August 12: Flowers

Today I am thankful Benji ate his dry kibble with dinner. I really don't want to cook for the dog. Heck, I don't cook for DH or myself.

Today I am thankful for what appears to be a baby wild morning glory in our yard. And more surprise lilies making an appearance.

Then there are the remnants of wildflower seeds still sprouting 2 years after their intentional planting. And a lovely pop of purple flower from what I would otherwise call a weed. Nice among all the gray and brown.

Today I am thankful the first day of school is over. And I'm a bit surprised at my fondness for school being in session, considering myself largely an introvert. But I like to be busy, and boy howdy, this job fills that bill!

To a good night's rest, for all of us.

August 11: The Internet and Community Organizers

 Today I am thankful for the internet, which provides me with parasocial relationships, and information to research what I need to feed this dog. Evidently chicken alone, or even chicken and rice, will not meet his nutritional needs. I tried some no-salt green beans today. The detritus:

I cannot tell if he ingested any.  He was aggressive when I cleaned up the first bit of messed-with green beans on the floor, so I'm hoping. I'll also ask DH to call the vet to ask about what to feed him (if he'll eat it) to round out his diet better.

Today I am grateful to the people organizing and executing the tree debris clean up locally. I thought the August 19th deadline for the free drop off sites was generous, until I drove around on errands today.

This was impressive damage - more so from the driving by angle, but I can't stop in the roadway - that's in the middle of being cleaned up. There are piles of branches and twigs here and there on the curb around town, too. So whoever's planning may be right on target with that August 19th date, and not as generous as I initially assumed.  Well, you know what they say about assuming!

August 10: Caffeine

 Today I am thankful for caffeine, to get things moving. I woke, certain that DH had called out for me. He was still sound asleep.

I am thankful for sunrise and sunset, lovely demarcations of the day.

I am thankful for nothing on the schedule, so I can give Benji all the sniffing time he wants and needs, and observe him more closely. 

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

August 9th: Emotion

 I approach the shared mini iPad with trepidation. I do not feel grateful. I do not like the way emotions make me feel.

And yet, I am grateful for them. Emotions are the lifeblood of life. Tired as I am, I am pleased with my efforts at work today. An insanely busy workweek, yet I did my best with it. And what more can we ask of ourselves, than to do our best?

I look forward to learning more about my coworkers this year. I am thankful for things to look forward to!

August 8th: rest

 Today I am thankful for rest, and need to be getting some. May we rise up to life renewed.

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