living rooms.

How about you? What made you happy today?

Five things that made me happy today – 11/17/19

The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them that we call them everyday things. – Hans Christian Anderson

1. It was 53 deg. first thing this morning, with rain that had continued all night long. About 1:00 the wind began to blow the clouds away and we ended the day with bright sunshine and 56 deg.

2. The Ducks won big last night, with no injuries, unlike poor Tua who is out for the season. I don’t have any affection for Alabama, but I’m sorry their star is out for the rest of the year (yes, including any bowl games, even if they manage to make it to one without him).

3. In church today the sermon was about the God of the Living, not the God of the Dead, from Luke 20:27-38. It was a service of remembrance and gratitude for any of our loved ones who passed into the other life. My takeaway was “the line between death and life is thinner than we think, and for God it disappears entirely.”

4. Big Al and I went to Boathouse 19 for dinner. He had his standard bacon cheeseburger, but I had a veggie sandwich that was wonderful. Whole grain bread, with tomato slices, avocado slices, provolone cheese, sprouts, asparagus spears, onion slices, and cucumber slices. It came with a side of jalapeno polenta. WONDERFUL!

5. We were actually sitting at the boathouse when the sun started to come out and we were treated to an ephemeral rainbow that kept forming and dissolving as the breeze blew the remnants of the fog away.

Sorry I was not quick enough to snag a picture of the rainbow as it appeared and disappeared.

How about you? What made you happy today?

Five things that made me happy today – 11/16/19

The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them that we call them everyday things. – Hans Christian Anderson

1. It was 46 deg. first thing this morning, with bright skies to the east. There was a glow all the way around as the earth prepared to welcome the daylight. Now that we are on standard time, I get to see the sunrise. The flip side of this is dusk at 4:15 pm.

2. Olympia Presbytery met today. A lot of people groan at the idea of a day-long meeting, but I enjoy it. One of the best things about being a Presbyterian is the connectedness. Good worship service, and interesting updates of happenings around the Presbytery.

3. They fed us build-it-yourself Taco Salads today. Very good, with lots of fiber when you add black beans and guacamole.

4. 20-day Wellness Challenge – Today, I bought myself some flowers as a reward for finishing the 20-day Wellness Challenge.

I’m not very good at flower arranging – I’m more of the stick-’em-in-a-vase, and add water kind, but I love sunflowers especially in the late fall or winter. They are so happy. They aren’t open very far, so they’ll be prettier later.

5. The Oregon Ducks are playing tonight at 7:30 PST. Most of the rest of you will probably be sound asleep when I know the outcome. If I don’t say anything about it tomorrow, you’ll know they lost, but I’m hopeful they won’t.

How about you? What made you happy today?

Five things that made me happy today – 11/15/19

The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them that we call them everyday things. – Hans Christian Anderson

1. It was 47 deg. first thing this morning, with rain. In fact, I turned over in bed about 4:30 and heard the rain on the skylight in the bathroom. It was dark and gloomy with scattered showers until about 3:00 pm when the sun came out for a bit. I think it got up to 56 or so this afternoon in the sunshine.

2. I fixed chicken tetrazzini for lunch, using up the rest of the packages of chicken I got for lunch on Monday. It was really good, and I “healthied” it up with no salt added chicken broth and whole wheat spaghetti. Chicken Tet is one of my comfort foods.

3. My personal trainer is starting to push me again after taking it easy when my ankle was sore. I did get all my 12,000 steps in by 3:30 pm though.

4. 20-day Wellness Challenge – This is the next to the last day of the challenge. I’m supposed to practice being present, not overthink. Well, okay then…

5. We had happy hour at Bristol View apartments (the new apartment building that just opened on campus.) It was nice to meet the new people who have moved in over there.

How about you? What made you happy today?

Five things that made me happy today – 11/14/19

The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them that we call them everyday things. – Hans Christian Anderson

1. It was 46 deg. first thing this morning, with the cloudy and dreary returning. It stayed pretty dark most of the day, and only got up to 51 deg. this afternoon. Yep, I’m still happy with the weather when I see ice and snow almost everywhere east of the Rockies.

2. This morning I attended a coffee with the CEO and the COO who told us about the plans next week to begin populating the new Skilled Nursing facility and the new Memory Care facility. We finally passed all the state inspections so it’s really happening.

3. We had our penultimate creative writing class for this quarter. We’ll have a couple of new creative writing teachers next year, and that will be nice. We’ve had the current one for two years, and we’ve learned just about everything she can teach us, I think. I’ve enjoyed the classes, but it’s time to learn something more.

4. 20-day Wellness Challenge – Today, I’m supposed to do one thing I’ve been putting off. I finally straightened up the corner of the living room where I keep my current knitting project. Unfortunately, there were a LOT of tails of yarn balls, and ends of skeins that have now been relocated to a closet. Maybe one day I’ll think of something to do with them (either that, or I’ll donate them to the church for crafts during Sunday School.)

5. There weren’t any scones to go with my mocha (again today), but I did get an apple fritter. Not sure about the calories, but, golly, it was good.

How about you? What made you happy today?