Glad that I live am I

This, some of you may remember, is a little fabric book I made years ago, using my own hand-dyed fabrics, and ink-jet printing on fabric. It contains the words of a childhood hymn, written by Lizette W. Reese (1856 -1935) I always thought it came from St Francis of Assisi but that's not correct. The words of this hymn came spontaneously to mind the other morning, for no particular reason. It made me think of all the words we use for 'gladness' - gratitude, thankfulness, appreciation ....perhaps you can come up with some more. This led me on to think about other Bloggers who periodically include in their posts a short list of 'things to be grateful for'.  I think it's a salutary practise to acknowledge the things in life that we appreciate, on a regular basis. So that is what this post is about. Of course, the 'givens' are family and friends, reasonably good health and a comfortable standard of living, but other events and material things come along for which I may not regularly express my gratitude. So here goes.

First up is this lovely little collection:

Ceramic buttons! Made by clever Cathy Daniels at Potter Jotter blog. They arrived the day I got back from Burwell, and they are Sooooooo gorgeous. Look at the detail on the two below -

The foot, I think, was a little joke recalling the operation I had last year - Cathy you should have put a bandage on it! They are fab, and I am really grateful for them and for your kindness, Cathy!

Ooops, slightly out of order...but you know how it goes. Other things I am grateful for can be found in the garden .........

The hollyhocks are popping up all over the place, beautiful colours. And on the veggie side, though it has been  poorer than usual crop-wise, we have had some brilliant courgettes - and I know others have noticed the same in their gardens too. This is just one small patch, there are more in the greenhouse and more in the main veggie-patch.

And a major thing I am appreciating at the moment, is our new little caravan being at its new home in Wales. Look at the site, isn't it wonderful? Jim said the scenery is breathtaking.

            Here we are, at a temporary spot, we'll be moving to another plot in a week or two.

                                           Loving the greenery and the spaciousness of it all.

    And how's that for a view each morning? Whichever way you turn there are mountains and trees.

And this is the reception centre on the side of the farmhouse. I'm really looking forward to going across and spending a few days there. Who'd have thought - me in a caravan!

And I especially appreciate No. 1 Son, who towed the van most of the way to Wales and taught his dad how to do it safely. I know Jim was quite anxious about the thought of doing this on his own, but now he feels a lot more confident. Thanks Mike for taking the time to help the Old Man out and put your Ma's mind at rest!

So there you are. Perhaps I should add my thanks and gratitude to all my Burwell Bash friends who made the week so enjoyable. So many things to appreciate. And thank you for reading my blog!