gratitude week 10

List five things you like about you.

Uggh.
Not good at listing things like that.

Thing 1
I am good at listing certain things.
Not like these things
But other things.
When I can get around to it.
Soon

Thing 2
I am a low maintenance in the beauty department.
Simplest of hairstyles,
hardly any jewelry or accessories,
no makeup, no fussing.

Thing 3
A wickedly good sense of humor.
Can see humour almost anywhere.
I do appreciate a funny story.

Thing 4
Can see the grey in almost anything.
Always two (or more) sides to the story.
So I think of myself as becoming less judgmental as the years go by.
Still a ways to go but think my caboose is on the right track.

Thing 5
My calves are in great shape.
The rest of me is more akin to a bowl of jelly.
And my tummy looks like Darth Vader's head after he took the helmet off.
But my calves are solid.

gratitude week 9

How did you do and feel?

Sent the letters earlier this week.
Got the first two off on Monday
and had to wait for an address for the last one.
Now it is winging it's way across the ocean.

How did I do?
A touch of regret.
I should have taken a picture of the letter before I mailed it.
That is a wise thing to do.
In case you want to send another letter and wish to recall what you had written in the previous letter. Good idea thought of too late.

Also got a Facebook thankyou already. That was cool.
Can't complain about the slow air mail. Less than five days.

How did it make me feel?

It is great to stay in touch and wish that I would do it more.

gratitude week 8

Express gratitude to 3 ppl
and I assume that that means people.
Now does that mean in person
or do I just leave a message? write a letter?

Think I will pick write a letter because I just did that yesterday.

People 1
Sent a letter and some pictures thanking my brother
and his family for having us over when we were travelling around Europe.

People 2
Sent a letter and some pictures thanking my cousin Klaas and his wife
for having us over when we were travelling around Europe.
They fed us. Provided a bed, Drove us around. They opened their home and hearts to us.
They hosted us marvellously.
So much so that Martin says that he could happily live in Smilde (where they live).

People 3
Sent a letter and a picture thanking my cousin Ruurd and his wife for having us over for a visit.
It was really nice to get to know them better.
Chatting during group events usually leads to a specific type of 'small talk'.

The last letter I haven't sent yet because I got the address just last night.

Now to a mailbox.

gratitude week 7

A friend 1

A long lost friend who is still lost.

One of my oldest friends was a girl named Dagmar.

 In front of her house in Caistor Center

We were in gradeschool together, must have been grade 4 to grade 6.

She had broken her leg and was allowed to stay in at recess with a friend.
I hated recess and was very happy that she often selected me to stay in for recess with her
(I think to play with Barbies)

We maintained a friendship even after I moved.
I don't remember her being at my place but I do remember going there.

I remember being on the boat. 

Her sister Astrid was likely a couple of years younger.

Her parents were Doris and Arnold. Both have since passed away.

I remember her mother's cooking. She showed us how to make scrambled eggs.

This was a New Years Eve picture from 1976

We lost touch and I have tried using the internet to find her.
But women's last names often change.
I thought I remember that she worked in the tourism industry.

Wish I could thank her now for being my friend then.

gratitude week 6

The city you live in.

I live in Hamilton and it is a city.
Except for a brief spell in Caistor Center as a child
and in Hannon when we were first married
I have always lived in Hamlton.

And it is a city.

I had a chance to look at some European cities a couple of months ago.
The Europe that I saw was pretty clean and pleasant to be in.
Some of where we went was touristy but other places were not.
I felt most comfortable in the little town (maybe a village by our standards)
where my father was born and grew up.
I had a big tug and feeling of comfortableness
despite the fact that I do not speak the native language.
I did also like the village that my brother lives in.

But I have come to the conclusion that home has very little to do with
the geography of a place. It is the people.
Plain and simple.
My home is where my family is.

I suppose that I could imagine myself living in some of those other places but
I certainly am not longing to be any where but in Hamilton.

Hamilton is home.