Gratitude and Glimmers #90

Welcome to the final gratitude post of 2024. I was looking way back in my blog to try to find the date of one of my Throwback Thursday quilts from the early 2000s, (I haven't posted it by the looks of it) and was surprised to see my first Gratitude post, one I'd called Thankful Thursday, from May 8, 2014. I've done these off and on ever since. This quote from a daily quotes calendar Dayna gave me for Christmas last year is another à propos one to begin this 90th post:

If we move through our day with an open awareness of the many good things around us, we correct the brain's built-in negativity bias.

--Dr. Rick Hanson

You can find links to more posts like this one at LeeAnna's blog, Not Afraid of Color. 

1. I like Boxing Day sales! Before Canada adopted the Black Friday sales, we always had Boxing Day sales, and it was an excellent time to stock back up on Christmas wrapping paper, trims, décor, and cards, etc. I don't go for that these days, as I don't use much wrapping paper at all, and less and less cards; in fact I didn't send a one this year. That is mainly due to our postal strike, which has now ended, but also to sending less and less.

I am running a Boxing Day sale in my Etsy shop from now until Dec. 28. I figured a few of you may have missed the Black Friday sale, so here you are, 25% off all patterns, no code required.

2. I like the Santa's belly cushion cover I finally made this year. You can read the post here and see the second belly pillow I made, a snowman one. Links to both free patterns are in the post.

3.  I love Campus Martius in downtown Detroit, beautifully decorated and lit up for Christmas, which we drove by on our way home earlier this month. I especially liked the big sign on the side of this building.

We intend to go back to walk around and take in all the feels. We have a similar display on our side of the river in Jackson Park, minus the outdoor rink, where we are going this evening. I can't wait! I'll have some shots on Instagram.

4. I love that Brady’s Crohn’s is still in remission right now and that he is looking so healthy. Here is his basketball photo. He had a good season!

5. I like this.

6. I loved the candlelight labyrinth at Sprucewood Shores Winery on the Winter Solstice. It was ethereal, profoundly moving and deeply spiritual. Everyone there was in that head and spirits space. They limited the number of people in the room where it was which was key to keeping the ambiance so perfect.

This girl kept the ethereal sound of crystal bowls resonating the entire time. Gregorian chants were softly playing over the sound system at the same time. What a perfect way to welcome the lengthening days.

7. Although I do not ever want to see this Cooper’s Hawk kill one of our many little birds at the feeder, I was quite moved by its presence. That glare! Beautiful and dangerous. It’s been this close a few times this winter.

8. We took Rufus for a walk in town this week. I laugh-snorted a little when he photobombed my taking of this photo of a cute Christmas display by the Carnegie Arts Centre where they also have our little town farmers’ market. 

Speaking of Rufus, his ears get a little messy and smelly from time to time, and so I put in this stuff the vet gave us to help clean them. Although he is very, very good while I put a couple of drops in, he absolutely hates the feeling, and we have learned to contain him on the deck while he nosedives into the ground as he rubs the heck out of them! This is one of two skiffs of snowfall that we got in December, both of which disappeared in a day so no, we did not have a white Christmas which is not that uncommon here. Enjoy the little video I uploaded to YouTube. Please ignore the sound of the Roomba I couldn’t mute the sound as one can on Instagram.🤷🏻‍♀️ 

9. I’ve been enjoying Shetland, a BBC crime show set in then Shetlands. Jaw-dropping gorgeous scenery and whodunits with a twist, along with an accent I love, make for really good TV. I’m on season 4. I also enjoyed A Storm for Christmas, another good Norwegian, definitely not your typical Hallmark Christmas movie! It’s on Netflix. 

10. As for books, of the four this month I highly recommend The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters. It was our last book in my U of A Alumni book club. Another one that was very thought-provoking was Camilla Gibbs’ The Relatives. The central theme is IVF, following the lives of two families as well as the sperm donor. Aside: a Netflix movie on my list to watch is Joy, which is about the development of IVF. I’m currently gripped, almost immediately so, by Honor by Thrity Umrigar, another off my lengthy Want to Read list. It is the 44th book for this year, so it does not look like I will hit 50 which is always my goal but pretty close, another good year of excellent literature.

Enjoy your holiday time, with hopefully good reads, good times and food, and good company.