Thanksgiving Blessings

We decided to go to St. George for Thanksgiving this year.  We left the day before Thanksgiving and stopped at our daughter's home to give  some advent calendars and a little light-up nativity to each grandchild.  It is always so fun to see our grandchildren. 

This is our ten-year-old granddaughter with her little nativity.  We though the grands would enjoy each having a little light up nativity in their rooms.  

This is what one of the nativities looked like closeup. There were different sizes and styles and we brought some of each so each grandchild got their choice.  I found them at a local Christian bookstore, and yes, I got one for myself too!

The six-year-old was excited to show us that she just lost her first tooth.  

Before we left to get on our way to St. George, we took a picture of the grandchildren by their Christmas tree.  They had cousins from their dad's side of the family coming for Thanksgiving so they were pretty excited about that.  

We made reservations several weeks ago to have our Thanksgiving dinner in St. George at Black Bear Diner.  We had never been to Black Bear Diner, but heard (through a St. George Facebook group) that they had an excellent Thanksgiving dinner.  We were not disappointed. 

Our dinner started with soup or salad.  I love a good green salad, and Charly said the soup was excellent too. 

I asked our server to take our picture.  She was a good server and made our Thanksgiving at Black Bear Diner very special. 

We had turkey and all the fixings and it was all excellent.  (We also had sweet potatoes with marshmallows in a separate bowl on the side that isn't shown in the picture - it was so good!).  The food all tasted homecooked and everything was delicious! 

Of course, we topped it all off with some pumpkin pie, which was also very good. 

After dinner, we drove out to the area where we bought the house that we plan to move to when I retire.  I will never tire of the beautiful view we have of what is known simply as "Red Mountain."

I stopped at another place to take some pictures of St. George which is set in a beautiful area between red cliffs and lava rock bluffs.  It is truly a scenic area.

Thanksgiving evening, we went to see the movie Wicked.

We hadn't been to a movie for several months, so this was a fun way to end our Thanksgiving. Wicked is an excellent movie - the music and dancing were amazing and we both enjoyed seeing this acclaimed musical.  I look forward to seeing it in a live performance someday.

I am grateful that we had such a nice Thanksgiving Day.  Even though "Turkey Day' was over, our fun in St. George wasn't.  I will post again soon about the rest of our Thanksgiving weekend getaway. 

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"We should certainly count our blessings,

but we should also make our blessings count."

~Neal A. Maxwell

A Good Weekend

It's been a good weekend here.  Here are some of the highlights. 

Friday night after dinner, I took a small gift to a friend who was having a birthday.  She asked me in and we had a little visit which was nice. We chatted, then I came back home and did some reading and relaxed.

Saturday morning, we were up early. Our first stop was to fill up with gas.  I was surprised that gas prices have come down and we paid less than $3 per gallon. 

After filling the car, we went to the mall to walk before the stores opened.  I had Charly stop and pose by this sign that is by Santa's picture area.  We had a nice walk of almost two miles around the mall. 

After walking at the mall, we headed down to Provo in Utah County - one of our favorite places to go on the weekend!

We went to our favorite used bookstore in Provo - a place called Pioneer Book. We had a credit that was expiring at the end of November that we wanted to use. We had fun browsing in the shelves and then Charly and I each got a book. 

After the bookstore, we went to the kolache place next door and got lunch.  I had a "Vegetarian Mexican Omelet" kolache that had egg, cheese, cilantro and avocado. It was delicious!

Of course, we love to go to our favorite thrift store in Provo whenever we are there.  On Saturday, I found a Willow Tree figurine I didn't have and I brought her home with me for only $7! That's a great deal. She is the little girl with the golden heart and is now in the display cabinet in my living room.

When we got back home, I decided to take some items I have been paring down to donate at a local thrift store.  I took two boxes and a bag of clothing, shoes and other stuff we don't need any more. 

Of course we had to browse in the thrift store, and I was so pleased to find these two Nancy Drew books that I need for my growing collection of these books. 

Sunday morning was wet and cloudy.  We had a little snow on the ground. At church, we had a special musical number by the children in our congregation and some wonderful messages on gratitude. 

Sunday after church, I put the finishing touches on the Christmas decoration in our living. 

Our outside decorations are super simple this year.  I decided not to put up any outside lights this year, but I put some new touches on a wreath I have had for a while and hung it on the door.  It looks good there. 

We did see some blue skies on Sunday afternoon, but there were still a lot of clouds and it was cold and breezy.

For Sunday dinner, we had beef cubes and mushrooms slow cooked in the crock pot in beef gravy and served over mashed potatoes. This is one of my favorite dinners. Charly likes rice better than potatoes so he had his over rice.  For our vegetable, we had roasted carrots with a brown sugar glaze sauce. It was a delicious meal that we both enjoyed.

I also baked some berry muffins to go with dinner. I put a little raspberry jam in the batter and it was so good. 

I have been working on my puzzle all weekend and I plan to work on it a little more tonight after posting this. While I work on the puzzle, I will listen to the audiobook, Choosing Glory by Lili De Hoyas Anderson I will also do some reading in a physical book before bed.  

Weekend Gratitude:

• Having a nice day in Utah County with Charly.
• Finding some fun "treasures" at thrift stores.
• Donating some things I no longer use.
• Getting the Christmas decorations up.
• Receiving a bike rack for our car free of charge from a friend.
• Hearing wonderful messages and music at church. 
• Having good conversations on the phone with Josh.
• Planning for a nice Thanksgiving.

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

Until next time,

🦃Deb🦃

Currently at the End of the Week

The weather today was sunny and the temperatures are in the 50s.  By the weekend the rain and snow that has been pummeling the Pacific Northwest  and Northern California.  Another 1-2 feet of snow is expected in mountains across the state by Thanksgiving.  

I've been reading four different books:  The Audacity of Sara Grayson - a novel; The Chosen 40 Days with Jesus - a devotional based on the life of Jesus Christ; The Queering of the American Child - a nonfiction book about the LBTGQ agenda got such a hold on the education system in our country; and Point of View - a biography of TV personality Elisabeth Hasselbeck. 

I've been listening to these audiobook, Toxic Empathy by Allie Beth Stuckey and Choosing Glory by Lili De Hoyas Anderson.  I finished Toxic Empathy earlier in the week, and now I an in chapter 3 of Choosing Glory. 

I've been watching one of my favorite Christian podcasts/Youtubes.  I watch Youtube so much more than Netflix or regular TV, and much of what I watch is Christian/theology oriented.  

I'm working on this puzzle, which I am making progress on.  I enjoy putting puzzles together. Within the next couple of days, I'll be working on putting up our Christmas decorations. 

I'm loving sunrises like this one which I saw Thursday morning as I pulled into the school parking lot. 

I'm grateful for a friend who recommended this for my poor hands that crack and split so badly during the cold winter months.  This stuff is helping to heal and protect my hands and it smells good too. 

I'm looking forward to having only two days of school next week, then a long Thanksgiving weekend.  

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by for a visit.  Have a good weekend!

😊Deb💖

"I remember when I wanted 

what I currently have now, 

and I am so grateful."

~anon.

A Cold November Weekend

Friday was a gray and dreary day.  The temperature got up to about 50 in the afternoon, so I went for a walk around the neighborhood when I got home.  I had a nice walk and returned a book I had borrowed  from a friend. 

Shortly after we ate dinner, it started to rain.  It was a good evening to stay in. Charly and I watched an old movie on TV and I started a new puzzle. 

Saturday was cold and gray and it snowed off and on during the day, but the snow didn't stick. Charly and I started off the morning by walking at the mall before the stores opened.  The mall is already decked out for Christmas. 

Although we didn't do any Christmas shopping at the mall, we did go to two other stores and got some fun Christmas crafts and gifts for our grandchildren.  

When I got home, I spread everything I bought out on a bed in a spare bedroom so I could see what I had for each person on our list.  Each grandchild will get a large gift bag with a few fun things in it.  Nothing we have purchased has been super expensive.  We also got some Christmas crafts to take to our grands.  I am not completely finished with my shopping, but I have made a dent in it. 

Later, we met some friends for lunch.  I haven't had a burger for quite a while, but I broke down and had one Saturday afternoon. It tasted so good, and the fries were done just right.  We enjoyed visiting with our friends and we made plans to meet up again on New Year's Eve. 

Although Saturday was cloudy, rainy, and even snowy at times, Sunday morning was clear and sunny. We went to church as usual. 

After lunch on Sunday, I went for a walk.  Some clouds had moved in, but it was still a pretty nice day.  The wind and rain from Saturday's storms have taken most of the leaves off of the trees. 

After the walk, I worked on revising our Christmas card list and printing off labels for the cards.  I will start addressing the envelopes this coming week.  We had a nice crockpot beef stew for dinner, but I forgot to take a picture.  It was delicious. 

I finished the book I was reading last week, so as the new week begins, I am reading this book. The Audacity of Sara Grayson by Joani Elliott.  I'm also listening to the audiobook, Toxic Empathy by Allie Beth Stuckey. 

Amazingly, I don't have anything on the calendar for the coming week right now, but that usually changes. 

 

Weekend Gratitude:

• Being able to walk outside 2/3 days.
• Meeting up with good friends for lunch.
• Getting some Christmas shopping finished.
• Hearing good messages at church.

That's all for now.  See you again soon!

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"Our destiny is not determined

by the 

number of times

we stumble but by the

number of times

we rise up,

dust ourselves off and

move forward."

~ Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Favorites and Gratitude

It was a cold and snowy November week here.  November is the traditional month of gratitude and while I try to give thanks all year long, here are some of the things I was most grateful for last week.  I am joining again with Susanne over at Living to Tell the Story for Friday's Fave Five.

😊 We have had a cold and snowy start to the week. We had our first measurable snowfall.  I am grateful that we are starting the winter season with needed moisture in the form of both rain and snow. I am also grateful for a cozy warm home to hunker down in when the temperatures drop. 

😊 I'm grateful that the snow didn't stay long, and I was able to get outside two days for beautiful afternoon walks in the sunshine.  

😊 Monday morning, Charly woke up sick.  I am grateful that we don't live too far away from this store so before school I could quickly go get some medicine that would help Charly feel better.  I'm also glad that I had first-hour prep so I could be a little late getting to school. 

😊By Monday night, Charly was feeling much better and I am very grateful for that. 

😊 Our 2024 Jones family Christmas cards came in the mail on Thursday.   I am pleased with how they turned out.  I am grateful for this Christmas card tradition which we have had all 45 years of our marriage, and I am grateful for the friends and family who always keep in touch.

😊 I finally broke down and ordered these colorful gel pens which I love to use when I write cards, letters and journal entries.  I love to use lots of colors when I write.  I am grateful that I decided to spend a few bucks on these fun pens.  

That's all for this week.  Thanks for stopping by for a visit.  Now, have a good weekend!

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"There is one thing we can do to make 

life sweeter, more joyful, even glorious.

We can be grateful."

~ Dieter F. Uchtdorf