Hello everyone!
I trust you all had a very Merry Christmas. I was well organized ahead of schedule for Christmas this year. Christmas Day was nice and easy and I was able to make Christmas dinner at a leisurely pace and enjoy the quiet. Since Christmas I have been struggling with a bad cold and am just trying to keep warm. I have my heat on full blast but it is still quite draughty/drafty. I'll be glad when the new week begins as by then we are forecasted to return to normal seasonal temperatures.
December 24th was my last post for Gratitude December. Today I will include my gratitude items for the rest of this month.
December 25 - I'm grateful for the annual celebration of the birth of Christ. Though we all have different traditions it is so nice that there is a special day set aside to honour this historic event even if the actual day of Jesus' birth is not precisely on December 25th. Some people celebrate Christmas up until January 6th or the Feast of Epiphany.
December 26 - I'm grateful for the turkey we had for Christmas dinner because it is a traditional meal and there is always someone in the family who needs to keep up traditions for the other family members to enjoy. Sometimes I don't feel like making these big meals but I know how disappointing it would be to my late mom and sister to know that and how disappointing for my family members to see and experience a holiday without the traditional holiday feast. I also feel good when I'm able to prepare the meal for loved ones. Added advantages are leftovers to eat and that means less cooking for a few days. So many things for which to be thankful for from a simple roasted turkey.
December 27 - Winter storms have been harsh across the entire province during this Christmas season. I'm grateful I have shelter because it started snowing on December 24th and has been very cold since then. Earlier in the month I said I was grateful for shelter but I'm even more grateful during very cold (and very hot) days. There are many who are on the streets or in Single Occupancy Rooms (SROs) that don't have any heating despite the fact that the city has a by-law requiring that rented SRO properties be heated to 72 degrees Fahrenheit.
December 28 - I'm grateful I have a good yarn stash. When the mood strikes I can start a project without running to the store. In this case I've started making a 'happy' (yellow and white) coloured dishcloth.
December 29 - I'm grateful for my extra long, faux fur coat, hat and heavy duty winter boots on a very chilly day. A snowstorm was expected today but I decided to go for a walk to the library and felt able to do so because I have the right clothing and foot wear. Along the way I received 3 compliments on my coat. I seldom get a chance to wear such a warm coat in Vancouver. It requires a cold, snowy day not a rainy day otherwise the 'fur' would get matted. I always get several compliments when I do wear it because people in my city don't wear such coats. You will be more likely to find a long faux fur coat or a real one, on the streets of Ottawa, Canada or someplace like Moscow, Russia. Men especially seem to like the long coat. When I left the library to run one last errand before making my way home again, the snow had started to fall and there weren't that many people out for a walk or for errands due to the cold.
December 30 - I'm grateful I spent some time over the holiday to sort through and get rid of some old papers. I've still got a long way to go but most of the small boxes and tubs of papers are sorted. Once I get through sorting the next piles I'll begin shredding. It will be a happy day. December 31 - I already know how I want to end the month of gratitude. I'm so very grateful I've made it through 2021 and that my loved ones did as well.
Personally, I've made great strides in getting through a lot of 'old business' in 2021. I've also done other things like work on crafts, read a lot of books, attended to health issues (some of which were unexpected), kept up the family connections and forged ahead with the missions in Kenya.
I will begin the new year feeling good about the state of things at home and I'm cautiously optimistic about everything else in the world.
I am grateful that I was able to send everyone on my Kenyan list a small gift to make their Christmas Day special. I was able to send to everyone on the for sure list and on the maybe list and also to one who was not on the list. In addition, I added some other unexpected things that came up: eye examination for one person and a contribution toward eye glasses (more funds required before glasses can be ordered). There was also an urgent need for funds to begin a legal process of getting land titles registered (half the funds required have been sent). Since January is planting season, funds were also sent for one farm/shamba which provides maize (corn), variety of vegetables and tea for 4 households for the coming year.
I've linked to the needs as mentioned in previous posts. As always, if you are able to assist the grassroots people in Kenya we would love to hear from you. You can find a Pay Pal button to the right of this blog (click the red flower). Alternatively, you can send me an email (at the address on my Blogger profile page) if you need more information. I'd dearly love to find monthly sponsors for Janet and her daughters in the photo above. Someone who could help while Janet establishes her business and someone who could help the girls with school fees.
Last, but not least, let me end by thanking each and every one of you who visit this blog and take the time to read my posts. A special thank you to those that also take time to comment. If not for you, I would have already closed this blog. But faithful readers and commenters give motivation to continue. You are appreciated.
I also want to wish each of you and your families and loved ones a very Happy New Year. My hope is that 2022 will be a better year where we can get back to meeting and spending time with friends and loved ones near and far.
