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Thankful Thursday | kittens, mushrooms, windows…

This week, I am thankful:

that I took biology only one semester ago

This first part of Anatomy and Physiology feels kind of like a whole semester smushed into a two-week period. It hasn’t even been two weeks yet and poof! we are already covering DNA replication, mitosis, meiosis, and a whole bunch of other stuff that took a whole semester to get to in biology.

I am not drowning, but if I hadn’t taken biology so recently, I might feel rather underwater at this point.

that I have a physical textbook now

I ordered a used copy of the previous edition, just to have a paper version of the e-text that automatically comes with this class.

Anatomy and Physiology textbook with a green cover.

apparently this one used to be a rental book!

Last semester, I kept wishing I had a physical book. So this semester, I have made my own wish come true.

that my professor is a helpful teacher

My biology professor was the sort that literally just read the PowerPoint slide decks out loud in class, and that was it. I was mainly on my own, and while I did fine in the class, it’s a little annoying to pay for a class where you basically are teaching yourself.

But my current professor is so much better! She explains things and gives examples and shares mnemonic devices, so I feel like I am actually getting something out of lectures now.

So, yay!

for some beautiful weather days this week

We’ve had a couple of days that make me believe fall is lurking around the corner.

It has been super delightful to feel some less-humid air and to open the windows!

And even when a hotter day is mixed in, it hasn’t been as oppressively hot as it was earlier in the summer.

for the mushrooms I’ve seen this week

A group of mushrooms in the grass.

Sonia loves mushrooms, so I took pictures of these for her when I was out for a walk.

seven wild mushrooms.

I’m not as into mushrooms as Sonia is, but I do think wild mushrooms are fun to look at. I think the ones in the small round stage look like perfectly toasted marshmallows.

for my window

Y’all, I am still tickled pink that my desk is now by a window. Every day, I feel a fresh wave of joy!

And even on a cloudy day like today, there’s still lots of light.

A white desk by a window.

that I have nothing scheduled today

Tuesday and Wednesday had a lot of scheduled stuff, so I am extra thankful that I have nowhere I need to be today.

(This is not the same as having nothing to do today; I have plenty to do!)

for kittens

Almost every week lately, there have been kittens to take care of at the rescue and they’re just so darn cute.

Kristen holding a gray and white kitten.

The great thing about being a volunteer is that it’s like getting a permanent ticket to kitten-land. If you actually adopt a kitten, the kitten will grow up super fast.

But if you are a volunteer, you get to snuggle kittens all the time!

(Remember this little gray kitten? I think she is the most adorable kitten I have seen in my entire life.)

that my neighborhood is so walking-friendly

Sometimes when I notice houses that are on main roads, I am reminded to be thankful that I can just walk right out my front door and immediately have access to miles of walkable neighborhood roads. It’s handy that we don’t need to drive to a park in order to go for a safe walk.

What are you thankful for this week?

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Rebekah in Socal

Friday 10th of September 2021

I am thankful that the library is fully open! (My power is out due to lightning but I am getting AC and internet at the library. It is also nice that their bathrooms are open to the public now.

I am thankful that the lightning didn't start a fire. California has already had there fill of fires.

I am thankful for financial advisors who are helping my husband and I steward our resources as best as we can.

I am thankful for a gas stove. Even with no electricity, I was able to make coffee using boiled water and a pour over.

I am thankful that I didn't have a lot of food in the freezer/fridge. We will likely loose our milk and eggs but the freezer does not have any expensive meat that I would be sad to loose after 2 days without power.

Ann W.

Friday 10th of September 2021

Thankful for ...

1. My oldest doing well in school. I got a message from her teacher saying that she's doing great, loves learning and is kind to everyone. That makes me one proud mama!

2. My wonderful and oh so helpful husband. Although he just got off his 12 hour night shift and was very tired, he volunteered to walk our 2 oldest to school and watch my youngest who was sick and kept me up last night, to let me sleep in for a couple hours. Shows just how much he loves me!

3. These bodies that God gave us and the amazing abilities for them to heal themselves. Been thinking about that again with 2 out of 3 kids sick and my husband mending from his broken ribs.

4. Facebook mom groups where we can ask any questions we have, get support and plan outings together with.

5. Beautiful sunsets and gorgeous sandy shores. We live near a major river and try to get out there as often as possible to enjoy the surroundings. As for sunsets, I am in awe since they always remind me of how God is like an artist and his canvas is the sky.

Susan M.

Friday 10th of September 2021

I am right there with you on the kitten front! I have decided that when I โ€œretireโ€ from being a homeschool mom, I want to become a โ€œcat cuddlerโ€ at our local animal shelter. :) I am thankful 1) that my daughter was able to go for a short hike this week. She strained her knees this summer, and we have been waiting for them to heal. They are not 100% yet, but are improving. I found some adorable mushrooms on our hike, and took pictures of them and posted on my blog here https://chickadeecove.blogspot.com/2021/09/frugal-friday-week-of-august.html I am thankful that 2) my daughterโ€™s violin teacher was able to fix my broken violin bow. I was SUPER relieved and thrilled when I showed the teacher the sad remains of my bow, and she looked at it and said โ€œOh THAT is an easy fix!โ€ Then she rummaged around in a plastic box and pulled out the exact part that my bow needed! An โ€œeyelet,โ€ which is basically a screw inside the bow that mine had gotten stripped. I thought for sure I would need to purchase another bow, and this broken one was $200. Instead, the teacher said the part was about $2.00โ€“and she didnโ€™t even have me reimburse her for the part! I am thankful 3) that I was able to go with my friend this week when sadly her precious cat had to be put down. I wish so badly the cat could have been helped, but itโ€™s lungs were filled with bloody fluid and the vet said it was either heart failure or cancer. At least I was able to be with my friend, so she wasnโ€™t at the vetโ€™s by herself. I may not have been able to cure her kitty for her, but I was able to sit there with her and join her in crying for her loss. I am thankful 4) that our own kitty is alive and well. It was only a year and a half ago that I lost my own cat I had had for 19 years, so I remember very well the loss and pain from losing a precious friend. We have since gotten a new cat, who is not the same at all but has still brought a lot of joy into our lives. I have him some extra love this week. I am thankful 5) that our weather has cooled down todayโ€”our air conditioning is actually turned off! Now, if Fall would just be nice and long, before we need to start running the heat!

Erika JS

Friday 10th of September 2021

The best part of the thankfulness blog each week is the reminder of things you might have taken for granted. Mushrooms! I, too, adore anything mushroom-related. These photos are adorable. A walkable neighborhood. Itโ€™s a favorite pastime here and I love that everyone you pass greets you with a little smile or hand waveโ€”even the drivers.

A loving partner and two boys who make us proud in their hard work and lovely families are daily on my thankfulness list. Reading the lists from this community makes me realize that itโ€™s also the little things that are huge happiness makers.

On that score, I have a grey and white winter scarf, knitted by a former work colleague, that feels extra soft to me because I call it the kitty scarf for its resemblance to soft and sweet kittens. Yay to more kitten and cat photos!

Victoria

Friday 10th of September 2021

You and Sonia might like Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake, and youโ€™ll find it extra fascinating with your medical studies. Itโ€™s basically about how fungi rules the world. I can only read it in small batches so I can go away and reset my internal views on the world! Which sounds nuts, but thereโ€™s an awful lot of things I though plants and animals did, when it turns out itโ€™s the fungi living in/on them. Scientists are using fungi and slime mould, because of the way it moves, to design emergency exit routes among other things.

You might also like Other Minds by Godfrey-Smith, all about cephalopods.

Iโ€™m thankful for seeing the osteopath this afternoon. That my work calls yesterday went well. That my partner is lovely. That my FILโ€™s first chemo was ok. That I get to look out and enjoy the plants in the garden.

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