Twenty-Six Lists: I'm Thankful For . . .

Welcome to Twenty-Six Lists! I hope you'll join me in this simple link-up, where I share a writing prompt for some kind of list, and invite you to share what's on your list. Your list can be very simple or include lots of explanation; short or long; a bullet point list or essay style. Interpret the list prompts however you like, depending on how much time you have to spend, and how much background you'd like to share. 

I think most of my readers are Americans, and Thanksgiving is still over a month away. But you probably know that in Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October, so just a couple days ago. No matter when our holiday designated for being thankful is celebrated, we seem to emphasize gratitude a bit more during the fall months, don't you think? Whether you celebrated on Monday, will celebrate at the end of November, or (like me!) you celebrate at both times, it's always good to reflect on how blessed we are and to express gratitude for it.

Every day is a day to be thankful. Life's abundance has no limit, and gratitude is what keeps that abundance flowing. In every circumstance there is something for which to be thankful. Even when there seems to be nothing else, there is hope. ~Ralph Marston

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

~Colossians 3:17~

I'm thankful for . . .

Life and good health! I think this comes first on pretty much every list of what I'm thankful for in this moment. Because if I'm writing this - I'm alive and capable of writing it! Even though there are the aches and pains of getting older to deal with, and the occasional sick days and not feeling quite right, overall we are in very good health and grateful for it!

A roof over our heads. The last time I did a Twenty-Six Lists "thankful list" it included my 'dream home' which was my house in Maryland. It was the place I had dreamt of and hoped for around twenty years earlier when we first moved from Canada to the USA and had only a truckload of stuff to our name. (To be fair, I did not ever have a starry-eyed dream of living in Maryland in particular!) Well, fast forward a couple of years from that list and we still own that house but don't live there. I'm often tempted to be discontented or impatient because we now live in an apartment and it doesn't have many of my 'dream home' features, but we are safe and comfortable here and our home and possessions haven't been destroyed by hurricanes or floods or any other natural disaster. I'm also very thankful that we've been able to hold on to that Maryland property and that it's still a home for our kids. 

Always, always thankful for my family! My amazing parents and grandparents set a wonderful example of marriage and parenting. I had a good relationship with my in-laws over the years. Our four children are all wonderful people that love the Lord, and they all get along with each other and as far as I can tell, genuinely enjoy spending time together with each other and with us! We have two wonderful daughters-in-law that we love like our own, and we have two precious granddaughters. The only thing I could ask for is that we didn't live quite so far apart, honestly!

Good friends - or kindred spirits as Anne of Green Gables says. I've been blessed with many generous, loyal, steadfast friends over the years. Friends that are there to laugh with or cry with, to encourage and to challenge. It takes time to build friendships like that, and I'm grateful that those relationships have stood the test of time and even distance, and I'm thankful for the friendships we're starting to build here.

That reminds me, I'm grateful for the technologies that make it possible for friends and family to stay in touch across miles and time zones! Who remembers when a long distance phone call was a significant expense and had to be planned and timed in order to get our money's worth? And back further in history, a handwritten letter was the only option for communicating, and depending on the circumstances, it could takes weeks or months to send. And now we have multiple options for instant messages, or we can email, or FaceTime, or video call if a simple phone call isn't good enough. No long distance charges! We can even call from our car! That's something to be thankful for!

Music and sunsets and flowers and nature . . . all the beautiful things that speak to my heart and remind me that God is good and provides so much beauty and wonder in our world. And gives us the ability to create and enjoy those good things.

Good jobs. Oh sure, sometimes we complain about annoyances at work - everyone does! - but we like our jobs and we have good co-workers, and it's through our jobs that God provides for so many of our needs.

Fun things to do! Even when we have quiet weeks, we have parks to walk in, interesting shows to watch and music to listen to and books to read. It's enjoyable to attend church and a highlight of my week is chorus rehearsal! There are interesting restaurants to try. This week we are going to a hockey game, and will visit friends and family in Ontario (so we get to travel!) and will welcome my parents for a visit. Staying busy with interesting and rewarding things is something to be grateful for!

Praise the LORD! Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, and his loyal love endures! Who can adequately recount the LORD's mighty acts, or relate all his praiseworthy deeds?
~Psalm 106:1-2~

What are you especially thankful for these days? Please share.

The link-up is open for two weeks, with a new prompt every other Tuesday. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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If you'd like to think further ahead, you can find the list of all prompts for the 2024 Edition of Twenty-Six Lists on A Fresh Cup of Coffee here: Twenty-Six Lists - Accomplishments and Goals

Bonus List: The next few list prompts so you can think ahead!

October 29 - Autumn Menu

November 12 - Blog Reading List

November 26 - Holiday Menu

December 10 - Holiday Ornaments and Memories

December 24 - Holiday Movies and Music

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 ©2006-2024 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

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Scripture and a Snapshot - Patiently Waiting

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.

~James 5:7-8~

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Thank you for joining Scripture & A Snapshot. Leave a link to your own post sharing a Scripture and a Snapshot. Take time to visit some of the other links and bless each other with comments.

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I also link up at the Sweet Tea & Friends Monthly Link-up Party hosted by Grace-Filled Moments

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©2006-2024 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

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10 on the 10th - Celebrating Birthdays

On the 10th of each month, Marsha In the Middle asks ten questions for us to answer in as much or little detail as we wish. This time around there's just one question, but I have to come up with ten answers. Here goes!

Two of my sons have October birthdays, which are coming up soon! We need to make some plans!

1. I love that family birthdays are a chance to connect and celebrate. Making or receiving birthday phone calls, sending or receiving cards, maybe a party . . . it's the togetherness aspect that's the best for me. I'm a quality time gal.

2. Birthday dinners. When my kids were young I started the tradition of letting the birthday kid request what they wanted me to make for their birthday dinner. When it was my birthday, the family took me out for dinner. We still do birthday dinners, when we're together to celebrate the birthday, although it's more often dinner at a restaurant than at home. Now that everyone is grown up and we can all pitch in to pay for dinner, it's a bit more doable. And for ME, any good excuse to eat out is something I enjoy!

3. Birthday cake! I hardly ever bake a cake, and I hardly ever eat cake, so birthday cake is a huge treat!

4. Birthday cheesecake. My husband always requests my chocolate cheesecake for his birthday, and it's so good, it gets its own number on my list.

5. My family's version of the Happy Birthday song. I honestly don't know exactly how this started, but my family has a tradition going back to when I was a teen . . . of singing the birthday song as badly as possible. So somehow this hilarious tradition has lived on, and since we live all spread out, the birthday song has become the highlight of the birthday phone call. As many of the family as possible gathers round and we make a group call and "sing" the birthday song. In weird voices, at odd tempos, in differing keys and times, with purposely horrific "harmonies", with strange sound effects, bungling the words . . . the goal is to make each birthday song more hilariously horrible than the last. 

6. Birthday parties. If I don't have to plan them. My birthday is right after Christmas so I was out of luck when it came to birthday parties when I was growing up. And I'm not good at planning parties, so I was super low key about planning birthday parties for my kids. They could have friends over and we'd have cake and ice cream and presents, but I didn't plan party games and favors and all of that. My style is basically an open house. That said, I always enjoyed having people over, and loved attending parties, and birthdays are a pretty good excuse for having a party!

7. Memories. Especially when my kids have birthdays, I tend to remember previous birthdays and to remember when they were born. Obviously there are a lot of good memories to look back on when I have a birthday, or when my husband does, and that's a special part of a birthday celebration.

8. Presents. No kidding, I didn't think of this until this far down the list. Obviously not a super high priority for me, although I really like getting gifts for people I love, and I like receiving gifts too.

9. Birthday cards and Facebook greetings. Isn't it nice to get fun mail instead of just junk mail and bills? I try to mail birthday cars to my family members that live far away, even though I'm often late. I am super hit and miss about wishing my Facebook friends a happy birthday, so it always surprises me when I get loads of birthday greetings on my day. I do my best to respond to each one.

10. Whenever someone marks another birthday, it's another reminder that we're still on this earth for a purpose and it's a chance to look back and see what we've accomplished, and look forward to set some goals. 

As you may know, this is our hostess Marsha's birthday month, so please join me in wishing her a very happy birthday!

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Thanks for thinking birthdays with me! What are your favorite things about birthdays? Leave a comment and let me know!

This post will be linked at Marsha In the Middle for the October Edition of 10 on the 10th.

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 ©2006-2024 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation. 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Wednesday Hodgepodge at the Park

A hodgepodge is a jumble or assortment of things that might not appear to belong together. Joyce at From This Side of the Pond hosts a weekly link-up called Wednesday Hodgepodge that is a little collection of questions for bloggers to answer just for fun and to get to know each other. I always look forward to chatting with friends over coffee, so pour a cup of your favorite and let's visit for a few minutes!

Here are this week's questions - and my answers - for this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1.  Thursday is National Walk To A Park Day. I know these celebratory days are mostly made up, but some are fun to think about. Do you live close enough to a park to walk to one on Thursday? Will you? The most famous park in the world is Central Park located in NYC. Have you ever been to Central Park? What did you think? If you haven't been is this a place you'd like to see?

 

We do have a very nice walking trail around our apartment community, and some of it is park-like. There is a really nice park we can walk to, if we go about halfway around the walking path and scoot through a treeline. It's called Taylor Farm Park and it has a large circuit of paved paths and nice boardwalks that go around some wetlands. It's a pretty good birdwatching area, especially for waterfowl and wading birds. There's also a very fun playground there. I'm not sure we'll walk over on Thursday . . . it depends how late it is when I get home from work, I suppose. 

Yes, I've been to Central Park, one time. My husband and I went on a day trip to NYC to hear our daughter's chorus sing at Carnegie Hall, so we spent the daytime exploring a bit, and did walk around Central Park. I knew it was big, but I didn't really understand the scale until we were in it. I would have liked to take a closer look at the statues, and maybe spend more time around that fountain (which I recognized from Enchanted) but the negative was that it was so crowded. Also, fun fact - there was a lumberjack competition of some sort happening in the park the day we were there! Anyway, I've seen it and I'm glad but I don't ever need to go back, to be honest. 

 

2. Something you've done recently that turned out to be a 'walk in the park'?

 

There's got to be something, but I can't think what it would be. So I guess I'll have to leave this unanswered unless I get hit with some inspiration before I hit publish.

3. Can you parallel park? Do you have to do this often where you live?

 I CAN parallel park, and can do a pretty good job of it, but I avoid it as much as possible. Thankfully it's pretty rare that we have to parallel park around here, and I would rather drive around the block a few times or park an extra couple blocks away than parallel park!

4. The colors of fall . . . red, brown, russet, golden bronze, golden yellow, purplish red, light tan, crimson, orange red, and scarlet. Are these colors you like to wear? Is this your season in terms of color? What about your home? Would we see these tones in your home decorating? 

 Red is the only fall color I wear, and I don't wear ir all that often. I used to have a lot of russets and bronzes in my wardrobe years ago, when I kept my hair colored! Once I let my hair go gray, I also switched my wardrobe colors to mostly blues. And black. Black goes with everything. The warm colors were just not right at all with my very fair complexion and pewter or silver hair. In our home, I have browns and warm tans in my living room and some browns and burgundies as accents in the spare bedroom. 

5.  What part of history do you find most interesting? Elaborate.

 

What era of history? Probably ancient and Biblical historical periods are most interesting to me, because it's the setting and context of the Bible, so understanding that adds extra insight to the stories and teachings. A majority of the fiction I read is historical setting, and I tend to choose novels set in the Regency or Victorian eras most often. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

We went to the Twenty One Pilots concert on the weekend and it was awesome! Pretty sure we were the oldest people there who were not chaperoning anyone. Haha. I guess that could be a pretty good argument for us being the coolest old people ever! 

On Sunday evening I was finally able to meet in person with a dear friend I've known for around twenty years online! 

And finally, I need to apologize for being so tardy in visiting and commenting. I've been slower than usual to read other blogs and I'm embarrassed about it. If there was a way I could have another hour each day, that would be great. Or if I could do bloggy things during my lunch break.   

How would you answer the Hodgepodge questions this week? Leave a comment and let me know!

I'm sharing in this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge at From This Side of the Pond.

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 ©2006-2024 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

 This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation.

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Everyday Images #46

Welcome to another installment of my challenge and reminder to myself to take photos somewhat regularly. I'm not a photographer, but I enjoy taking everyday photos of things I find interesting or want to remember later, and I find that I notice interesting things when I'm intentionally watching for them. Having some prompts that are open to interpretation has helped me pay a little more attention to what's around me. Every two weeks I have a few words and phrases that I'm focusing on, and I try to find opportunities to take pictures of these things each week. These were the prompts I assigned myself for the past couple weeks:

September Prompts - Everyday Images #46

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season (quarterly)

wide and/or narrow

action

perspective

orange

heavy

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season (quarterly) - the leaves are just starting to turn, and we've had very warm sunny weather most of the past week or so.

wide and/or narrow - I finally decided to use this photo from the Twenty One Pilots concert, which isn't a terribly high quality photo, but does show wide and narrow beams of light.

action

perspective

orange

heavy - believe me, this is not what I'd first envisioned when I added this prompt, but I was running out of time!

A few more bonus photos:

I didn't take very many photos at all over the past couple weeks. Most of the my photos were taken at the two big events we went to - the hockey game and the Twenty One Pilots concert.

I've seen Twenty One Pilots live twice before, with my daughter and a couple of her friends both times. We talked about her coming here to go to the concert with me, but she and her boyfriend had a wedding to attend on the weekend so I dragged invited my husband along instead. He likes Twenty One Pilots but probably not enough to spend money on them. But hey, I've gone with him to THREE Brit Floyd concerts, so he owed me one. The concert was, of course, fabulous, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite having seats pretty far from the stage. (The previous two concerts, we were on the floor and very close to the stage) Having a wide angle view was actually pretty impressive!

On Sunday evening, I finally got to meet - in person! - a wonderful friend I've known for twenty years or so. Dana and I have been together in various message board and online communities for a very long time, and in particular a very close-knit smaller group, but it took until this past weekend before we were in the same room. Dana and her husband were on their way through our area on vacation so we met up for dinner! We had a lovely time, great conversation and very good food, but the lighting was a challenge for the official photo.

I am sharing my photos every other Tuesday, along with my prompts for the next two weeks. You can use all or some of the prompts for your own photo posts, or none of the prompts and just link up a post featuring your photos. Simple rules: Your posts must be family-friendly; the photos must be your own; and the post must be mostly photos. If you do share I'd appreciate a mention and link to A Fresh Cup of Coffee on your post.

Everyday Images continues in 2024, every other Tuesday. And on the alternate Tuesdays, I'm hosting the Twenty-Six Lists link-up. I'd love to have you join me for that too!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

October Prompts - Everyday Images #47

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at home (monthly)

at work (quarterly)

gold

dessert

leaf

travel

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©2006-2024 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation.

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.