I Am Thankful For:
Prayer
Grocery delivery workers
When all the laundry is caught up
Words that bring hope
Baking with the grandkid
Cherry galette
Pretty fingernails
Concert plans
Goals met
Dinner with the family
Getting a good walk completed before the rain started
Seeing a bear - from a distance
Delicious dinner salad
A cooling breeze
Pancakes
Good news
Summer fruit
Technology
"Ice cream" for the doggos
I Am Thankful For:
Not having to be outside in the hot weather
Laughter
A cool showe at the end of a hot, humid day
Bouquets of fresh hydrangea all over the house
Dogs napping in the sun
Holding hands
Early Father's Day lunch with my dad
A cute new sundress
My husband making dinner
Windy days
Ginger ale
Peach cobbler
A perfect morning for a long walk
The grandkid playing with the dogs
Starting our Summer read
A long phone conversation with my sister
Taco salad
I Am Thankful For:
Distant thunder
Making summer plans with the grandkid
Books that make you think
My rash is clearing up
Hydrangeas starting to bloom
The dog chasing butterflies
Cinnamon gummy bears
Being able to laugh at the weirdness
My son offering to pick up pizza for dinner
My husband making breakfast for me
Saturdays
A beautiful morning walk
The mountains where I live
Going to bed early
Air conditioning
Notebooks
Finding my favorite pen that I had misplaced
Stormy mornings
The Strawberry Moon
I Am Thankful For:
June
My doggy's little ears
A pair of Indigo Buntings at the bird feeder
Afternoon showers
Laughing
Coffee
My husband
Kisses
Weekend mornings
Lazy afternoons
A wild turkey taking a dust bath in the backyard
Sleep
Stopping for coffee after a hike
Sleepy dogs
Benadryl spray
Kindness
Inspiration
The last day of school
Drizzly rain
A productive morning
My allergies strike again!
It's not enough that I can no longer eat peanuts or peanut butter, or that I have to keep up a cocktail of Zyrtec, Claritin, Flonase, and allergy eye drops during the warmer months of the year. Now I have a new item that needs to be added to the list of things to avoid.
Ever since I got a whiff of my mom's freshly laundered bathrobe when she was in the hospital last fall, I kept thinking about that clean scent. I wanted that for my own laundry. So much so that I recently made a switch from the detergent and fabric softener I use to Downy.
I loved that "April Fresh" on fragrance towels, sheets, and t-shirts. For about a week.
Then the rash appeared.
It started Sunday with itching on my chest. By Monday it was a full-blown insanely itchy rash. It woke me up several times during the night. Using a hydrocortisone ointment wasn't helping much
By Tuesday, it was bad enough that I reached for the Benadryl. Needless to say, I napped most of the afternoon thanks to dosing myself with the antihistamine. But it did help some. I also had some "free and clear" laundry detergent delivered and began the process of re-washing any of my clothing that had previously laundered using the Downy.
The rash is still there, and I'm still a little itchy - but nowhere near as bad as yesterday.
I'm sad to see the fresh scent leave my life so soon - but not the redness and itching!
Have you ever had an allergic reaction to a laundry detergent?
I Am Thankful For:
Family
Encouragement
Watermelon
The Man of the House picking up pizza for dinner
More rain
A clean living room
Lunch with my Dad
A Pimm's on a Friday night
Getting my haircut
New plants
Cherries
Birthday celebrations
My grandson
Time to crochet
Not having to clean up the vomit
My Son's 24th birthday
A four-mile walk
Grilled ribs for dinner
Seeing a new (to me) type of bird
It's June, which means we're heading into the middle months of the year. Somehow this got me to thinking about a lot about midlife and comparing the two.
As we head into midlife, we often think that the best of life is behind us. That we are no longer as relevant or productive as we used to be. But when we look at the year, we might see that isn't true. At this point of the year, things have just warmed up. In the middle of the year, the most fruitful months are still to come. Some of the biggest and most joyful celebrations of the year are still to come.
Perhaps we could learn from the year and think of life in the same way - that our most fruitful, most joyful, most celebratory days are yet to come!
Working On: I'm still focused on getting some to be purged, cleaned up, and reorganized. This month I will be sorting and reorganizing my cotton yarns. I had originally planned to do.this last month, but other things came up and I kept putting it off. I also have plans to clean out the cabinet where I store my spices and set up a new system for keeping them organized.
Celebrating: The only "official" celebration this month is, of course, Father's Day. I would also like to start focusing more on celebrating the little things in my life. I'm not quite sure what that's going to look like, but I think it's part of living an abundant life.
Wanting/Needing: You know what? I can't think of anything! I mean, I'm sure I could come up with something I want if I took time to really think about it. But, right off the top of my head - I'm drawing a blank. I suppose that's a good thing. I must be pretty satisfied with how things are right now.
Eating: I know I said it last month, but I am eating so much fruit. We bought our first whole watermelon of the season last weekend, and if that was any indication of what's to come - its going to be a great year for melons! I have been eating cherries like candy. I'm still looking for good peaches and nectarines, but it's a bit early in the season.
Loving: The man and I have been taking advantage of the annual passes for Biltmore Estate that we bought as our anniversary present to ourselves. The past two weekends we've taken the dogs and gone for a nice long hike on the estate.
Goals for June:
