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Friday, November 24, 2017

Grateful

Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart.  
                                                        Henry Clay

If you live here in the U.S., or if you don't, but enjoy celebrating a day of Thanksgiving, I hope that you have enjoyed a wonderful meal, and maybe some time spent with family and friends. 

For me, it has been a bit of a trying week. 

The surgery that my dog Gracie had for the broken blood vessel in her ear, it seems was not done correctly and caused a huge problem. We were out of town, but found a wonderful vet who ended up doing emergency surgery. Leaving her in the office, crying for me, absolutely broke my heart. When I got home, I sat down at the kitchen table, put my head in my arms and just cried. We were able to pick her up that evening, and she and I have not been apart since. I am so very grateful for such a kind, caring, and knowledgeable veterinarian.  

We had friends visit for Thanksgiving. I love to make special meals on holidays, so I began the day with Cottage Pancakes with Roasted Strawberries. My new oven evidently cooks at a very high heat as the strawberries boiled over the side of the pan and burned the bottom. It was an absolute mess. My girlfriend and I worked, and worked, and worked at trying to get the burned sugar off of the bottom of the oven. I was in a bit of a panic as I needed to cook the turkey and I didn't want to heat the oven and burn the sugar even more. She said, "No problem, we'll just cook the turkey on the grill." We ended up cooking the turkey, sweet potatoes, and the asparagus on the grill. OMG!!!! everything was soooo good. The only thing that was missing was the pie, but we were all very satisfied, so the pie really wasn't missed.

In the course of putting our dinner together, I managed to stop up the sink by putting potato skins down the disposal. Evidently you aren't supposed to put potato skins down a disposal. I had no idea! One thing that my husband absolutely hates is plumbing issues. When I saw the sink back up, I said, "Oh my, Carl is going to have a fit!" My girlfriend said that it might go down, so just leave it for a bit. We had managed to keep him out of the kitchen, but when we went out to check on the grill, I looked through the window and there he was at the sink. My heart sank. In 33 years of marriage, he has only lost his temper twice, and I thought for sure this would be the third time, but he kept his cool, and even took dishes down to the basement to wash until we could get something done with the kitchen drain. 

While he was in the basement washing dishes, my girlfriend and I began working on the drain, pouring in baking soda and vinegar, and plunging it. I worked and worked at it and then miracle of miracles, it suddenly went swoosh!, and it was over. My girlfriend and I looked at each other in disbelief, but we did it! But then, the thought occurred to me that all the plunging may have broken the pipe and everything was in the bottom of the cabinet. Nope, it had all gone through smoothly :) She and I have known each other for 35 years, and during that time have done some pretty crazy things. I told her that we can now add plumbers to our list of abilities ;) We are not available for hire!!!

During the course of everything, I managed to run into a cabinet and break a toe. That is more aggravating than anything. Hurts, but hardly the end of the world. 

The quote that I began this post with rings so true for me. A veterinarian that said, "I'm just doing my job." No, not just doing her job, she saved my dog and healed my heart. A friend who stays calm when everything seems to be going wrong, who treats my home with the same importance as if it was hers, and steps up to help when it really isn't her problem. A husband who realized that I was already upset and didn't want to add insult to injury, a blessing beyond measure. Yes, to the one who is giving, it may seem like a small, trivial act, but to the one who is receiving, the gifts really do strike deeply in the heart. And, I am so very grateful.

I have said it before, but gratitude can never be expressed enough...
A heartfelt thank you to all of you who take the time to stop by, read my words, maybe leave a message, or send a note. You warm my heart and remind me of the wonderful gift this life truly is.

Gracie and me :) After she came home, the incision in the middle of her ear began to bleed a bit. I put a band-aide over it and now she won't let me take it off as it's rather stuck to the stays that have been sewn into her ear. Oh well, I'll eventually get it off.       


May you too experience blessings that strike deeply in your heart.
Rhonda 



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28 comments:

  1. Beautiful words. You are blessed to have such wonderful people in your life.

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  2. A trying time. I hope everything returns to a normal peaceful pace for you soon. And Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

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  3. The photo of you and Gracie.....is everything.

    Blessings right back to you Rhonda!

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    1. Thank you Sue! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving 😊

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  4. Sounds as if you received your Christmas gift early. You Know the best gift of all LOVE.
    Becca G

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    1. It truly is 😊 And yes, I have received many lovely gifts in the recent days. Thanks Becca!

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  5. So that Gracie has less trauma, try warm washcloth on her ear. This may make the "stickum" softer. Both of you need cuddles in addition to the good friends you already have.

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    1. Thanks for the advice Kathy. Her ear is so sensitive right now. I’m going to leave it alone this evening, but will use a warm cloth tomorrow morning. Thanks again!

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  6. Wow, what a week. Glad it has all worked out in the end. Hope the toe heals quickly.

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    1. Thanks Vicki. As they say, all’s well that ends well 😉 This is the 3rd time I have broken a toe. I need to watch where I’m going, or put on a pair of shoes!!!

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  7. Sending Light to you and your loved ones. May your Thanksgiving blessings continue!

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    1. Thank you 😊
      Gracie is healing quite nicely, so all is good.
      May your holidays hold special blessings for you.

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  8. Oh my, big, big hugs for Gracie. So glad she is doing OK now. Sometimes we need a crazy day. At least you got to share it with a friend. Glad everything turned out. Everything on the grill? Must try that.

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    1. Cooking on the grill was really quite easy. What I loved the most were the seeet potatoes, soft in the middle with a crunching edge. Oh, and the asparagus...amazing!

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  9. Oh my gosh, what a lovely blog post. The love you are surrounded with is palpable. Hugs to you.

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    1. Thank you Cathryn! Yes, I am very blessed to be surrounded by so many caring people, at home, and here in the internet world 😊

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  10. Sorry to hear that you have had such a stressful time but I am glad that you have such good people around you and that Grace is on the mend. Sending you very best wishes for Thanksgiving. Xx

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  11. What great memories you and your girl friend made that day. Glad it turned out so well. So happy that Gracie is on the healing path,she will be well soon. I have a wonderful hubby like yours he just shows up at the worst times when I am drowning I n cooking and helps me out. You are truly a bleasing to me I read your blog every day.

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  12. Hope your toe and Gracie's ear heal quickly. Your description of the plumbing debacle was hilarious! I can only imagine how you felt when you wondered if you'd blown out the pipe; well it's times and events like that that provide the stories later on! It's wonderful to have such a great friend isn't it.

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  13. I am so glad Gracie is now on the right track. I totally understand how you felt. In 2015, my doggie got sick and was misdiagnosed with pancreatitis. I was sent home and instructed to give her some meds. She got so much worse...she almost died...but we went to a different vet who diagnosed her with autoimmune disease. She has been on a low dose of prednisone and she is still with us, 15 years old. What a heart wrenching and horrible experience that was but yes, I too am grateful for a talented and knowledgable vet.

    Your description of the situation with the sink was hilarious. It would have made a great episode on "I Love Lucy."

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  14. I am so glad things began to work out eventually because days like yours can certainly get the best of us. Your grateful heart is also encouraging to others. Glad your dog is doing better.
    Marie

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  15. Once at Christmas, my older sister insisted on putting peels from 10 lbs of potatoes down the disposal. I disagreed, but she made a scene in front of other guests. It cost $400 to unplug the lines. She paid half. You did very well holding yourself together, my dear Ronda. The dog would have sent me over the edge of sanity. God bless.

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  16. Hooray for good friends and good husbands (and good vets too)! I can imagine you thinking "what more can happen?" So glad your Gracie is on the mend and I hope you are too. I ran my little toe into a box and broke it almost 30 years ago and I'm still extremely cautious walking barefoot around obstacles.

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  17. For some reason, my ipad/phone don't like to leave messages in your website, so when I'm away from home, it's a challenge to write. In any case, I've been thinking of you and the challenges you've been facing. I'm glad things are turning out well for Gracie and hope that's still the case. I hope your toe pain has settled down and you can think about other things.

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  18. The part of your story that hit me hardest was your broken toe! I’ve been there and it really hurts. So sending you healing thoughts, so glad Gracie is better!

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