Attitude of Gratitude
Honestly … I have a warm roof over my head, work I love, pets that are a joy, a full pantry and freezer. I am so very thankful.
In the last weeks (maybe months): tornadoes, fires, volcano (I am so heartbroken for Tonga!), winter storms in the east … one ongoing this weekend… and Europe, particularly Greece where blog friend Margaret lives. Holy Cow!
Every time that I think of being a bit whiny about anything, I think of Tonga particularly. Three years ago … and I cannot remember exactly how I got started, but I was watching “Gone with the Wynns” (https://www.youtube.com/c/gonewiththewynns). It was the start of my renewed interest in sailing and particularly ocean sailing … not that I want to do it myself, but as a spectator and drawing on my own sailing experience as well as my technical knowledge, it was fascinating to see the evolution of sailing and technology.
Then, 2 years ago, the Wynns ended up in Tonga … stranded in the COVID19 lockdown/closed border situation. They used their time in Tonga to learn about the people. They leveraged their YouTube exposure to raise money for animal rescue and clean water for Tongans. During that time of watching and participating, I myself became involved and interested and learned about a place that I might not have except for the Wynns and COVID19.
So, I felt somewhat personally devastated with the news of the volcano and the impact on the Tonga Islands and the lovely people there.
Not to diminish the losses in the U.S., but here we have so many advantages: insurance, FEMA, so darn much money and resources, advance knowledge (storms) … not quite the same as a cataclysmic volcanic eruption on the remote islands of Tonga or the impact in countries like Greece with not the same infrastructure support.
At any rate, it has made anything that might be considered a problem in my own life … insignificant!
So … walking … yes, it is not ideal, but thanks to a few flurries, it is MUCH better and Emmett and I continue to take advantage of good conditions on the state land. I am beyond grateful that we can take walks of 1/4- 1.25 miles right from the house … boots or snowshoes for me and good conditions for Emmett.
We had another power cut … astonishing! Again in the morning …
So, I bought a portable butane camp stove … thus guaranteeing that we will not have another morning outage!
Yes, I can cook on the woodstove, but since I don’t keep the woodstove going constantly, to get it going from cold and get it going enough to do things like make coffee … hours! Hence, the above.
Meanwhile, cozy mornings with dear Emmett and Oscar …
And lovely walks in the woods.
If you follow my Instagram, this is a repeat …
I typically have the ability to shut out background noise when working … but “hear” abnormal quiet or activity … the TP adventure got away from me.
4 Responses to “Attitude of Gratitude”
Way to go, Oscar! You just have to laugh and know he had fun.
A good time was had by all! Emmett was maybe a bit concerned – I think he has a good sense of right and wrong :) But as I was laughing out loud, he got over it. And I was having a frustrating morning with getting some code to work, so the laugh break was very welcome!
Thanks for thinking of us here in Greece. In Athens it was a disaster with people trapped in their cars for seven hours. A whole train was trapped in the middle of nowhere for 20 hours with passengers on it. And some people are without electricity still. Here we had no snow, although it snowed in Mykonos and Crete! But it has been super cold. Below zero every day with a high of 0°C. Schools are starting an hour later because of the cold – windows must be open because of Covid! It is mostly sunny, which is known here as ‘sun with teeth’ which is the only good thing. Right now it is -2°C.
The disaster in Tonga was terrible. I think there are more Tongans in N.Z. than in Tonga and they couldn’t get any news from their families and friends. The islands were devastated and a tsunami destroyed a marina in N.Z.
But let’s be thankful for what we have, as you said. We have food to eat, we are relatively warm and safe. And we have our furry friends and we are healthy. Many blessings!
The highway situation made my news feed, but I hadn’t seen about the train or long power outages.
It is hard to imagine the devastation on Tonga as well as the power of something to send so much water, with so much force, so far.
I am so ashamed of us here in the U.S. … complaining about masks and vaccine and pandemic restrictions … I sometimes want to just shake people!!
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