Gratitude 29-30

 #29. I am thankful for our amazing landlord. We really won the lottery with him.

#30. And I am thankful that he isn't selling the house so we can continue to live here for 3 more years!

Gratitude 25-28

 

#25. I m grateful for the COVID vaccine. I would never have volunteered to wade into tents filled with thousands of evacuees – nor take the flights required to even get there – if I didn’t have that bit of security.

#26. I am grateful I get to spend more summer in Calgary. Mountains and hoodoos to climb, and to admire views from. Rivers and lakes with colors so deep Alex swears they have been dyed. Camping in the mountains and experiencing freezing temperatures in the tent. S’mores over the campfire. Moose, bear, fox, the adorable little beaver swimming with its little stick.

#27. I am grateful that we actually managed to score the campsites we were most intent on getting last summer: Dinosaur Park (climbing hoodoos!) and Two Jack Lake (canoe!). We did not clear the bucket list; there will be plenty more campsites we are waiting online like concert tickets to score.

#28. I am grateful for libraries. They are so much more than only places that have books, but even if that’s all they were, it would be enough (dayainu).

Gratitude 21-24

 #21.  In a very generalistic, vague picture of reality, I'll explain that most of my days are spent trying to teach, coach and convince colleagues that disability rights is an important topic in foreign policy, and that physical and communications accessibility is worth the effort and possible inconvenience.  That often takes form as reviewing and editing speeches that senior diplomats will make to large crowds and to intimate gatherings.  I am grateful and even joyous every time I open a document to review and either the points I would have added are already in the original remarks, or that some other ally has already added them.  Over the last two years I have seen tangible progress and I am so grateful to be in this position, doing this work.

#22.  I am thankful that we were able to score the last, frozen, free range turkey from the butcher we frequent; local Thanksgiving was 6 weeks ago and Christmas turkeys aren't full size yet.

#23.  I am so grateful that Zoltan fits so well into his new school. He's thriving. And even more grateful he gets to stay.

#24. I am grateful to Terry for building me two bird feeders during the first COVID summer, one I can see from my desk and one in the back yard. It is such a delight to lift my eyes from the computer screen and watch the chickadees grab a bunch of seed and move through the pine tree bough, caching it (for the magpies later to steal. Circle of life.The feeder is too small for them to perch so that is also entertainment when they try.)

Gratitude 16-20

 #16. I am grateful for all the luck in my life.  My socio-economic background, skin color, and education level - none of which are things I could have chosen for myself - have given me opportunities and protections that are not available to others.  There's a responsibility in that.

#17. Related to the above, I am grateful to be comfortable enough that I can use purchasing power to support my values - I don't have to pay attention to what always costs less. Did I buy a holiday gift for one of the kids last week that cost about 15% more in the independent store than it would have on amazon? Sure did. Not having to work multiple jobs to get by also means I had the time to go to that store.

#18.  I think I already wrote this but it can't be said enough - I am so grateful to be able to stay in Calgary. Especially as the kids seem to be more comfortable here than they have been anywhere else.

#19. I am grateful for winter in Calgary and all the cherished memories already made and the ones to be made. Rivers to hike – with ice cleats secure on my feet – to frozen waterfalls. Powdery snow to ski upon. Night sledding just a couple of blocks away. Ice skating on the “wild ice” of Two Jack and on the much more moderate ice of Olympic Park.  I am so ready for winter to begin!

#20. I am grateful for our landlord.  He is super relaxed and easygoing, prompt when there's a problem, and seems pretty delighted that we pay on time and don't trash the place. We've had some discussions about whether to look for a different place for our next 3 years here and keep coming back to the idea that (1) Rick is amazing and we've heard many horror stories of other local landlords and (2) the Even Steven principle would indicate it would be our turn for one of those awful landlords if we gave Rick up.

Gratitude 14-15

 #14. I am grateful for the garden.  As I blanch the last of this year's kale, I remember the well-loved line from Blueberries for Sal where the mother goes to pick blueberries "to have food for the winter."  I was surprised how tasty the tomatoes were, given that we picked most of them green the day before the first major frost was expected;  I am eagerly awaiting the finish of fermenting and bottling of the beer Terry made with hops from the community garden.

#15. Today I am grateful for telework - for having a job that enables it, for State for letting me do it. I spent my pandemic productive, safe in my own home, and with the added benefit of being able to throw a load of laundry in the machine during lunchtime. It is also lovely to greet the kids when they come home from school.

Gratitude 10-13

 #10:  The kids. I am not at all the same person I was before they were born – mostly for the better. They challenge me and push my out of my comfort zone all the time and I am excited to meet the adults they become.  Relatedly, I am grateful that Alex has been mostly delightful for more than six months now; she was always precocious and maybe this is a sign her teenage angst came early?

#11:  Today I am grateful for the military men and women who have volunteered to serve and protect.

 

#12:  Buy Nothing groups. Your crap is my treasure; my crap is your treasure. Everyone is happy.

 

#13:  Today Terry finished up the 2 day sourdough bread I started yesterday (no accolades for me; sourdough has been his thing since the pandemic started and I have only begun to take over).  He also had started chicken stock from a few carcasses, some aromatic veggies, and water;  today it became chicken noodle soup.  I went to the farmers market to buy our fourth box of apples (slightly smaller than a bushel); it was turned into applesauce we snacked on this afternoon.  Zoltan made chocolate chip cookies.  I am so grateful for the interest and ability of my family to put together from-scratch delicious food.

Gratitude 8-9

 #8: Today I am grateful for daylight savings time. I know that isn't popular, but I much prefer Alex biking to school in daylight than in full pitch darkness. Given that clear, dry streets in November is already an unusual gift, by the time it's black in the morning again she'll be bussing anyway.

#9: Grateful for my husband (again).  Today we were both in the office.  Tortilla soup that was meant to be my lunch launched itself across the lunchroom when I tried to remove it from the microwave. I'm talking the bowl flipped in the air and landed, on the ground, upside-down. I had soup on my glasses, my shoes, and all over my person in between. As well as the counter, the floor, the side of the fridge, etc. I looked like I had been vomited upon. Terry gave me his lunch. I assumed he'd treat himself to the yummy Korean restaurant at the ground floor of our building. Nope, he was so busy his lunch was a granola bar and an apple. Now THAT's a grand romantic gesture (one I would never make. The fight I would provoke while hungry would negate any gold stars I'd otherwise accrue).

Gratitude 5-7

 So I guess this is how it's going to be this year.  Sigh.

Gratitude #5:  My health. Really. It’s a trope in my house that I don’t get sick except about one cold a year. I don’t take this for granted.

Gratitude #6:  My husband. Terry really is my perfect complement. 21 years! Soon our relationship will be older than he was when we met.

Gratitude #7:  Alberta healthcare. Three ER visits in our first year (thankfully none after that, although Terry did break his ankle). We paid a pittance for all that good care. I’ll take my “socialized medicine” any day thank you.

Gratitude 1-4

 I love November gratitude. We should all be doing it every day of the year but at least it's an effort. It really does make life a bit sweeter to start (or end) the day thinking about all the good things that come to us.

So how did I manage to forget for THREE DAYS? Ugh.  Catching up ...

Gratitude #1:  Although my short term memory is definitely on a slide, I still don't need reading glasses. Given that I have worn glasses since 5th grade, I was sure that the day after my 40th birthday I'd be looking for bifocals.  It's been a few years since then, and Terry has his stock of readers, but I am still going strong with only myopia.

Gratitude #2:  I do love winter, and the cold and snow. But icy roads mean Alex has to take the bus or we have to drive her to school, and neither option is really awesome. So I am grateful for the mild, sunny, beautiful weather we have had this week. I even went for a run after work in short sleeves!

Gratitude #3:  As frustrated as I have been with myself on the nights I decided to get some sleep rather than chase the aurora and missed the show, I have now seen the Northern Light three times since we came to Calgary and it's the only bucket list item that never gets checked off.  The last time I saw them - last month - they were so strong we caught a bit from our own back porch. Given we are relatively close to downtown and all the related light pollution, that is a HUGE deal. I will not kick myself for not staying up last night and trying to chase them down (they were apparently going strong in the 4-6am timeframe).

Gratitude #4:  The last 2 years have been the nadir of the cycle of aurora activity, so it's only up from here. And I am super grateful that I will have almost 4 more years from right now to decide to forego sleep once in a while and try to catch Lady Aurora dance.

The Buy Nothing Group

 One major silver lining of COVID is the development of local Buy Nothing groups. Through ours, I have rid our house of outgrown kids' clothes, snowshoes, cookware, toys and games. We have acquired other cookware, food items, a white board just when ours died, and - most importantly - school supplies the night they became necessary.

When Alex mentioned in the late afternoon that she needed two balloons for science class the next day, I took a deep breath. We're trying to limit our trips to stores, and we don't have any balloons. In comes the Buy Nothing group. I asked if anyone had balloons. A few people did. One of whom said she was running out to the wine store and would drop off the balloons while she was out. Jokingly, I asked her to drop off some wine as well. 

Later in the evening she writes back that she had dropped them off in a bag at our doorstep. I go out to pick it up. In the bag, in addition to the balloons, is a bottle of wine. My heart is so overfull.

Gratitude 30th

Last November gratitude. What to choose? I am grateful for the beautiful sunsets I can see from my apartment window, the brisk winter snow, and the sparkling light show Astana puts on every night between the bridges, buildings and Baiterek. I am grateful for good friends, warm apartments, games, books, and kitties (we're babysitting a friend's cat in a couple of weeks). I am grateful for family, technology, curiosity, and children being sweet and loving. I am grateful for the Wisconsin cheese of the month club gift my mom got Terry for Hanukkah, a gift that arrived early and gives to the whole family. I am grateful that at least some of the Hanukkah gifts for the kids have already arrived, since there won't be another mail run before Hanukkah begins. I am grateful that I have never once in my life had to wonder how I would pay for food the next day or electricity to keep the lights on.

There's more, but this is good for now.

Gratitude 29th

Today I am grateful for the embassy-supplied humidifiers.  They have a wider mouth so the tank can be cleaned more easily than the ones we brought over. And in dry, desertlike Astana, we run those suckers 24/7. The kids' rooms are smaller, so after about a week of constant use they have the humidity level of Pennsylvania or Massachusetts. Our bedroom hasn't gotten there yet, nor has the living room, but at least we aren't quite bathing in lotion anymore. 

Gratitude 28th - A

I am also grateful today to my husband, who decided to try out the cinnamon roll recipe from the one cooking magazine we get. Wow. The kids agreed it was worth having to take a nap afterwards, they were THAT GOOD.

Gratitude 28th

Today I am grateful for the lady who sells me local eggs in the market.  The summer eggs are orange, winter a bit more yellowy but still a much deeper color than you find in USA grocery stores.  And she sings. Beautifully, like a bird. I will miss her when we leave Kazakhstan.

Gratitude 27th

I can't believe it has taken me this long to get to this one, but today I am grateful for public libraries. For those who have always had good quality libraries nearby, in a language you understand, you can't really fathom what it is like for a reader, having to always calculate how many books are on hand that haven't been read yet or that could manage a second (or third, fourth etc) read, and how to get your hands on new material, and how long it would take to arrive, etc etc.  I am forever grateful too, for Terry for convincing me to try a Kindle and my mother for buying me one last year, as that plus library means I am never far from something to read. Now excuse me while I download a book I've had on hold at my home library for a while.

Gratitude 26th

Today I am grateful for Canada, where (I have learned) the mamas of the turkey I eat today come from.  And I am thankful for good food and good friends. And the knowledge that the "hardships" I face, while real, are hardships some would dream to have.

Gratitude 25th

Today I am grateful for the job I do.  This is something I had considered a dream when I first thought of the foreign service, then for various reasons chose a different path. And yet I still get to do it!  And sometimes I manage to do something meaningful. This week I have participated in debriefings for a number of Kazakhstanis I helped send to the USA to network and share information and best practices with people doing work in the same field. 

Gratitude 24th

Today I am grateful for the new apartment having two showers. And not just two showers, but two showers that are independent of each others' hot water supply. Running late getting the kids ready for bed? they can shower at the same time!!

Gratitude 23rd

Today I am grateful for my snowy walk to work. It is pretty when the sun rises over the pyramid.

Gratitude 22nd

Today I made bread and yogurt (well, trying. The chill of this apartment, while more comfortable than Nursaya, does introduce some new challenges). We went sledding (across the street!!), then had hot chocolate. The kids are watching a movie while I wrap Hanukkah presents. I am grateful for everything in my life.