Daily gratitude

Erin Vaganos wrote:I took these guys to the butcher yesterday. It was very bittersweet for me--this is the first time I raised my own hogs. I am thankful that I got to take care of them for the past 7 months. They really tested my problem-solving skills but they made me laugh, too. And I'm thankful for the food they'll provide my family.

It feels good to see someone who loves, respects and is grateful for what our animals provide us with. Perhaps it is taking care of them that increases our gratitude and empathy. [Compare this to trophy hunters who only see a validation of their own skills and toughness, their manhood...]

Today I found myself grateful for having a good well that reliably provides me with clean running water.  I was also grateful for a wonderfully warm spring day!

I’m thankful for

- my nice hair cut.
- sweet quality friendships.
- job opportunities.
- the permie community.
- the ability to dream about future possibilities again.
- the San Diego weather.

I am grateful that I have the courage to try new ideas (at least new to me) even when those around me think I'm crazy or daft or wasting my time.

Some of them may even work!

In the shower this morning it struck me that I hadn't even thought about the sub category of hot water when I was being grateful for having good running water.  With an off grid photovoltaic system and an electric hot water heater the short cloudy winter days reinforces for me just how much energy having hot water requires.  It is such a luxury that I am truly grateful for.  To soak in hot water, or stand under a steaming shower on a cold day is so divine.  Now that the days are longer and sunnier again I find myself feeling wealthy with an abundance of hot water whenever I want it.

While I don't really like flying and it's not a very permie thing to do I am grateful for a smooth uncomplicated flight that was really quite cheap. I'm also grateful to still be able to connect in here at the forums while away from home.

Since I have limited sunny locations safe for annual veggies, I tend to start the seeds in paper pots for easy transplant when they're big enough that a slug can't eat them in a single bite. (Slugs do benefit the soil so I don't want to start harvesting them this early, although if I find a gathering of them, my ducks may get a treat!)
This morning I'm feeling very thankful that I had all I needed in the kitchen to seed 28 pots with a mix of lettuce, broccoli, kale, cabbage, khol rabi, and hong vit -  go forth and germinate little seeds!

Today I'm grateful three connected items:

1. My overstuffed freezer. I went a little "meat hoardy" at the grocery store. I had trouble fitting it all in my freezer. So...
2. My pressure canner. I'm on my third round of canning. Chicken, ground beef, and kosher beanie weenies. Which leads me to...
3. My large pantry. I get a feeling of security seeing all my food stores.

Tonight I'm grateful for a good back rub after a long day of work constructing an exhaust system for a new metals studio/school my girlfriend is starting. I'm also grateful the construction work seemed to go well.

This morning I find myself grateful for Mr Bo Bitey Wiggles and his unbridled enthusiastic joy in greeting me each morning.

I'll be grateful too if this photo successfully attaches this first time I try doing it on my tablet.

This evening I'm grateful to have finally finished constructing the first 3 station soldering exhaust system for a new school/studio business my girlfriend is starting. It has taken longer than I expected but I've learned plenty along the way which should make the next two exhaust systemseasier to do.

I'm also grateful for a hot shower to wash off attic space funk and fiber glass insulation itchies!   A comfortable bed to crash into is much appreciated as well.

I've been finding myself grateful for my training as a sculptor which gave me the basics of working with a wide variety of tools as well as assessing a project to figure out how to take it from conception to full realization. This training has foolishly or fearlessly given me enough confidence to tackle many an ambitious homestead project over the years. Now it's helping me take on and learn more skills as I help my girlfriend get her new metalworking school up and running.

Doing all this I can't help but think of how the SKIP program here at Permies can give others the same sort of training, skills, and confidence.  I'm grateful it too exists.

A long time ago just after I moved to what is now my homestead there was a guy I was very loosely acquainted with who was among the group of people kind enough to help me move.  This young man went a step further than the people I considered my friends. I needed to run electricity out to a couple outbuildings which were to be my art studios/shop. He was a bit of a socially awkward person, as was I.  In hindsight I'd say he was hoping to become friends. At the time he was  also starting as an apprentice electrician. In what was really a huge act of generosity he volunteered to help me do my electrical work.

It is with great shame that I think back on how little gratitude I had for him. I was young and poor and had just spent more money than I ever had in my life.   Sums which would take me almost a decade to pay off.  I was planning to do a very cheap redneck rigged job, likely involving direct buried extension cords and the like.  Instead this fellow was showing me how to do it right to both last and be safe. I was being a grumpy jerk at the home improvement store as he kept piling supplies and needed tools onto the cart.  All I was seeing was the cost, draining away what little savings I had left. It was a significant job requiring a lot of materials. I'm ashamed to say at the time I was a bit resentful of his help because he had me doing it right instead of doing it cheap and dangerous.

He was truly being a kind and generous person to me.   I share all this because today I was yet again reminded of him and how deeply grateful I am for what he did, as I have been many times in the years since. He not only freely helped with a major project,  sharing his knowledge and time, but he taught me the basics from digging conduit trenches to wiring outlets and breaker boxes. I've used that knowledge many times over the years. I  was using it today to try and pass the gift forward helping another friend who just moved into a new space and is strapped for cash.

I wish I had been a better version of myself back then,  nonetheless I am deeply grateful now that he was that better person and still shared all he did with me.

I'm grateful that I did a good job today, working a double, when I normally don't do that any more. I'm grateful that my hens are sweet and good, and always stay together and love their daddy. Grateful that my dog is the sweetest girl in the universe. Grateful that it is now finally Spring, even if it is in the thirties tonight. Grateful for my fridge full of free food, dry house, running cars. I'm grateful that I've discovered why my poison ivy is spreading, and have hopefully now dealt with it (by washing my pillowcases and etc.). I'm grateful to have learned the lesson that that plant is not one to treat light. In fact it scares the bejeezus out of me and this rash is turning me into an itchy reptile. I am grateful to learn prudence and caution from this itchy, scaly, reptilian condition I am currently in.

I love this thread as I feel that it is a  good mental exercise to focus daily on what is going RIGHT in our lives. It is too easy to focus on what is wrong and fret endlessly about it, especially over things that we may not be able to change single handedly. This constant gnawing at our own mental well being is unhealthy and is taking us away from things we CAN do something about.
In Candide, Voltaire said: "il faut cultiver notre jardin". We must cultivate our garden. This is both the physical work of gardening that will bring eventual fruit but also the internal work of educating ourselves, So today, I'm grateful for this thought of Voltaire, and also for this second thought:
"Le bonheur est la seule chose qu'on puisse donner sans l'avoir, et c'est en le donnant qu'on l'acquiert". Happiness is the only thing one can give without having it, and it is by giving it that you acquire it. Isn't that the truth!
I received my second Covid shot and can now look forward to visiting my 2 sons in Chicago. I bought a Ryobi electric auger, and because I needed help putting it in the car, I was afraid that it might be too big for me to handle. Well, fret no more: I put it together and was able to plant 6 trees and 2 bushes in one afternoon. I was fretting all the more that I have a [now] chronic bad back, so lifting is probably not the best thing I could do for it.
The winter run I made 2 years ago for my chickens has been giving me plenty of dry manure. [Dry because it is covered]. This dry manure made it easy to gently till it with my ryobi hand tiller, the one I use on beds and I hoisted it with buckets to deliver it to my beds.
So, yes, the world has not quite righted my ship yet, but it is floating better. At least, it is not longer taking on water.

Nothing profound today - just gratitude that a few years ago, Hubby bungied a skill saw to the ceiling of the cutting shed. A skill saw is heavy for me - my hands are quite small, so most tools have handles that are too wide for me to feel my grip is secure. But the bungie takes ~3/4 of the weight of the saw, leaving me to worry only about controlling it. I needed a small bit of wood cut for a repair in the brooder and although the bungie limits how far I can move the saw requiring me to position and re-position the wood strategically, I got the job done!
Of course, that also reminds me to be grateful for the lowly bar clamp and whoever invented it! And I'm *repeatedly* grateful to the wonderful people who design and build vice grips!

As Cécile says, let's focus on what is right in the world and our lives!

Today I'm incredibly grateful that my husband has quit his job. It's not under the best of circumstances, but it's for the best of his sanity and health. I'm INCREDIBLY thankful that we have other income streams to cover our bills, and he can finally pursue his own entrepreneurial dreams.

Incredibly grateful for our good health and strength to work outside expanding our garden/homestead.

Every morning when I wake up, I am grateful for another day - I mean, really grateful

I am grateful everyday for the clean air, the water, being able to live in peace with mother nature, and always hope/pray the same for all. Been doing this for years and I seem to feel better the rest of the day no matter what gets done or not done. peace to all, rc

I've been dealing with some spotty internet lately which makes me all the more grateful when I do have access to this vast library of information, ideas, people, and perspectives.

I can be grateful when the internet is down too since those periods help to keep me grounded in physical reality where I feel like I should be spending most of my time anyway.

I am grateful that today I was able to walk the 45 minute circuit from my home out onto the mountain, into the forestry and back along the logging path.  

At this time last year I was extremely ill and ended up bedridden for two months with my right leg almost completely paralyzed. For the first time in my life, I had to come to terms with the fact that I might never walk again and that I might not even survive.

It has been a very long road and although I still have a limp on my right side and get tired more more quickly than I used to, I am so utterly grateful to be able to do that walk again.


     

This morning I was thinking about a rather silly thing I am grateful for. Tape in all its various varieties is a wonderfully useful part of modern life I often take for granted. From duct tape that is good for just about everything except ductwork to dangerously sharp aluminum tape which is actually good for ducts, to electrical tape, to masking tapes of all levels of tack (including my preferred brand of drafting tape I use making my art which I now need to import if I want more).  There's probably some level of toxic gick involved in some of these tapes I should be concerned about but I am really grateful for tape, a simple to use tool for sticking things together, temporarily marking spots on a wall, sealing air gaps, and all manner of other things. Thank you to whoever first invented tape and to all the folks who have developed and improved concept since. Thanks as well to all regular working people who manufacture it for me. I am grateful for your efforts.

Today I'm grateful for a crate full of free cotton yarn.

My daughter's sister-in-law is a hoarder. I mean like, overdue on rent for 5 different storage units plus taking over her mom's house kind of hoarder. I don't know the why's and wherefore's of how it came to be. I'm not going to pry. But nonetheless, her family has had to hold a few "interventions" for her.

She gave up some of her stuff, and I was gifted a box of yarn.

I promised that I'd give it a good "home" by making something useful. I've finished one hot pad and am working on another. I've been able to take pictures to show her my progress, and hopefully she'll be emotionally ok knowing that it's getting put to good use.

morning I was thinking about a rather silly thing I am grateful for. Tape in all its various varieties

I don't think that's silly! My great-aunt OFTEN used to say aloud, "I am grateful to whoever invented the zipper."

David Huang wrote:

morning I was thinking about a rather silly thing I am grateful for. Tape in all its various varieties

Stacie Kim wrote:
I don't think that's silly! My great-aunt OFTEN used to say aloud, "I am grateful to whoever invented the zipper."

Where I grew up there was a beautiful house on a cliff overlooking the sea which apparently belonged to the guy who had invented velcro.  We often said how grateful we were to that guy too.

I'm back home again from my travels out to visit my girlfriend and help her get her new business up and running.  While long distance relationships are a challenge I am grateful to have her in my life.  I'm also grateful to be back on my little homestead in the lush midwest instead of the desert climate of the southwest.  Each ecosystem has it's pluses and minuses, but this is the one I grew up with and know the best.

It's spring here and the new green growth is shoot out all over the place.  Poking around today I noticed that the one sea kale plant which has survived and gotten established out of way too many that I have tried planting is putting out it's new leaves for the season.  What I'm especially grateful to have noticed today is that while they are all clumped together it appears to be sprouting from 4 crowns now instead of just the original one!  Yay!  Perhaps next year I shall try digging in to split off some of the crowns.  I just might get a colony of sea kale yet.  :)

Grateful today for good neighbors.

I had a good chat with a neighbor, to whom I had to apologize for the unkempt nature of our property. Hubbie has made a more determined effort to recycle scrap metal as a "side hustle", but that means we have an ever-morphing pile of old junk in our yard. I explained that we'd hoped to get a privacy fence installed. so they didn't have to see our mess, but the prices of lumber have meant we can't afford one right now. She graciously replied, "I'd rather be able to chat with you over the current chain link fence and admire your garden, even if it means y'all have piles of other stuff. If you put up a fence, we wouldn't be able to talk like this."

That warmed my heart.

That's fabulous Stacie!  You've got an awesome neighbor indeed!

Today I'm especially grateful for all the accumulated tools and knowledge I've gotten over the years that allows me to be capable enough to repair things.  The inverter for my off grid solar system has been occasionally shutting down due to overheating when under a high load for long periods.  Today I finally delved into it deeply to see what was up.  My hope was the vents just needed cleaning, and while I'm sure that helped my second suspicion was that one of the two cooling fans had gone bad.  It took 3 different styles of driver bits to get into the case, then some scrap wire and electrical tools to test the fans and determine that one of them is in fact bad.  I've got a couple new fans on order now and should be able to install them and fix the whole issue myself later this week.  I'm grateful for the rich abundance that lets me just order up a replacement part such as this too!

Stacie Kim wrote:

I explained that we'd hoped to get a privacy fence installed. so they didn't have to see our mess, but the prices of lumber have meant we can't afford one right now.

When I wanted some privacy years ago but didn't have much money, I installed a very simple trellis and grew runner beans up it. That only worked for the summer, but I got privacy and beans and pretty flowers (I used Scarlet Runner beans, but there are ones with pretty purple flowers also). Even though the neighbor was gracious, if you have a way to block her view of the messier bits of your husband's "spare parts collection" for the summer, why not do so to be gracious in return?

Jay Angler wrote:Stacie Kim wrote:

I explained that we'd hoped to get a privacy fence installed. so they didn't have to see our mess, but the prices of lumber have meant we can't afford one right now.

When I wanted some privacy years ago but didn't have much money, I installed a very simple trellis and grew runner beans up it. That only worked for the summer, but I got privacy and beans and pretty flowers (I used Scarlet Runner beans, but there are ones with pretty purple flowers also). Even though the neighbor was gracious, if you have a way to block her view of the messier bits of your husband's "spare parts collection" for the summer, why not do so to be gracious in return?

This particular neighbor is, let's say...good friends with Roundup. Ugh... Last year I grew tomatoes along our common fence and specifically told them they were tomatoes. They were welcome to harvest anything that poked through to their side of the fence. (We have a chain link fence.) Not only did they NOT harvest any of the tomatoes, but we were often picking up rotten, fermented tomatoes from their side so that they didn't have to deal with it. *sigh*

So we decided that growing edibles along our common fence was not the wisest decision. I do have blackberry vines started further down the fence, far away from the mess. I'm hoping they don't get killed!!

I do have other trellises further inside our property line, which hopefully will grow lush cucumber vines. Hubbie is making several trips to the scrap metal yard each week, so the mess is remaining manageable.

I will brainstorm other trellis systems we can install to hide the mess. We'll have to work around parking issues and underground utilities, but you've got my creative juices flowing. Thanks, Jay!

I'm grateful that my first-ever-solo batch of soap turned out all right. For the past year I worked with an old friend and now that I'm making changes this was the first attempt on my own. The bars are now cut, the air is filled with the scent of sandalwood, and I am pleased.

This morning I'm grateful to Liv Smith for reminding me of this thread by including it in the Permies Daily-ish.  Thanks Liv!

I'm also grateful for my county road commission.  I live on a short dirt road out in a rural area.  When I first moved here 25+ years ago I was worried about how bad the condition of the road might get.  There have been times it's gotten a bit rough, but in general through all these years they have been very good about regularly reworking and tending to the road.  Just this morning I saw them come by with the big grater to try and fix the washboard effect that's been developing.  I've noted many times over the years when my dirt road was nicer to drive on than some of the potholed and patched paved roads.

I'm grateful for the rain we got the last couple of days.  The sun is out now, and I'm listening to the birds singing there happy song. Sounds like they are grateful too.

Today, my younger son responded to one of my many texts to say that he might visit for the Holidays. He has been going through a rough pass and my hope is that he is finally coming out through the other side.
His lack of communications over these last 2 years often made me cry.
Today, I'm grateful that the good relationship we had may soon be restored.

Today I am grateful for the downloadable Solar plan in the permie daily email! Also grateful for my children who are beautiful people, and grateful that three of them support themselves now, and I have just one child remaining at home - which is easier and cheaper for me.

Today I am grateful for friends willing to get up early in the morning to give me a ride!!  I will admit my social capital is a bit lacking as I am generally a homebody introvert.  So I have extra gratitude for friends to who do put up with me.  :)  

I love this thread. I am posting to express my gratitude for it! And also so that it gets on my watch-list and I get notified and reminded to post gratitude... (stacking functions!)

I am grateful that used computers are very cheap and I can afford to have a back-up computer when my primary inexplicably stops working...

I am grateful for Linux and the opensource developers that provide a free product that is incredibly useful for making said used computers work!

I am also really grateful that I have a space for gardening. Being outside, watching plants grow and seeing the little creatures that thrive out there gives me that little connection to nature that I need to feel meaning in my life.

Wonderful thread! Thank you for the opportunity to share my gratitude today.

I am grateful for my partner, who just managed to finish his first week of a new job without too much struggle. He wasn't working in a payed job for more than three years due to mental problems. He did volunteer though in this time. We found a little bit of an unusual place where he can be open about his difficulties with stress and other issues. It's still a long way to go for him but the first step is done. He did a great job and I am very proud of him to come that far in the last years.

Today I am grateful for the worms and microbes who will take the poopy woodchips I scooped up off chicken shelter floors and turn it into wonderful soil for my growies next year.

David Huang wrote:Today I'll be going to visit a friend who I am quite grateful has a welder and will let me use it to fix a couple welds I broke on my kindling cracker last fall.  (rough handling with a 4 pound sledge hammer!)  I should perhaps get my own welder sometime because they are such powerfully handy tools, but I don't know that I would use it that much and tool sharing just seems like a more Permie way to go.  Still how awesome is it that we live in a time when equipment to organize fire and bind steel is so readily available!

Rob, that sounds like an awesome project you have going, esp. the fact that you get to be doing with your parents!  It's a blessing to be grateful for indeed!

Jay, a 100% germination rate is fabulous and your post reminds me I have a bunch of various seeds I wanted to plant all over my property about now when the ground has thawed some but before it truly warms up.  The tiny genetic wonders that are seeds are certainly something to be grateful for.  I hope I can get a germination rate that's even half of what you had!

Thanks David - it really is a blessing.

Sometimes everything feels overwhelming...but this life is short.

May we spend as much quality time with our loved ones as we can - while we can.

I'm grateful I can allow myself to have a change of heart about my own ideology and opinions.

Today I'm grateful for the love of gardening.  It gives me joy, it calms me when I'm stressed, gives me exercise, and gets me in the sun. If that's not enough, I get food, flavorful herbs, and beautiful, amazing smelling flowers. Yes, I'm truly grateful.