Season of Thanksgiving gratitude day 45

Wednesday November 26, 2025

Today I am thankful for vacuum cleaners, and brooms and dust mops, etc.  All the cleaning tools we have to help us feel civilized!  Tuesday while Ember was in day care, I rearranged the x-pen and cleaned outside the pen, around the edges of the room.  Ahhhh... how satisfying!

The plan is to gradually introduce the furniture again, get it outside of the fence, if you will, as Ember becomes more reliable about not chewing it to bits.  While she's a lot better than she was a year ago, she still chews when anxious if I'm not right on top of redirecting her to appropriate things to chew on.

For the holiday week, she's getting an extra half day in day care, on Wednesday, and I shifted her Thursday appointment to Friday.  

Tuesday evening it was very gusty winds outside.  One of the deck chairs got blown over, so I brought it inside.  I am thankful that Ember let me do what I needed to do.  

I have also been acclimating her to the idea that "mom cooks human food" and puppy sits or lies in her safe "hot zone" and waits her turn.  She gets dog appropriate treats when she does so.

Season of Thanksgiving gratitude day 44

 

Tuesday November 25, 2025

Today I am reminded that a year ago I was racing the calendar to get the kitchen appliances all installed in time to cook for the holiday!  I am thankful it was done last year!  I am thankful for a pup who while she's very interested in what I do in the kitchen, settles down to patiently wait for the oven to do its job!

The final week of the Thanksgiving to Thanksgiving Gratitude challenge: Day 43

 

Monday, November 24, 2025

For an "old man", The Prisoner was looking pretty spry on Sunday, perched safely out of Ember's reach.

Today I am thankful for the advancements in pet pest control!  I remember "flea powder" back when I was a child.  Nowadays, I just have to squirt stuff on the back of my cat's neck once every couple of months and give the dog a pill every 30 days.  

Not only that... Ember likes the pill and gobbles it down like a treat.

Oh, and for balance of humor, here's Ember snoozing in typical labrador sprawl for her Sunday afternoon nap!

Season of Thanksgiving Gratitude Day 42

 

Sunday, November 23, 2025

Today I am thankful for the people (family and friends) in my life who accept me as I am.  It's enough that these people care to check on me and include me.  And it is extra special that they accept that I am not a huge extrovert and let me be "on my own."  I really, really liked my quiet birthday!  Saturday afternoon's outing on a gorgeous day, with the dogs... perfect!

I've been in a little bit of denial about the US Thanksgiving Day.  You see, "the kids" are traveling down to visit with my DIL's mom's side of the family.  They are taking Carl along.  People are flying in, and they went through the process to get permission to take FGC out of state for the occasion.

My older sis will be traveling, herself, to her daughter's family.  I was rescued by my kid sis, the Ace, who invited me to join their small family for the meal.  Which was good, because I had something to say to my son's MIL when she asked about my Thanksgiving plans.

She, in her turn, made it plain that I was welcome to join the bigger KC plans, anytime.  But I don't really want to take that long a trip.  

The plan is to be with the younger sister's family.  A smaller group suits me.  And being in town, I don't have to leave Ember crated for as long.  

Ember, well-exercised and ready for a quiet evening and night's sleep time, snuggling at my knee!  

She and Carl were happy campers.  FGC organized a game of tag, which was pretty hilarious, as we counted the dogs, not just ours, but other dogs, as players.  So if "Ember" was "it", and she bumped into Carl, he became "it", and the next person that petted Carl became "it", and so on.  I tried to end the game by petting a great Dane that was on its way toward the exit, but then my son petted that dog, and he became "it", and the game continued!

Season of Thanksgiving Gratitude: Day 41

 Saturday, November 22, 2025

Today I am thankful for long-term weather forecasts.  I can now begin bracing myself for a "colder than normal" December!  Seriously, being able to look ahead for a week to ten days and pick a day to plan outdoor things or even things that I need to load up the car and drive to "this time of year" is very welcome.  

OK, they aren't always right about it, but more often than not they are.  I'm a weather wimp.  

Oh, and thankful that "the kids" think to ask what kind of birthday celebration I want to have, and I get the classic "trip to the dog park" whenever the weather cooperates on my birthday weekend.  So today is the day.  Ember and Carl can help celebrate.

2024's version of the birthday dog park outing

Season of Thanksgiving Gratitude Day 40

 Friday November 21, 2025

Today I am thankful for the incredible range of the spectrum from chaos to order, and for all the people who work to move processes and states from the chaotic to the orderly.  I am thankful for the human resilience that allows us to survive or even thrive within that spectrum.

Imagine the entire scope of human history, and how invention changed the course of civilization.  Each succeeding generation saw modifications and improvements in processes.  The ability to build shelters from different kinds of materials.  The methods of transporting ourselves and our possessions from place to place.  The control of fire and its transformation for use in various ways:  cooking, home heating, transportation.

On the chaos side is its use in weaponry and destruction.  On the side of order, its use in producing food and surviving the elements.  Also in being able to cross physical barriers like rivers, mountains, canyons to establish new homes for our families and communities.  It's pretty amazing stuff when you think about it.

This pumpkin was pre-started by a squirrel, but did not stop Ember from continuing where the squirrel left off.  Unrelated to the topic, just because.

Season of Thanksgiving gratitude Day 39

 Thursday November 20, 2025

This is another classically easy day of gratitude.  In fact, Alicia (Mamie Allie, not my sister) used this one for the 19th.  I am thankful to be alive, breathing, above ground, etc.  Why is that natural for me on November 20th?  Because of course it's the anniversary of my birth.

I remember mom telling me that I was born at something weird like 5 a.m., which might explain why I'm a morning person... or not!

Mom always used to say that we kept on living while we had something more to learn, or something more to give.  Sounds like a good reason to hang out... learning, and sharing!