9-Blog/Website

Today the thankfulness prompt is a tough one. There was a time when I read many, many blogs. I loved hearing what people had to say, their family updates, new projects, vacation pictures, observances, but the type of blogging that was popular when I first started has gotten very quiet. So many have quit blogging entirely, some are more active on Facebook or Instagram and a couple I just didn’t care what they had to say any more. People change and sometimes their content does too. I have 10 blogs listed on my blog roll and only 2 of them blog with any kind of frequency, and one of the 10 is my old shuttered blog that ran out of space. I haven’t added anyone in so long I couldn’t figure out how to do it if I had to!!!

Blogging can be a strange thing. You read about their lives and some you really feel like you know! I have been genuinely sad when some closed up shop. Some explained their reasons for stopping, some just left, a few I seriously wondered if something bad happened in their life, and then found out something did!

Back in the day, I had my favorite blogs earmarked in a favorites file on our computer, now they go to Bloglovin’, and that website is one stop shopping. It tells you if any of the blogs you follow have posted that day, or the previous days, if you don’t check in that regularly. I follow about 37 sites on there, mostly recipe and home improvements, some I like, some I don’t even go to when there is a notification. Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised to get a ping from someone who hasn’t posted in a loooooong time and it always feels like a Christmas letter from a long lost friend! I don’t feel all that attached to most but there are still some favorites that I always check because I like their writing, enjoy their humor or their unique way of explaining how they do things.

I narrowed it down to 3 that I most often read.

Young House Love

This couple are my favorite of the “project” bloggers, but I like them for several reasons. Not only do they show you their beautiful work, they explain how and why they do their projects really well, and they both have a fun and clever way of writing it down! Even if I NEVER plan to do anything they are showing me, they make going along for the ride enjoyable! I also like their dog Burger, because who wouldn’t love a little dog named Burger?!

Big Mama

Mrs. Schmenkman sent me a link to this blog about 10 years ago and I have read her ever since. She is a writer of books now and does not do much blogging anymore, but no one tells a story quite like her and I have laughed out loud reading her, and her buddy Boo Mama, countless times! Since both are capital W Writers now and have many speaking engagements a year, I guess we have to be content with reading them in book form. Which I have, and they were delightful 🙂

From This Side of the Pond

Joyce is another one I have read for many years and she is still blogging around her busy life and many trips! She hosted The Wednesday Hodgepodge for years before she finally put it to rest a few months back. I am grateful to her for all the time and effort she expended there, I loved participating! We have a lot in common, faith, birthday, stage of life, both became a Grandma the same summer to grandbabies who live too far away in Washington state! We actually did get together for lunch once when Honey and I were in her neck of the woods, and we both enjoyed getting a tour of the home she and her Hubs were building! I probably feel like I know her better than I actually do because I have followed her life for the last 8 or 9 years, plus read all of her thoughts and memories from the Hodgepodge.

So there you have it, 3 blogs I am thankful for. Give them a whirl 🙂

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8-Restaurant

I am thankful for the Mexican place that we go to almost every Wednesday after BSF! Affectionately named Chip and Dip by our children many years ago, I have passed the name on to all of delightful gals who gather around the table to enjoy chips and salsa (dip!), tacos, burritos, and all of the other things we apparently cannot get enough of! You never know who will be able to come, sometimes 2 and sometimes a crowd!

We have spent hours around these tables discussing life, our families, our lessons, our God and the mighty ways we have seen Him work. There has been much laughter, a few tears, and a lot of love, heart eyes emoji inserted here 🙂

Thank you Lord for Mexican Fiesta, OLE!

6 and 7 Voting

I find myself a tad behind again, but will catch up here because I am deleting two of the things on the list because they are not speaking to me, and have come up with something that I AM truly thankful for. I really am thankful for shoes and good scents, but I don’t have anything interesting to say about them…at this time 🙂

Today I am thankful to be able to exercise my American right to vote. A right that many in our country take for granted. A right that some humans on our planet do not have.

Mousey and I were watching a program on Netflix last night called Turn, about The American Revolutionary War. Those people were taking risks to change their lives and win freedom and independence, real life and death risks. I am not risking anything to vote, the worst thing I will run into is a long line.

Even though elections in our country have become contentious, for those running and voting alike, it is still important to cast your vote, have your say, choose your candidate and voice your opinion on the ballot issues. I am pretty sure not everyone I know votes the exact same way I will, and I know for a fact that my vote is cancelling out a vote of someone in my own family, but I am grateful for the opportunity to exercise my right. And they will do the same.

Voters 600 and 601 after getting their vote on!

Oh yes, I will also be thankful that our landline will stop ringing, our message machine will stop filling up and our mail will be free of election flyers!!!

Place-Washington State

What I am most thankful for here is that this PLACE has NOT experienced the giant earthquake that The Boy told us could happen ANY DAY NOW!!! I guess they are overdue and the carnage of the ensuing tsunami would supposedly wipe out Seattle, and Y’All, The Boy and The Dane and little Moonpie live just on the other side of Seattle! Since they will hopefully be back in The Mitten within the next few months, they will hopefully dodge that awful bullet!

I told you that I would find a way to weasel our Washington trip onto this month of thankfulness, and here we are! Mousey and I left Detroit-Metro Airport at the crack of dawn on July 14. We flew Spirit, which is a whole different sort of animal than we are used to! After Honey dropped us off at the North Terminal, we entered into a swarm of people, lines everywhere. We waited in our first line to check our luggage, You would think waiting in the line would be the long part. You would be wrong. The lady checking our bags could not get her machine to work, so she kept trying. And trying. She shut it down and rebooted the system. Nothing. I was praying for Holy Spirit intervention here because the security line was getting longer. And longer. After about a half hour she finally asked the man working next to her to print out our tapes for the luggage, which is what I wanted to do for THIRTY PREVIOUS MINUTES, and closed her window!! Thank you next door co-worker!

We then raced over to security to wait  in a loooong, snaking line that ate up another half hour and where we had plenty of time to worry that we might have needed to be at the airport TWO hours before our flight! I was TSA approved, but Mousey was not, so I waited with her, no sense me making the flight if she did not! When we got closer to the inspection, we understood a little why the line was so long, there was a TSA agent who was snarkily giving mixed instructions, that was causing people to do the wrong things, and when people questioned him he gave them condescending answers. Mousey said if she hadn’t been worried that we might miss our flight, she would have had a snarky comment or two for him. Finally we got to the front where Mouse was waved through, but then we saw them carry my purse over to another counter. I was getting a little freaked out by this because no one said anything to me for some time until I said HEY what up with my purse!!! Of course I didn’t say that, but I wanted too. Wouldn’t you think they might mention that they were going to look through it instead of letting me think that someone stole it??!! An agent finally brought it over to look through and he asked me if I had a fan in there. As a matter of fact, my post menopausal self did have a metal folding fan. He opened it up and waved me through. What the actual heck?

Our original plan was to arrive, saunter through security, have a leisurely breakfast once in the terminal, and then board our flight. None of that happened. We split up after security because I needed to use the restroom, and Mousey went and stood in ANOTHER long line at McDonalds. I also had to wait in line at the restroom and I foolishly thought we might meet up together after. I walked back to McDonalds to see her still at the counter where she waited, and waited. Finally someone noticed she had been there a long time and asked to see her receipt number and said they had been calling the wrong number. How does that even happen??!! They gave her the bag with her correct number and we hightailed it to our gate where our flight had been boarding. We thought we were the last people to board until another couple ran in. They were probably in that McDonald’s line!! Then they closed the door and we left. Sheesh!!!

We made it!

 

The Boy picked us up a little after 8 in the morning their time, and then the rest of the post will be full of pictures of our sweet little Moonpie!

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that Moonpie and I were usually the first ones up and I brought her over to the “girls dorm” where Mousey and I entertained her and introduced her to Pringle’s, Cliff bars, and our other snacks!

She liked Mousey’s phone and they had a photo session.

 

Selfie, or Us-ie!

My two Beebees ❤ ❤

Since The Dane had been feeling pretty rough before we arrived, we assured them we had no plans to do anything, just wanted to hang out and get to know Moonpie! We went to Maggie Moos for ice cream, and to The Boy’s favorite 1/2 price book store.

Mousey and I were trying to get a selfie/us-sy,

when we realized we had a trio going!

How big are you? SOOOOO BIG!!!

 

She was most entertaining at Uneeda Burger,

mostly just hanging out, eating lemons, as you do 🙂

She is a huge fan of the lemon.

At the park, being thrown high by her Dad.

This is one of her big ‘’”brothers” who live in the house. His name is Kaleb and he loves her a bunch!

She is purty fond of him as well!

Another big “brother”, Vincent.

More lemons!!!

Mousey and I introduced her to our family favorite, Raffi. She liked to watch him on my phone.

She must have been ready for a nap, she looks mighty relaxed!

Awww, love her little smile here.

We went to an outlet mall and I believe this may have been her first horse ride.

It was very unimpressive. And I think it cost a lot of money! You can ride Sandy up at our friendly neighborhood Meijer for a penny and she has more action than that tired steed!!

Mousey was way more exciting!

Family photo ❤

Can you ever get enough sugar off your grandbaby?

The Boy took us to a thrift shop that Mousey scored at! She bought a bunch of stuff for her winter wardrobe! We mostly talked, ate and watched the antics of the baby.

That was the first half of our trip, Mousey went home before I did. I have another post but I’m not sure I can stick it in this month of thankfulness, but just know another picture heavy post is coming!

Cozy Place and Favorite Snack

Well, that blended together nicely! I got a smidgeon behind there but will have a combination post and be back on top of the game!

This has been my cozy place lately, and I am thankful for a comfy place to land. I have my morning cups of tea/chai, work on my 2 Bible studies, have chats with my People, and peruse the iPad in this spot. It is also a highly sought over place for the cats to nap. Sy likes it best right after I vacate, when it is still toasty, and the elder felines like to have a loooong afternoon nap there.

Capri P helped me pick the chair, and the nearby twin sister, out many years ago before we hosted a family reunion. We were in need of some sprucing and seating and she knew of a nice little place in Brighton that was family owned and run by Christians. We were happy to throw our business their way. Unfortunately these chairs were sprayed with some sort of Scotchguard that made them unusable by me for a couple of years. Seriously, could not sit in them or I got a headache! I didn’t smell them any other time, and no one else ever smelled them, but #hounddognose here, was a NO GO. At some point the smell faded and I decided I liked to use them, a lot!

My favorite snack at the moment is peanut butter pecan bars. A Keto snack, and a great way for me to get more fat into my day, which can be a problem for me on this way of eating. In fact I did not start losing weight until I ate more fat. I know! I can’t believe it either!

I found this a good recipe to use up an entire jar of natural peanut butter, which we despise. I know it’s supposed to be a way healthier option, and I get that, but for land sakes, put some SALT in it!!! Who on God’s green earth can abide peanut butter with no salt??? And since I am being transparent here, we are also not a fan of having to stir the oil back into the peanut butter. I don’t know about you but I am just not strong enough for all that nonsense. I felt like I was wrestling a bear. It was Rock.Hard. So there you have it, I will take my chances and be purchasing contraband peanut butter in the future.

All that to say that I am going to make this again, but I am going to alter it a bit. Will use salted, unnatural peanut butter, and I think I am going to omit the pecans. I cut these into squares and stored them in the freezer, which is generally not a problem for any low carb/keto treats, but the frozen pecans were a little cutting on my tongue and cheeks and since my pecans floated to the top of the bars, I found myself biting off the tops and eating the nuts separately so I could savor the yummy, velvety, peanutty goodness. Which gave me the inspiration to just forgo them altogether. I eat a handful of nuts a couple times a day already, so I am getting the nut quotient fulfilled. I may melt Lily’s sugar free chocolate chips and spread it on some for a Reeses peanut butter cup effect for those times when some chocolate would be friendly 🙂  But not on all! Because Mamaw can’t have chocolate in the evening, don’t like to do anything that could interfere with my tenuous, old lady sleep schedule!

So I am thankful for a cozy place to have a favorite yummy snack!

Animal-Sy

The thankfulness prompt for today is animal. We have 4 animals around here, all feline, and most generously loved. I say most because of Lucy, we try but she is weird. Tormented. Mousey says she hears noises in her head that make her crabby. Anyway, they all have their finer points, quirks, and annoyances, but in terms of big personality, the winner is clearly Seymour. He loves all of his people and regularly tells us, marks us, and wallows on us. The ladies are more reserved, whereas he is IN YOUR FACE, all the time, demanding whatever he needs! He stick-eth closer than a brother!

Especially stuck on Abby, she is his person ❤ ❤ ❤

In front of her computer. Sometimes he is right on the keyboard.

He is also rather fond of his Grandma.

He is also the only lap cat we have, and he is an equal opportunity heat seeker, so all benefit from his company. He is especially friendly/needy in the cooler months. So tis the season to have to extricate ones self whenever one wants to stand up. He loves all manner of cozy coverings, blankets, throws or your fleece jacket. He is particularly good at making himself at home just when you are about to leave your current seat. But we have also decided that sometimes he just wants your warm seat.

In Mousey’s hoodie.

Because he is so pretty to look at and so loving most of the time, it makes it a lot easier to put up with his lesser appreciated qualities. Such as his insistent stalking of the elder felines, his occasional propensity to be bitey, and his sloppy litter box habits, trying to show the ladies that all boxes are his to use as he sees fit! He so longs to be the Alpha boss of somebody, but no one allows his hearts desire. So he just acts like the annoying kid at school, always looking for the wrong kind of attention.

All that to say, we are thankful for Sy, warts and all. I say we, but really mean the two leggers in the house, the old ladies have nothing but hate in their hearts for him. 🙂

Person-Moonpie

I am barely making it on the first day of Thankfulness!! I’ve been gone all day but I am tryin’ to be all committed here so LET’S GO!

Today I am thankful for little Moonpie, who I was able to get to know much better this past August! It’s hard being an across the country Grammy and Papa. Honey and I flew out to Seattle last August when she was one month old. That was pretty special and we enjoyed meeting her! Our second meeting was exactly a year ago today, when The Boy and The Dane flew home for a visit! Unfortunately I got sick the very next day and coughed my dang head off the entire time. I banned myself from touching her in an effort to contain the contagion.

We saw her on Facetime, and I have never been so thankful for technology 🙂  But she really didn’t know who we were, except she likes loud, and Honey is LOUD. So she kind of liked those loud people.

I didn’t know what to expect when Mousey and I flew out to Seattle this past August. I asked the Lord to incline her heart to us, and in His great mercy, He did! She was not one bit strange with us, let us pick her up and give her loves, and just all around acted like she was fond of us! This was the afternoon we arrived, that’s a happy Grammy!

 

You think you will forget all those things that you do with little ones, but they all came flooding back. It’s been 10 years since Little Goomba was this age, but there was only a tiny bit of dust on all the songs, noises, and all around baby interacting.

We so enjoyed carrying her and holding her on our laps. I am an early riser and some days she was too. In an effort to give her tired folks a break and let them sleep in, I would get her up and bring her back to our room that we called “the girls dorm”. She LOVED it over there! We shared our treats with her, played with her babies, taught her to raise her hands up high when we asked her how big she was, and introduced to her to a family favorite; Raffi!

I felt like we got to know her sweet little personality so much better.

I also saw a lot of her Dad peeking out in all kinds of situations! She so reminds me of him here!

It’s funny when you remember your kids doing the same things! Our beebees were also known for loving lemons AND pickles! I don’t think we gave her one of those.

The laundry basket, one of the best toys ever.

I mentioned to The Boy that I knew I was a Grammy, but this was the first time I really felt like one. It was like Grammy Immersion! She may not have understood who I was, but she knew me! And as a wonderful blessing, she now remembers me on Facetime!!! We go through all the fun things we learned together, she makes the faces, blows kisses, loves on her babies and says awwww, and throws her precious little arms in the air when I ask her how big she is!! We have a connection!

After I had been home a week or so The Boy sent this picture that I LOVE. He said every time she was able, she made a beeline to the girls dorm looking for us! How cute is that?!

Oh sweet baby grandgirl, Grammy is thankful for for you! ❤