When I have lots of errands and tasks and obligations, I make a To-Do list and cross off the items so I feel like I’ve completed something meaningful, when truly, most of the tasks and errands and obligations could be considered optional. I mean I don’t really have to pick up prescriptions today, that could wait. And cleaning the house, ha – never ending. Who needs gas if you’re going to stay home? But somehow, listing and completing things can give me a sense of accomplishment.
This week’s Ten Things of Thankful is dedicated to the minutiae of life – the details that I often take for granted, they are so much a part of me and my life.
The sound of the coffee pot gurgling and the egg sizzling in the pan remind me that I have the sustenance I need.
The hood on my down coat reminds me I don’t need to be cold or wet in the middle of a nor’easter.
The library offers books to read for free and I can go online and request something and they call me when it is in for me to pick up.
The many ways we can communicate – phone, text, email, Facebook. I especially like texting photos and sharing chuckles with friends and family members. Here’s one of Tim and I, long ago, that a friend recently shared.
The monotony of washing, drying , folding and putting away laundry reminds me that I always have clean clothing as well as machines to do most of the work.
Cutting coupons reminds me I can save money on needed items. There are bargains all around. In the wise words of a Jersey girl I know, “Never pay retail.”
When I turn over the calendar to the new month, I get to feast on some tropical eye candy. (Wish I were there).
Life is more fun when there are things to celebrate. My sister and I went to lunch in honor of her birthday.
A casual comment in a Words With Friends game turned into a reunion vacation. More about that next week.
Sharing recipes, writing stories and counting thankfuls – joining up with Josie2Shoes to share gratitude.
Vineyard, Too 
Great post! It brought to mind a favorite Lao Tzu quote: “Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.”
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That’s a great quote.
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This was a great list, Val! So often I find myself struck with similar things, how good I really have it, and how much harder life could be than it is. I like lists to check off accomplishments too, it does make you feel like something got done with your time today. I am bad at procrastinating, so it always feels nice when I can tell Papa Bear at dinner about the things I did (in addition to sitting here writing, which he knows is a given 🙂
I love the sound of Papa Bear’s coffee being brewed by the Keurig, or supper sizzling in the pan. Yesterday it was the sound of the breadmaker hard at work so that I didn’t have to be! And of course the wonderful smell was an added blessing. Food smells good… and we can smell it!
You guys are having another round of bad weather up there this weekend, and a nice down coat is such a blessing if you have to go out in the cold. So are hoods that shield you from the wind! Papa Bear says that perhaps I get ear aches from the wind because it passes though from one to the other so easily! LOL
Libraries are wonderful, wonderful places… they smell good too! Free books, quiet places to study or write, and all that wisdom on the shelves! I worked in both the Public Library and School Library when I was a teen ager, and how I loved both.
Like you, I celebrate the easy of communication with technology. How my mother would have loved it! We share photos and games and messages and even grocery items on sale! That is such a cute photo of you and Tim… you were beautiful then and you are beautiful now! ❤
I kind of like doing laundry (it's the one domestic chore I can say that of), because putting away all those nice clean things feels good, and they smell good! (I seem to be stuck on scents today 🙂 You are so right that we are blessed than more than enough to wear and pretty things too… like the lovely purple lace scarf you gave me, how I treasure it!
I use coupons all the time, cents and dollars add up, and it's fun to have a little extra to use for something else. Our pharmacy has great ones, I often save several dollars or hit their two-for-one sales. I was laughing with Ivy today that my grocery bags had cat food, bird food, rabbit food, and even a little something for the humans… and I had coupons for several of those things!
I LOVE the photo on your March calendar!! I know how you long to dip your toes in the ocean again! If all goes well, we'll be spending a few days in Galveston at the end of April, I can't wait!
Celebrations are fun! They remind us that life and relationships are special. You are blessed to have your sister near where you can celebrate birthdays and other occasions together!
I can't wait to hear more about the WWF comment that has instigated a vacation reunion!
Blogging, in all it's wonderful forms, is truly one of the best thankfuls of all! Thank YOU for joining us and for sharing a link-up to the TToT blog so other folks can find us too! Love you much! ❤
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Snowing, high winds and freezing right now. Those two chairs under the palm tree next to the warm and blue sea looks very inviting.
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Great list of thankfuls. I love the library , I wouldn’t be able to read as much as I do without it plus I get dvds from there too. Have a nice weekend!
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The little things we take for granted enrich our lives when we stop and think about them. Thank you Ben Franklin for inventing the library concept.
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Really enjoyed your post! Funny about those To Do Lists, eh Val? I find they can become a crutch and poor substitute for addressing the “real stuff” lol
Nothing like tropical eye candy…except maybe being there in real life! I’ve got a similar calendar staring at me right now only my chairs are under a grass umbrella. Meet you for drinks at 3? 😀
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It’s Margarita time. Ole!
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A great list. I find laundry soothing. I like the smell and warmth of things as they come out of the dryer (or just the amazing smell as they come off the line outdoors).
Just a few years ago budget cuts ended this service, but until then if you wanted a book from our library and it was checked out, they would mail it to you free when it became available. I love libraries!
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I do like hanging clothes on the line when the weather is amenable. Warmth and sunshine smell great
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Sometimes i will write some things on my todo list that i’ve already done, just so i can get the motivation of having a few things to cross off!
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Ha. Good idea
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I agree on the benefits of writing out lists. I favor yellow, lined pads (81/2×11) and I am willing to pay the extra for quality, not that tissue-level absorbent crap that doesn’t (and this is where I might sound a little weird*); I will throw an entire pad away if the individual sheets don’t tear off cleanly.
Love the photo as I do with most photos of people I know that are from a long time ago. The thing is ‘I can see you in the the young person’s face’. No! Seriously! There’s just something about that… the pre-person, the person who would become someone I know.
Very cool TToT this week.
*yeah, like that ever happens
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Thanks, Clark. I use a smaller version of those yellow lined pads. The big ones would cause me too much anxiety. *that’s weird too. Lol
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Oh, and thanks for recognizing me
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It is so damn satisfying when a list of things can be tackled, one after another after another.
I was in my library this week, with my writing group, but also I am trying to get my library to sign up for something called NNELS National Network of Equitable Library Service, a database of reading materials and books for anyone unable to read print, because of a disability and they are showing resistance, which is confusing because it is free. All they have to do is sign up and take a training course, only a few hours of their time. Frustrating. So much information I could have access to.
Lists are it and that saying…the devil’s in the details.
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I hope your library agrees to provide access for you and I’m sure many others.
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