Gratitude Challenge Days 22-30

I am grateful for the calm, happiness, and abundance of our home and garden.

I love to travel, but I am incredibly grateful to have this piece of paradise to nourish and restore me as needed.  A safe and comfortable place to rest my head.  Productive growing space to fill the pantry.  Flowers.  Wildlife.  Love.  Abundance in so many ways.  10/15/2024

I am grateful for my job.

Being an academic librarian is cool.  I get paid to help people find the information and tools they need to grow and learn all the while enjoying the campus atmosphere and the academic schedule.   This book--The Shuttle by Frances Hodgson Burnett--wasn't checked out for 85 years.  I sent it out on interlibrary loan twice this year.  Cool, no?  10/31/2024

I am grateful for sewing lessons with my mom.

My mom helped me make Ginger a placemat for her food and water dish.  Mom gave me the pattern for Christmas last year, but I hadn't gotten around to it.  When she came to visit this month she decided we should make it happen.  She knows I want to learn how to "bind" the edges of projects and thought this would be a good starter project.  My mom has taught me so much about sewing.  It is so much faster than when I am stumbling through on my own.  11/24/2024

I am grateful for the peace and security of my life.

This is a tranquil spot in Tizer Gardens.  I am so, so, SO grateful that I was born into a time and place that is NOT intimately touched by war.  I think of the folks in Gaza and the Ukraine and my heart aches.  I read memoirs and novels about the World Wars or Vietnam or the civil war in Sierra Leone...and my heart aches.  9/22/2024

I am grateful for home repairs that go smoothly (and ovens that work).

The bottom element in our oven failed.  Replacing it was possibly the easiest home repair ever.   The replacement part was cheap and swapping it out was straightforward.  There was no frustration or repeat trips to the hardware store.  That seldom happens, in my experience.  Plus, now I can roast squash to my heart's content.  We had a fab crop of butternut this year.  I am grateful for that, too!  11/11/2024

I am grateful for my happy childhood.

My mom delivered a tote of childhood keepsakes from my youth on her recent visit.  It is an Alladin's Cave of childhood sweetness.   This "bug on a rug" is a prime example.  I love how a painted rock glued to a square of carpet can bring me such joy.  I had a wonderful childhood.  My parents did a good job.  My sisters were my best friends.  I had so many happy days at home, camping, at Grandma's, visiting the farm...  My childhood is a treasure to me. 11/23/2024

I am grateful for wild, open spaces.

There is just something about wind in my hair, the big sky above, long vistas, rolling hills and the like that makes my heart glad.   This photo was taken during a wander "on top of the world" when we drove the Beartooth Pass this summer.  9/8/2024

I am grateful for fun, games, and connection with family.

Matt's aunts from Minnesota and North Dakota came to visit over Thanksgiving, along with his brother from Bozeman.  It was so special to share laughs and stories with all of them.  It was really fun to watch Sharon with her sisters.  It reminds me of me and my sisters.  I am tremendously grateful for time spent with my family because it isn't always easy to do when we're spread from coast to coast.  11/29/2024

I am grateful for Hillberry.

The five days we spend camping and dancing with our friends to our favorite bands in those rolling green hills is an annual delight.  It recharges my battery!  Railroad Earth is the band of my heart and they always play two full shows.  In addition we are exposed to so many new-to-us bands or see acts that never come through Montana, etc.  The caliber of the music is spectacular.  The landscape is lovely.  The communnity is caring.  The art, workshops, and activities are fantastic.  As we return, year after year, it feels more and more like home.  As I keep saying, forget Disney Land...this is the happiest place on earth.  Matt is the one with his arms upraised in bliss at center of this photo taken by the Hillberry media team during a set in honor of Gillian Welch's birthday.  10/2/2024