January 13, 14, 15, and counting...

Reasons to be authentically grateful and joyous continue to pile up for me, how about you?

Friday/Saturday/Sunday, January 13, 14, 15, 2024

One missed deadline rolled right into the next day and the next, but here I am, with a 72 hour blitz of gratitude and appreciations! I like to do this because, for me, moments of gratefulness tend to bounce around me like so many hail stones making music while falling upon a frozen pond…I encourage you to give it a try.

My Friday & Monday night appreciation:

I am grateful for technology. I didn’t used to be. I have a luddite streak about as wide as my 45’ x 100’ garden, as numerous as the twelve dozen eggs sitting in my shoe room, and as clear as wheel barrow water after it is purified by my 4Patriots water filtration system. But, as I’ve matured and aged (like a fine wine, a jar of well-aged Kimchi, or a block of extra sharp cheddar), I’ve come to realize that truly accepting “the bad with the good” means appreciating those useful tools which also inevitably have the potential to be abused.

And so, on the technological front, I am surprisingly grateful for the two polyester beanies gifted to me by my (and my Mom’s) friend Ann (from Scotland)! I’m also grateful for my reason for using these nifty devices — my insistent kitty (Hobbes) who helped me discover the absolute JOY of gardening on frozen, dry, clear nights in the middle of winter.

Honestly, give it a try! All the way down to 15 degree fahrenheit, in my light pajama bottoms, scarf, and gloves, with a thermal top and warm winter trench coat, I can happily spend 1-2 hours trimming, weeding and pruning to my hearts’ content! All while my kitties race about, hunting and playing and getting tired out (which leads to a much better night’s sleep for the whole family).

Without the headlamp, this would be much harder or even impossible.

My Sunday Appreciation:

Thank goodness for ice skates & social media! Here on Vashon, we all know to watch carefully when freezing temperatures make a consistent appearance. Fisher Pond (a short walk through the forest from the back of our property) is the largest body of fresh water on our island, and every so often, it freezes over. An island family keeps the tradition alive of watching the pond and, when it’s safe, putting out boxes and boxes of ice skates gathered over the years for community use.

Immediately, the word goes out on local Facebook groups, and the island arrives to celebrate the brisk cold! Say what you want about the down side of Facebook (and there’s a long, steep slope of downness to speak of), but communication is powerful and my younger son (22) spent almost all of Sunday skating on the pond with dozens of other islanders. Interestingly, this year the ice was like clear, black glass. Usually, our deep freezes come with snow, hail and other cold white things, but this year, it’s just been clear, cold and dry. The effect was spectacular, and I’m so grateful to the folks some centuries ago who figured out that (of all things) it became easier to move on ice when balancing on thin blades of metal! Who knew?

My Saturday Appreciation:

Wood Stoves and Propane. When the wind blows mightily and electric lines collapse under falling trees, these two sources of energy are most excellent. The one (wood) can be smoky, unless one has a nifty, relatively modern piece of technology called a “wood burning stove.” And, if you’re lucky enough, it’ll have a cook top surface and an oven (like my Nectre model).

Did you know that Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (George Washington’s wife) had to cook meals for everyone from revolutionaries to visiting dignitaries on an open fire with cast iron hooks that swung out over the coals to boil water or soup, bake breads and puddings, or roast meat? Thanks to developing technology, my “fallback” option for heating and cooking during a power outage is far more advanced, efficient and safe/clean than what the 1st First Lady had to work with…

Photo: Christine Taranto

And don’t get me started on the joys of propane! I am an absolute fan of this imported fossil fuel, for reasons I can go into at another date. For now, let me just say, the key to staying warm, safe and comfortable in the winter is energy DIVERSITY!