The Small Blessings of Life

We have been getting a bit of a thunder storm, nothing spectacular, mostly rain.  Nevertheless, the hydro went out.  It was only for a couple of hours and now the sun is shining.  I have to laugh when I phone the outage line and the recording says "we are experiencing a higher than average number of calls from your area and are checking to see what the problem is"  Duh, might it be an outage!

While we were sans power, I did some work on my appliqued wall hanging.  It is about half quilted now and the stitching looks acceptable when I check the back.  It is surprising how relaxing it is just sitting and stitching.

We bottled some of our maple syrup today.  A sticky, tiring job and we only have about half it done.  Some of it will be sold and the rest we keep for baking and putting on pancakes.  I can feel the calories adding up already but it is nice to have such bounty without cost-other than my husband's time and perspiration.

Speaking of blessings, I read the following comments yesterday from a person who is in an institution and recently was moved to an area with more privileges.  I have deleted any comments that would be identifying in order to respect the privacy of the writer.

"I just came back from a 40 minute walk outside with a staff! Can you imagine the freedom! I haven't been outside for a long walk in almost one year. Beautiful grounds here... the lake looks like an ocean, countless trees, benches, dogwood bushes... many people walking their dogs or with their children... It was quite uplifting.

It's the little things in life that matter - like having a full size toothbrush so that the spit doesn't run down your arm like it did with the little toothbrushes we had before  Also, having metal cutlery instead of plastic. Being able to have food and beverages in your room (although there is a corresponding ant problem on the unit). Having toiletries in my room so I don't have to ask for them or wait for staff to have the time to retrieve them. Having access to the linen closet and washer and dryer anytime I want. Being able to open letters in privacy instead of in front of staff. These are trivial but very nice improvements."

How often we complain about minor things or, worse, overlook the every day blessings we have.  Since ready the comments, I have tried to be more aware of how fortunate I am.
Blessings,