The Habit of Thankfulness: A Few of My Favorite Things

 July 10th- A few of my favorite things...

~The ability to explore the western shore of Onondaga Lake---a childhood dream---whenever we want

~The next generation exploring the shores of what was "off limits" in my childhood

~The beauty of the restored shoreline for discovering wildlife and plants...giving the next generation more reasons to protect and care for their world

The Habit of Thankfulness: A Few of My Favorite Things

 Jan 28th- A few of my favorite things...

~A beloved tale of the life of dollhouse dolls from my eldest's childhood

~A beloved tale of the life of dolls who are trying to help solve a mystery from my childhood

~A beloved tale of the life and adventures of a doll that my grandmother told my mom and her siblings, then I read, and now I can share it with a fourth generation...truly life lives on through good literature

The Habit of Thankfulness: A Few of My Favorite Things

Aug 18th- A few of my favorite things...
~Introducing the girlies to a favorite book of childhood, Pollyanna
~Introducing the girlies to a favorite movie of childhood, Pollyanna on Halley Mills' birthday!
~A great reminder from the book that when we look for the good things, we'll find them 

The Habit of Thankfulness: A Few of My Favorite Things

July 30th- A few of my favorite things...
~The delight of a pretty plate to make ordinary extraordinary
~The memories of cookies that bring you back to your childhood
~The tastiness of German Chocolate Cake coffee to pair with your snack

The Habit of Thankfulness: A Few of My Favorite Things

Jan 17th- A few of my favorite things...
~Traveling around under a haloed sky
~Listening to beloved childhood book "The Incredible Journey"
~Read by a beloved actor from your childhood (Anne of Green Gables <3...known to the rest of the world as Megan Follows)

The Habit of Remembering: Christmases Long, Long Ago: Part 1

You don't always need the Ghost of Christmas Past 

to remind you of the good that has been in your life...

 Sometimes all you need is reminders that you can hold in your hand

Christmas Memories in Syracuse: Part 1

Once upon a Christmastime in Syracuse, 35 Christmases ago, there was a Little Girl who sat thinking about getting presents for her family for Christmas. The year before at Bellevue Elementary, she had bought a couple of trinkets at the "Santa's Workshop" that she gave to the family. But this year she wanted to do something different. She knew she didn't have much money, but she wanted to give her Grandma and her Aunt something special, something that would last a bit longer than candy. She pondered this for a while while looking at her tree.

The ornaments were hung about the colorful lights twinkling on the tree. She noticed that some of the hooks were longer than others. As she looked at the tree, she knew what she could do. A lady from her church had given her and her sister a box that to the untrained-eye looked like a box of junk, but to us it was a small trove of craft supplies. In it were necklaces that had broken. She started to go through the box and find every bead that she could and put them in a pile. Then she got some of the extra long hooks that her mother didn't want and set to work to make mini icicles. Patiently she strung them and the carefully divide them into two boxes, wrapped them, and excitedly waited until Christmas Day when she would see her Grandma and Aunt and give them their gifts.

On Christmas Day, she went to her grandparents' house and proudly handed one box to her Grandma and one to her Aunt. They both loved them. While the eventual fate of the ones she gave to her Grandma is unclear, her Aunt carefully preserved and hung hers handmade icicles each year. Then one year, her Aunt surprised the Little Girl, now grown and with her own family, with half of her share of that precious handmade gift. Now hanging on the now grown Little Girl's tree, they are a reminder of some many people from Christmas past: the lady from her church with a generous heart, her Grandma, and her Aunt. And now, she doesn't need the Ghost of Christmas past to remind her of love at Christmas, she has these.

The Habit of Thankfulness: A Few of My Favorite Things

Sept 7th- A few of my favorite things...
~Going with Grandma S to her favorite park as child...
~To reveal a few treasures from under the ground and..
~To reveal treasured places from her childhood

The Habit of Thankfulness: A Few of My Favorite Things

May 11th- A few of my favorite things...
~The branches of a dogwood presenting each blossom as if on a tray
~Pointy tulips that remind you of childhood drawings
~Yellow forsythia flowers adding spring's golden touch to its unfurling leaves