Spunk

Joyful Tuesday everyone :)

These weeks seem to be flying by like they had four wings aren't they? Whatever you may be doing please think and pray for Spring :)

This week I wish to thank a woman that I have known since I moved to Barre. The moment I met her, I knew she was my kind of person and that it was always a delight to be around her. She works at my optometrist office where I first met her and also happens to be my workout partner at the gym we both go to.

Maxine, yes, I have two friends named Maxine, is an absolute delight to be around. She smiles, is not afraid to have fun, and all around is willing to try anything. Here is a woman who brings sunshine into your life and you are always happy to have spent time with her. Shoot, she even bakes deserts like a dream and is not averse to a margarita. With all those wonderful attributes, you would love her as a friend also. She is a definite plus in my life and I am so very thankful to her for spending precious time with me. Thank you Maxine! Jillian Jr (that is what she calls me at the gym) will see you on Wednesday.

Love Diane

Sixty Minutes....

This week the appreciation goes out to Sandy. A woman I met in the last hour of a job I was working in Vegas this past June. She was a Security Guard for one of our rooms at the Encore Hotel. We connected right away. Laughing and chatting like we knew each other forever. We ended up exchanging e-mail addresses and became Facebook friends. We write each other periodically and check-in. We had a few exchanges this week. In response to a li'l heartbreak that I've recently experienced she had the perfect things to say and just when I needed to hear it. An Angel on earth, I'd say! It's amazing how a one-hour encounter can change your life. Totally grateful our paths crossed and we continue to keep in touch. A simple sentence and/or kind word can really spark a change in attitude. Thank-You Sandy for being such a great and wonderful spirit on this journey we call life!!

Giving

Good day all :)

Today I wish to thank a woman who I met through the insurance association I belong to and am a secretary of. She moved to Vermont from Pennsylvania over a year ago and is a delightful person to be around. Pat Murray is tirelessly always willing to help others, is always providing a kind word or smile, is very supportive of others and has a great sense of humor. Pat is currently teaching an insurance class that I signed up for and she is making the dry subject of insurance into a very interesting subject. She has a casual style about the way she teaches that makes you listen and want to learn. Believe me, she is very qualified to be the head of the class also with the long list of designations after her name that are as long as my forearm.

Anyone would be happy to call Pat friend and I proudly do so. Thank you for giving of yourself like you do Pat!

To Jim & Sue ...

I had a special occasion today, in which my husband, as well as my father- and mother-in-law took time out of their busy schedules in celebrating.

Dear Jim & Sue,

Your presence today meant the world to me. It is rare that I get to finish something and stop to enjoy its completion with friends and family, both categories that you fit into. Treating us to lunch, and a lovely gift to boot; you are generous beyond words.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Love,
Rita

Thanks for the space

Tonight I am feeling such a great sense of gratitude towards my husband. I find myself at a time in my life where I am needing to stop, breathe, reflect and reassess. What has the first half of my life meant? What do I want to do in the next half? Many days I am filled with mixed emotions about most anything. I often contradict myself and am flip-flopping with my feelings. In the midst of this swirling vortex, my husband stands and gives me space to figure it out. To feel what I feel, to do what I need. I appreciate this space to feel and grow and just be. It's what I need right now and it's wonderful to be supported.

I Salute You

I know this may be a controversial subject but today is my day and I am very thankful for these people. This week my thanks goes out to all branches of our military. I live in a country that everyone outside of it is sometimes literally dying to get into it and live here. I have the right to burn our flag without being handcuffed and driven to jail, not that I would EVER do so. I have the right to protest our very government without getting shot. Just recently, the right to protest at a serviceman/woman’s funeral was granted and as much as I hate the very thought of someone doing so to the inner core of me, it is part of our freedoms. I am free to marry and have as many children as I wish or not marry and have no children. It is not mandatory that I wear a veil but am able to if I so wish. I am able to worship whatever religeon I wish to. I as a female vote here! I also have the right to express myself on our thankful blog living here in this country. The freedoms we all have here in this beautiful country are all owed to someone fighting for them in the first place. I know it is an overused phrase but freedom is truly not free. I can’t say that enough. Someone had to and still does fight for it with their very presence, their training, their words and even their very lives.

So, in whatever branch you may be in, wherever you may be serving, whatever rank you may be, please know that your sacrifices are not forgotten and that I am thanking you to the very bottom of my heart. I will always stand quietly with my hand on my heart for our pledge of allegiance, smile proudly and sing along (correctly) during the Star Spangled Banner and always take off my hat in respect if I happen to be wearing one for both. I salute you!

Feeling supported and welcome

(for Monday 3/14/11)

This week I feel the need to express my gratitude to the Etsy community. You see, I've been active in trading old stuff for over 20 years. And for the past 11, much of it on ebay. It's been very useful to be able to work from home, and be available for my growing family, but, I never really liked the repetitive factory warehouse feel with ebay.

So, I've recently been transitioning over to the more creative format that is Etsy. Well, the difference is astounding. I've been invited to join teams and circles. Sellers gladly promote each other, and spread the word on each other's behalf, and share tips freely.

Well, I look forward to rather than dread the time in front of the screen now.

I say thank you to all those inspiring and generous new friends.

The circle effect....

Below is a response I received from one of my many notes of appreciation. If we continue to give thanks, appreciate and recognize each other in a most sincere and gracious way-what a wonderful world this would be. The love and joy just continues to swirl and makes for a delightful atmosphere. Here-Here to Gratitude...May it forever flow!

Hiya Jenny....Just opened your sweet....thoughtful....caring card and read your
note. You have no idea how serendipitous that moment was for me. I had just
walked in the door after a very difficult day and then I saw your return address
on the envelope sitting atop a stack of bills and junk. I took a deep breath of
calm and happiness as I opened it. Amazing....Just what I needed to
read....just when I needed to read it.

You are a wonder my dear. I too am sooooooooo looking forward to my next trip
to N.Y.....and the opportunity to see your sweet face.

Thank you so much Jenny....for your loving support and friendship. I am truly
blessed.

Happy thoughts.

Dear Makia ...

Dear Makia,

Today I got the most wonderful surprise from you; a card (a cat with reading glasses -- too sweet!) with a special treat inside for me. But this is the kind of extraordinary thing you have always done. A willing model when I needed to complete a portrait photography project, and always a good friend. You are a truly generous and kind person. I admire the way you give of yourself both on the job and during your free time, cooking and volunteering for the homeless shelter. You brighten every room you walk into with your ready smile and your kind, listening eyes. Your life is an example to me of grace under pressure and how to bring meaning and joy to every situation.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you!

Love,
Rita

Happy Tuesday everyone!!! Hope all is well and for those of you, who have snow, hope you are shoveled out nicely.

I wanted this week’s thank you to go to our friends Patty and Yvan Cote. My husband Louis has been friends with them since high school and friends with me since I met Louis. We have gotten together on and off throughout the years on a very occasional basis due to their lives being filled with teenagers , work and life in general and ours being filled with our life’s busy time. Until last year in September, I really didn’t know either of them really well. Last year they invited us to go on vacation together down to Myrtle Beach SC and we had a fantastic time and since then, we have gotten together once a month to simply enjoy each other’s company. Patty made a resolution that she was going to try to be part of friend’s lives and be more social this year since her children have left the nest. What a great idea that is! I thank them for their considerable friendship and it feels good to have a couple that we love to “hang” with and enjoy wonderful moments with. Never under estimate the gift of friends :) They are part of the blessings in your life that you shouldn’t take for granted.

A good old fashioned snow storm

Today's thank you goes to Mother Nature.... The snow started to fall around noon yesterday, and is just now, 9 pm, letting up. It came down, and blew around in a beautiful dramatic dance. Up here on our back road hill, it accumulated to just over 3 feet. School was canceled, so warm cookies and hot chocolate were on the menu after going outside. Grace & I walked on our quiet unplowed road, even making snow angels here and there.

I realize these times can be a challenge for many, but I truly feel to be snowed in is a treat.

Day 66...

May everyone get some kicks on day 66! Okay, isn't this year whizzing by?

Would like to take this opportunity to share an observation. Being acknowledged in the simplest way can truly lift ones spirit. There is an adorable chunky homeless man that lives around the corner. He is always quick with a smile and a "how you doing"? Passing him last night we shared a mutual "Hi, How are you?" and he told me to "Have a good night." These exchanges always melt my heart a little each time. He is one of the most sincere random strangers I've ever come across. There is a light in him that is quite engaging. Not sure how he feels about our encounters but I personally love them! A reminder to NOT miss the beauty around any given corner.

Dido- Thank You + Lyrics

Raisin Pie

My thanks this week goes out to my sister Marie, or Mwee as I fondly call her. Today just so happens to be her birthday and am I grateful she was born!

There are soooo many reasons that I have to thank Marie. One of those many has to do with raisin pie. What in tarnation does raisin pie have to do with Marie you ask? Well,a few years ago, we were up in Newport Vt attending one of my Mom's dinners that she so graciously puts on for us for birthdays and holidays and Marie and I found out that we were the only two in the family that did not particularly like raisin pie (sorry Mom) and in our usual fun way we started calling it Distraction Pie without telling anyone why. By now everyone knows but the reason was that the raisin pie would distract the others so that we could get dibs on the better pies Mom made :) You see Marie is a very willing and fun partner-in-crime and the value of that is not to be under appreciated.

Marie gently listens when you need to kvetch, she reikis us when we dearly need healing, finds things when they are lost, and her sense of humor makes you hold your side and blow whatever liquid we may be drinking out our nose when she "gets going". I could never picture her anything but my sister and friend and know that all of us sisters were meant to be together. We are a very special puzzle and Marie is a very important piece. Thank you for choosing to be my sister Marie and as we go through life, I promise to always be there for you. Thank you and I love you so much! Happy Birthday you young thing!

Love,

Diane