August 7th: Benji's feeling better

 Oh, thank goodness, Benji is starting to act more like his normal self. I truly wonder if he caught a virus 4 weeks ago at daycare 😞

 Today I am thankful for the silly phone game that soothes my brain. Today I am thankful for nail polish to entertain myself, decorate myself, preserve whatever nails I have to protect my fingers.

Today I am thankful for the vet again, who called to check on our patient. Lordy, Benji needs a grooming as well as the daycare socialization, but she said he needs to go a full 24 hours without his "hack a loogie" cough before he can go back.

Today I am thankful for an understanding sister, who allows me reprieve when work and the world have taken too much out of me.

Today I am thankful for Wheel of Fortune. Brain and soul soothing. I hope I still like it this much if it is on all the time at whatever care facility I may need as I age. Will we even have TV broadcasts then?

I am grateful to whoever came up with Snoop Dogg and Martha watching dressage at the Olympics. So fun and funny!

I am grateful to my smart and strong and funny offspring. How did that happen? Grateful DH said okay, we can have a kid. Grateful he took that risk, despite worrying he would be awful at parenting. Grateful DD came over to visit Benji today. I think it cheered him up.

I'm grateful for golden rules, like do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and mind your own business. 😂

I left work thinking I would not be able to write a gratitude blog. I was not feeling grateful for anything, or so I thought. But like a muscle, working it out regularly seems to bring it strength, feels like it comes out of nowhere, but that working out has an effect.

Here's to goal setting and goal achieving!  Have a good 24 hours ... or until I write again.

💗Hugs and love, Ace

August 6th: Veterinarians

Today I am grateful to have the mental capacity to know that I dated yesterday's blog title incorrectly. I was pretty tired last night. The dog even barked me into going to bed before I wanted to.

Today I am grateful for veterinarians. Benji was doing poorly enough that DH took him to the vet, AND even called me at work while they were there. Poor fella (Benji) has pancreatitis and poor fella (DH) needs to quit feeding him peanut butter and other fatty foods. Glad the vet was clear with them about that.

Benji didn't eat the low fat canned dog food; but he did eat some unseasoned baked chicken breast. Kept it down (he's on an anti-nausea med). Wonder how long this will take to resolve. DH cancelled doggie daycare and the grooming we had planned for tomorrow. One of the ironies is that we fed him the allergy meds twice a day in peanut butter, recently, which may hsave exacerbated any pancreatic inflammation he may have been getting. Oy.  The new med he accepted in a bit of the canned food; DH needs to give it to him once a day. Glad I'll be at work.

Today I am grateful for my patella, which is strong and whole and bore the brunt of a recent stumble up stone steps. 

Today I am grateful for the ease of use of the phone camera, which records an image that reminds me of what I was thankful for earlier in the day.

Hope you had a good one!  Hugs and love, Ace

August 4th: Work

Today I am thankful that I still enjoy the challenge of the workplace.

Today I am thankful I get to enjoy the mini cold Kahlua liqueur I've been hankering for for maybe a week, week and a half.

I am thankful a tree branch disappeared and we don't have to clean it up. Thank you, neighbor or good Samaritan!

said branch

I hope you have a good day, and many more.

Love & Hugs, Ace

August 4th: Commerce

 Today I am thankful for the marketplace, commerce, stores that are open when I urgently need a restroom and they have one I can use, and I make a courtesy purchase in gratitude for its availability and use. Today’s courtesy purchase:

I am thankful for birthdays; today’s is an amazing woman’s birthday. She’s the same age as the fellow  whose memorial service DH and I attended yesterday. 😮 Time flies. We cannot take life for granted.

I dreamt of our late friend and bizarre work scenarios last night. Easy does it. The food place is supposed to call me today to confirm tomorrow morning’s early order for work. Nothing like working on your own time. Easy does it. Plan B is to show up there an hour before the requested items are to be ready, to make sure the ball is rolling.

Seven more years before I’m eligible for retirement. Seriously? And then my reward is lowered income and five times higher health insurance premium? Good grief.

Back to the gratitude antidotes. Yes, antidotes. I suppose anecdotes, too, at times. I am grateful to have a job and the wherewithal to pay for others to take care of me (the coffee shop, the convenience store, and the drive thru breakfast places this morning), and me to take care of others - i.e. DH’s plan G premium.

Have a good day, everyone! Hugs and Love, Ace

August 3rd: Nail Polish

 

Today I am thankful that DD left nail polishes and tools here when she moved out. It gives me more selection to use on my current nails.

I have very, very, very thin nails that are of no consequence most of the year. Sometimes in the summer I get lucky and they grow and I can have some fun:

Last week I discovered the leftover (abandoned?) tools, and added a heart and a flower to my manicure. With the pale background, they may have looked more like debris that didn't get washed off. Oh, well, I enjoyed them!

Not sure what this week's iteration will look like. So many choices! 

Have a good day - love & hugs, Ace

August 2nd: My Boss

Today I am grateful for my boss, for taking on the role of leadership and carrying the weight that comes with that. By the end of the day they were driving me crazy, which makes me realize as I type this how much of a family my workplace is. Lol and Hmmm. 🤔

I am thankful for cats, because they bring so much joy to so many people, and sharing cat content is one of the best uses of the internet IMO.

I am grateful for eggs, a cheap and easy to prepare protein rich food.

I am so grateful to all the helpers working to restore my city after bad storms - water, trees, electricity, communication - many, many things we take for granted but really, really require a lot of work. Like learning what food to toss after a power outage, and where to get more.

Today I am thankful for my spouse. His support means so much right now.

Wishing you a wonderful day!

August 1st: The smell of coffee

Today I am grateful to smell DH's coffee automatically brewing first thing in the morning; it means our electric power has been restored.

I am grateful DH and Benji made it home safely yesterday. A storm blew through our landlocked area with tropical storm force winds. DH drove in the thick of it to pick up Benji from daycare.

The deciduous hardwood trees took the winds as well as they could, but the wreckage is significant. Approximately 10% of the population lost power. My usual coffee shop is closed today for lack of electricity; so is DD's workplace. And DD's home is without power still. We were only off about 6 hours here.

I took a lovely long walk around the neighborhood yesterday with the last of the day's light. It was so nice to say hello to people on their porches and balconies, and chat a bit with some. At about the halfway point, I realized I had a very friendly dress on: light blue with dragons breathing rainbows (instead of fire) and I think white clouds too? Very elementary school, lol. In fact, a young child requested I close his car door for him, and I did so. Mom was on her cell phone. Older sibling thanked me through the dark tinted window. :)

Those types of human interactions are soul sustaining for me. But they don't happen often; we are in our dwellings, working on, watching, or communicating with screens. Sigh. I actually felt like a teenager again, with an unknown stretch of unscheduled time and "nothing to do".

Have a good day! Hugs and love, Ace