Friday, July 23, 2021

Friday's Fave Five #643



Welcome to Friday's Fave Five!  Staying focused on our blessings and being grateful is our goal no matter our circumstances.  Being intentional in pausing to be thankful to God for the good things He blesses us with in this life.  Won't you join us in sharing 5 of your blessings this week?  Guidelines are in the sidebar if you've never joined us before.

update:  Linky should now be working!

~ earlier darkness~  It's starting to get dark about 9:45 in my part of the world.  And I know.  I'm probably the odd one out but I think this is the perfect time for night time to arrive.  When it was still light out after 10:30 at night I don't get sleepy soon enough. Before 9 o'clock and I feel like my evening is robbed and winter's 5 p.m. is just wrong.  But this 9:45 works just right for my natural body clock.   And the pink night time skies are a joy to behold though it is shrouded in some smoke.  I wish I could keep this 10:00 dusk a permanent thing.



~ neighborhood walks ~ I've been taking the dog out every evening for a neighborhood walk.  We usually go about a mile or so mixing up the directions and streets.  I love strolling the neighborhood in the summer and just seeing everyone's front yards with the flowers blooming and trees filled in.  It's fun to see and glean ideas from what projects people have done to improve or change their homes and yards.  And it gets the pup's extra energy out before bed time.

~ a couple of cooler days ~ it has been really hot here this year.  We have been well above our normal temps for this time of year and haven't had the night time cool downs that we usually get to give some relief.  This past week we got a couple of days that cooled off significantly which was really nice.  

~ free moments in the day ~ with Tamara being home for the past month, she has gifted me pockets of time when she has played with the kids.  Sometimes it been a few minutes, other times it's been an hour.  But each time has been a great gift.  With my job as an in home child care provider with no other staff than myself these moments are very few and far between.  Sometimes I did nothing but take a few sips of HOT coffee in a room that has some peace and other times I've been able to knock off a chore or run to the bank.  I'm going to miss it when she goes back to her city next week.  

~ a dog sitter ~ we have been able to find a young lady who is willing to sit our pup when we need to go out of town.  This is a huge thing for us.  In the past either Tamara or Jeremy lived at home or my mom would take the dog.  But now all my adult kids live out of town and Mom is no longer able to care for a dog.  It's hard to trust your house and pets to someone.  But we think we may have found just the right person.  She came and met the dog last night and we were surprised and pleased when he immediately took to her.  

What has been blessings for you this last week?









9 comments:

Gattina said...

We have nice weather not too hot not too cold, the funny thing is it's cooler in the afternoons than in the evenings !! How nice from your daughter to keep the little devils sometimes so that you can take a break ! I imagine that it is tiring being with little once the whole day ! I also have a kitty sitter, my neighbor just next door ! But for the moment I don't travel, too complicated and then I prefer to stay here and help my husband to get used in his new home ! I have the feeling that now he really likes it ! Of course he is the rooster amongst all hens ! Lol !

Faith said...

9:45 pm it is just getting dark where you are???!! WOW...that's us in June but by now it's getting dark around 9 pm. We're on the East Coast so I guess that makes sense.......I LOVE Summer evenings!!

YAY For cooler temps. I wrote about that too!!

So glad you found a house/pet sitter!! I've never needed one although I usually get a neighbor girl to water our plants when we are away and the girls are with us. Now that Courtney's moving into her own place, she agreed to pop over to do the plants when we're on vacation next month.

That's so nice that Tamara was able to relieve you of some duties. I'm assuming she found a new apt to move into? I was praying for you all the other day :)

Have a wonderful weekend doing the things you love!!

(ps I clicked on your linky to link up my fff but it isn't working for me).

Barbara Harper said...

I agree completely about nighttime. At the height of summer, it's hard to get to bed on time with it being light so late. The early nightfall of winter feels so closed-in.

That's neat you've got good places to walk in the neighborhood. And how nice to have a few breaks in the week with your daughter at home. I'm glad you've found a good dog sitter.

Just wanted to let you know the Mr. Linky doesn't seem to be working. It's there, but it's not letting me click on anything. I'll put my post here and come back and check later to see if it's working: https://barbaraleeharper.com/2021/07/23/fridays-fave-five-606/.

Deb J. in Utah said...

Hi Susanne. I love your faves this week. So glad that you are getting a few minutes to yourself during the day thanks to your daughter's help. That is so nice of her. I love that the sun is up so late up North where you are. We are now getting dark by 8 p.m. or shortly thereafter. In the winter, it will be dark by 5 p.m.. Finding a good pet sitter is essential when pets are part of the family. Hope you have a good weekend. I won't be joining FFF this week, but will be back next Friday. See you again then!

Wendy said...

I'm glad Tamara gave up some time for you. That's hard work having those little ones on your own all day. It's 9 pm as I write this and it's still light here. Will probably last until 9.30 or so but I have noticed the evenings are just that little bit shorter. Yay for finding a dog sitter. Such a worry when you have to leave them for travels. Cooler here too today. It has been uncomfortably hot this week. Enjoy your weekend Susanne.

Willow said...

I forget that you are so much farther north--of course, sunset is after 10:30 above the 50th latitude. I don't love winter because of the early darkness, but it is harder to sleep when it is light so late.
There are a few blessings to having Tamara back home, even for her. I'm glad she can 'cover' for you a bit.
Yay for the walks and cooler weather!
Love that quote--let's be REBELS!

ellen b. said...

It's funny that we are counting the days that go down into the 90's as a cooling trend. LOL! How nice that your daughter is stepping in and giving you opportunities for stepping away in the midst of your day. When you have pets good sitters are a gift. Hope the weekend is going well.

Blue Cotton Memory said...

Some days - the time to savor a sip of coffee is a feast! One of the things I miss about where I grew up was sunset between 8:30 and nine in the summer - in Tennessee, it's about 7:30 - and I want summer days to last long! Enjoy!

nikkipolani said...

Love that Heckman quote!

Finding that dog sitter is definitely a fave. My co-worker tells me that with the uptick in pet adoptions during the pandemic and now traveling opening up, finding sitters is definitely a problem!

Hurray for pockets of freedom with your daughter at home.