Wednesday, December 1, 2021

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!

Sunday, November 28, 2021

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).

Wednesday, November 24, 2021

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.)

Saturday, November 20, 2021

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.

Monday, November 15, 2021

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.

Saturday, November 13, 2021

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.

Tuesday, November 9, 2021

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).

Sunday, November 7, 2021

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.

Thursday, November 4, 2021

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.

Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Halloween 2021

 Things felt relatively normal this year - fewer than half the kids wearing masks and a sense that kids weren't being kept at home due to COVID.  This was also the first year we let the kids go off alone (albeit together). We thought we had a good grasp of what the neighborhood would hold, trick or treat-wise. We bought candy like we still lived in NE Philly. I advised kids grasping at whole handfuls that they really needed to take only one so other kids could be sure to get some candy.

Oops!

We overbought by about 100.

Other interesting tidbits are the two different business cards we got from two very different businesses - one was handed out at a house and the other was actually taped to the treat. That was something new! And the candy the kids discussed not liking that we discovered were Baileys Irish Cream truffles.