Saturday, January 27, 2018

On the Receiving End (Ten Things of Thankful)


Ten Things of Thankful

(Because some people like Blogger and some like Wordpress, i am putting the same content at both.  If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked above.) 

The other day i noticed a pattern.  For some reason, i have been on the receiving end of things.  Good things.  Things which i needed and for which i am thankful.

Toting them up, i have been the recipient of enough items for a whole post, and it does not even count the TV i mentioned last Saturday.

For years now, we've had trouble keeping silverware in this house.  The kids lose it, take it with them when they go, or it gets thrown away by accident, something happens, and our kitchen silverware drawer was almost always empty.  Little Girl gave us a whole new set.  Even if it starts to pull a disappearing act, i'm thankful to have it for now.

Ms. JAI gave me hand cream that smells delicious and makes my hands feel nice after work, and some music CDs she didn't want any more that Sweetie really enjoys.

Dr. D gave me books she did not want any more, my all time favorite things.

Ms. V gave me a set of sheets for Bigger Girl's bed.  They were too flowery for her son to use but are right up my daughter's alley.

Ms. B gave me towels.  This year, for some reason, several members of her family decided she needed new towels for Christmas.  She kept some, but decided she didn't need them all.  We haven't had new ones in a long time, and these are really good and should last a while.

Ms. G gave me cardboard cat scratchers that her cats ignored but our cats have decided are the best things on earth next to catnip.

Someone at church gave us a $25 gift card to Subway.  Sweetie and i will use it for a lunch date soon.

People sometimes donate items to the shelter that we cannot use there.  Many of these items are sold through a second hand shop that gives us a portion of the sales, but some of them are simply given to volunteers.  In the past week i was given three things i can use:  litter pan liners (because Tripod SissyCat has decided she wants to use newspapers instead of litter and i am using liners in her pan), a cat water fountain (because Link will not drink if the water is not moving, and running the water in the tub for him is getting expensive), and a big bag of the pricey diet cat food that prevents kidney trouble.

Have you been given something unexpected lately?  Do you have other things you could list for which you are thankful?  You don't have to have ten items to join Ms. Josie Two-Shoes and link up a list at Ten Things of Thankful.  The only thing needed is gratitude and the desire to share what makes you grateful with the rest of us.


Today is:

Afrma Fancy Rat and Mouse Annual Show -- Riverside, CA (don't laugh, rats and mice make great pets!)

Amherst Railway Society Railroad Hobby Show -- West Springfield, MA, US (8 1/2 acres of hobby train fun; through tomorrow)

Big Garden Birdwatch -- UK (sponsored by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds; through Monday) 

Big Snow Day -- remembering the 15 inch snowflakes that fell on in Fort Keough, Montana, on this date in 1887

Brookfield Ice Harvest and Winter Carnival -- Brookfield, VT, US (demonstrating traditional ice harvesting using original equipment near the Brookfield Floating Bridge, one of only two such bridges still extant)

Chocolate Cake Day

Cordova Ice Worm Festival -- Cordova, AK, US (one of Alaska's zaniest festivals, and you have to be a bit zany to survive the winter here; through Sunday)

Day of Remembrance for Victims of Nazism -- Germany (anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz)

Day the Netjers of Heaven Receive Ra -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Eagle Days -- Little Platte Park, Smithville Lake, MO, US (learning about bald eagles in the environmental learning center, as well as eagle viewing over the lake and children's activities; through tomorrow)

Family Literacy Day -- Canada

Gasparilla Pirate Fest -- Tampa, FL (reenactment of the invasion of Tampa by pirates, this is the adult version of last weekend's celebration for kids)

Greater Springfield Garage Sale -- Springfield, MO, US (if you want to find it used, you can probably find it here at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds; through tomorrow)

Great Fruitcake Toss -- Manitou Springs, CO, US (what to do with leftover fruitcake?  toss, hurl, or launch it for fun and prizes)

Hoggetowne Medieval Faire -- Gainesville, FL, US (jousting, birds of prey, medieval arts, food, entertainment; through tomorrow, and again next weekend)

International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust

Iroquois Mid-Winter Ceremony -- Iroquois Native Americans (for the continuation of all life-sustaining things; a multi-day ceremony and feast that begins around this time of year)

Ka Moloka'i Makahiki -- Molokai, Hawaii (traditional ceremonial end of the harvest festival, a time of peace; still celebrated with ceremonies and sporting events)

Kumquat Festival -- Dade City, FL, US (because kumquats are not just funny, they are delicious!)

Listen to Classical Music During Lunch Day -- in honor of Mozart

Mozart Day

National Seed Swap Day -- find or set one up in your area, so you can expand your garden, and help others expand theirs

National Storytelling Week -- UK (the Society for Storytelling encourages you to celebrate one of the most ancient art forms)  

Orange City Blue Spring Manatee Festival -- Orange City, FL, US (learn about the manatee and have fun doing it; through tomorrow)

Polar Bear Festival/Polar Bear Jump -- Seward, AK, US (lots of fun, if you want to freeze!)

Punch the Clock Day -- internet generated, and no reason for it given; this has to be one of the more baffling ones

St. Angela Merici's Day (Founder of the Sisters of the Order of St. Ursula; Patron of the disabled and ill; against bodily ills and the death of parents)

St. Devota's Day (Patron of Corsica; Monaco)

Swamp Buggy Races -- Naples, Florida (the world famous swamp buggy races; through tomorrow)

Thomas Crapper Day -- death date, in 1910, of the perfector of the flush toilet mechanism

Wakakusa Yamayaki -- Nara, Japan (Grass Burning on Mt. Wakakusayama, and fireworks; an annual New Year tradition)


Anniversaries Today:

Founding of the National Geographic Society, 1888
The first sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, is founded at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, 1870
The University of Georgia is chartered, the first state university in the US, 1785


Birthdays Today:

Julie Foudy, 1971
Jennifer LB Leese, 1970
Patton Oswalt, 1969
Alan Cumming, 1965
Bridget Fonda,1964
Cris Collinsworth, 1959
Mimi Rogers, 1956
Mikhail Baryshnikov, 1948
Nick Mason, 1944
Mairead Corrigan, 1944
James Cromwell, 1942
Troy Donahue, 1936
Donna Reed, 1921
David Seville, 1919
Skitch Henderson, 1918
Hyman George Rickover, 1900
Jerome Kern, 1885
Samuel Gompers, 1850
Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson), 1832
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1756


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Laverne and Shirley"(TV), 1976
Tarzan of the Apes(Film), 1918


Today in History:

Trajan becomes Roman Emperor, 98
The Rashidun Caliphate ends with the death of Ali, 661
Song Dynasty General Yue Fei is wrongfully executed, 1142
Dante Alighieri becomes a Florentine political exile, 1302
The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins, ending with their execution on January 31, 1606
The first American lime kiln begins operation in Providence, Rhode Island, 1662
Mustafa II becomes the Ottoman sultan in Instanbul, 1695
Czar Peter the Great sets the first Russian state budget, 1710
Abdication of Stanislas, the last king of Poland, 1736
The US Congress approves the opening of Indian Territory for settlement, which led to the forced relocation of Native Americans on the "Trail of Tears," 1825
Manitoba and the Northwest Territories are incorporated, 1870
Thomas Edison is granted a patent for the electric incandescent lamp, 1880
The National Geographic Society is organized, in Washington, D.C., 1888
"Tarzan of the Apes," the first Tarzan movie, premiers, 1918
The Harlem Globetrotters play their first game, 1927
Apollo 1 – Astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee are killed in a fire during a test of their spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center, 1967
More than sixty nations sign the Outer Space Treaty banning nuclear weapons in space, 1967
Through cooperation between the U.S. and Canadian governments, six American diplomats secretly escape hostilities in Iran in the culmination of the Canadian caper, 1980
The pilot shaft of the Seikan Tunnel, the world's longest sub-aqueous tunnel (53.85 km) between the Japanese islands of Honshu and Hokkaido, breaks through, 1983
American-born sumo wrestler Akebono Taro becomes the first foreigner to be promoted to the sport's highest rank of yokozuna, 1993
Germany first observes International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 1996
Western Union delivers it's final telegram, 2006
Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, unveils a new invention, a tablet PC called the iPad, at a press conference in San Francisco, 2010
Tunisia’s President Moncef Marzouki and the head of the National Assembly signed a new constitution, enshrining one of its last steps toward full democracy after a 2011 uprising that inspired the Arab Spring, 2014

13 comments:

  1. While I have not been the recipient of anything lately, except some ceramic coasters, which I do not need in any way. But I am still thankful that my life is plugging along and that the problems I have have been put on hold.

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  2. That is abundant blessings for you through the things you have received! We are also thankful for our blessings!

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  3. You've been doing very well of late. It's a good thing. It makes up for the dry spells.

    You are one of the most thankful people I've ever met.

    Have a fabulous weekend. ♥

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  4. I think it is wonderful that people have been giving you things. You are such a giving person that it is coming back to you. I see on the list of events, there is a train show near me, I had not even heard of it until now. Have a nice weekend! XO

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  5. I am thankful for so much, especially Mrs. C, good health, and living in such a great country.

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  6. Awesome list today! What goes around comes around, eh? Wait! Someone already said that lol But I believe in the cycle of selfless, good will :)

    2 thumbs up for Chocolate Cake Day!!

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  7. I can't believe I missed chocolate cake day! Although, I'm pretty sure that's every day in my world!

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  8. It's great to be on the receiving end. Of course, this last year and this month, I have given more than I received but that is fine. I am lucky enough to be able to give. To answer your question, I was offered a huge Xmas tree this week, and I politely decline. :)

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  9. This past week, my neighbor brought over some yummy homemade salsa for my family. I forgot to add that to my own TToT post, but I should have!

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  10. Yeah, National Geographic Society...good stuff.
    We went in to KC with two other couples last night for a nice meal out. We ended up lingering long after we finished the meal just because we were catching up. At some point the waiter came and cleared the silverware. He took some other things too, but was very intent on the silver. Finally, he told us that they had chosen a pattern that turned out to be very popular in the city and their pieces disappeared at a rapid clip. This was a nice place too. I wouldn't have thought it was the type of place where people made a point to steal their place settings. What is the world coming to?!

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  11. Lots of things to say thank you for this week. It's nice to be on the receiving end of things that are necessities. New sheets and towels, silverware and pet stuff. Enjoy the Subway date. Sometimes my husband and I have date night at Sam's Club. We need to be creative!

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  12. All this giving spirit, the thankfuls, it's a given.

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  13. What a wonderful week of receiving you have had. I think that indicates how much people care about you. It was nice that they were prompted to share the things they did because it seems they were things you really needed and/or just things that one or the other would use and enjoy.
    I'd never heard of the annual fruit cake toss! I actually like fruit cake, but I know quite a few people don't care for it.
    I had to chuckle about the disappearing silverware.
    I really enjoyed reading your post this week.

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