On Sunday, Engie had a guest post by Kae. Kae posted “20 Things I’m Grateful For.” It’s SO easy to focus on what’s wrong in our lives, but in fact we all have so much that’s good. I was inspired to make my own gratitude list.
Now, if it really were “Texas-Style” it would probably be 100 items long, because everything is bigger in Texas! I’ll just stick to 5- but since I’m in Texas I’ll go ahead and call it Texas-style.
- I’m sooooo grateful that we got out of Florida when we did! We started driving on Saturday- straight up the state and then over through the panhandle. Had we left a day later we would have hit some really bad weather, and had we left two days later we wouldn’t have been able to drive at all, as Hurricane Debby slammed into northern Florida.
- Although I’m not running right now, I’m very grateful that I can walk. This morning I had a lovely walk all over the Baylor Campus. I have to remind myself that some people can’t walk- and I was one of them a few months ago! If this trip had happened in March, I wouldn’t have been able to walk on my sprained ankle. So, I’m lucky.
It was a hot, but beautiful day! - I’m going to copy Kae on this one- I’m grateful for indoor plumbing The book I’m reading (Ken Follett’s Fall of Giants) opens with a family living in South Wales in 1911. They do NOT have indoor plumbing, and use a communal “bathroom”, which is a brick hut down the street from their house. There’s a compartment for men and another for women, and each compartment has a double seat, so people use the toilet two by two. ACK!!! Very grateful for my nice, private toilet in my house.
- I’m grateful for podcasts! On the twenty hour drive to Texas, my son and I listened to Andrew Huberman, Ezra Klein, and a new-to-me podcast called “The Rest is History.” We listened to six episodes all about the buildup to WWI, which was a perfect prelude to the book I’m reading now. There’s a wealth of information out there and it’s all FREE.
- I’m grateful for money in the bank to buy groceries. We went to the local HEB to stock up on groceries for my son, and we got a lot! As much as we complain about the cost of food, at the end of the day we can fill our carts, swipe the bank card, and come home with all sorts of delicious food.
Since this post is Kae-inspired, I’m including a photo of Charlie’s look-alike!!! My son’s roommate is taking care of his parents’ dog right now, so I get to play and snuggle with Baxter!
What would be on your gratitude list? Anyone else grateful for indoor plumbing?
22 Responses
I am completely with you re indoor plumbing!! As you know, I have had to use the bathroom in a lot of bushes, porta potties and public restrooms in the last few months and when I have one that is all mine, I cherish it!!
I read The Pillars of the Earth years ago and really loved it so I hope you do too!! I actually haven’t really met a Folet book that I don’t like, although they are a bit long at times!! However, he does such a good job with the history, and makes the story interesting to boot, that you can’t put it down!
Yes, this one is VERy long but I’m loving it so far. And- ha ha, I’ve used plenty of bushes and porta potties. It’s okay when I’m out on a deserted trail or something like that, but when I’m home I want my own toilet!
Word. I may complain about having three bathrooms to clean but the point is I have THREE COUNT ‘EM THREE bathrooms at my disposal.
Podcasts are such a wealth of information…for FREE.
Enjoy the doggy snuggles!
I know- not only do we have indoor plumbing but we have MULTIPLE BATHROOMS. Boy, are we spoiled.
OMG–Baxter/Charlie is like our Huck!
I’m glad you had a safe road trip and have successfully ensconced your boy at college. I was thinking of you yesterday when they said Hurricane Debbie had changed course.
Yep, we’re here and I’ll be flying back tomorrow. My son didn’t really need my help on this trip, but we like to pretend : ). It’s good to spend time together.
My first thought when I saw Baxter was – that’s Charlie’s twin 🙂
So much to be grateful for; I think about the being able to buy groceries one a lot. And also that I can buy groceries AND still have internet and pay the rent etc. I know some people have to prioritize eating vs. having a roof over their heads and it’s just such a blessing to have enough to cover all the human necessities – yet a blessing that is SO easy to take for granted.
I’m with you on indoor plumbing though, TMI, I did use an outhouse yesterday as my parents house on the lake still has outdoor plumbing as well. The indoor bathroom was in use so I trekked through the woods to an outhouse. That’s about the extent to which I’m willing to do “camping” these days.
So glad you made it out of Florida safely. The campus looks lovely. I just adore walking around university campuses.
Yes, this one is really beautiful, and I enjoyed having the time to THOROUGHLY explore. That’s funny your parent’s lake house still has outdoor plumbing- it must be an old house! Now, can you imagine if that’s all there was- no indoor plumbing, and every time you need the bathroom you had to trek through the woods??? Eek.
There is so much to be grateful for that we tend to take for granted, like indoor plumbing! I was very grateful for that the weekend of my race because I was staying in a condo only 5 minutes from the start so I didn’t have to deal with the gross portapotties this time!
I am grateful to be able to run even though it’s tough right now with the heat and we even have some humidity from the monsoon. But we have also gotten some rain which is much needed so I’ll put up with the humidity for that.
Oh wow- humidity must feel weird to you! I’m in Texas now where the early, early mornings actually feel pleasant (compared to Florida) but by the afternoon it’s 100 degrees.
Not dealing with gross porta potties is definitely something to be grateful for.
Oh, I am with you on the indoor plumbing! My big take-away from doing the Cologuard test at home is that it gave me a new respect for the, ahem, odor-covering properties of the plumbing. Yay for flush toilets!
I’m glad you got out ahead of Debby, and I hope the aftermath doesn’t cause you any problems on the return trip.
As far as I know, the return trip should be smooth (ahem. Hopefully.) South Florida didn’t have any damage from this storm.
Yes, yay for flush toilets!!!
Yes to indoor plumbing – and heated water! And electricity, too! I visited my friend in the peace corp years ago in the Dominican Republic. She lived up in a sort of mountainous region that did not have electricity. The previous volunteer’s project was an aqueduct which brought in running water. Her project was building stoves for families so they would not cook over an open fire which is terrible for your lungs. I had a great time visiting her but when I got back to the US I kind of want to get on my knees and kiss the ground because I was so happy to be back to all the things we take for granted. Even in the cities you could not count on running water and there would be power outages at times, too.
I’m glad you guys were out of FL before Debby hit! Yikes! Did you listen to the Ezra Klein conversation with Tim Walz, our state governor? Harris chose him as her running mate. He is AWESOME but I’m sad for our state to lose him. But I guess we have to be generous and share the talent. He is the most likeable person – he grew up in a small town and was a HS teacher/football coach and then moved into politics. I thought his convo with Klein was so good!
I’m grateful that my joint is feeling better! It’s not 100% but I feel like it will take time for the joint to heal after flaring for so long!!
YES! We did listen to that conversation and loved him. And then we’re so excited today to find out that Harris chose him!
So glad your finger is starting to feel better! And, yes- electricity is another thing we take for granted until the power goes out. SO inconvenient to be without it!
We had a heck of a storm last night and thousands of people in our town lost power, but we did not. I am grateful I could have a mostly normal morning. It is shocking how much everything can change if we don’t have it. And hot water! Cold showers are the worst! Basically, technology is great, isn’t it?
Yes, it truly sucks to now have not water and electricity. Glad you were spared this time!
Blogging and what I’ve learned and the people I have met.
Of course my health.
My family and friends.
Yes, those are all major things to be grateful for!
Coincidentally, we’ve been talking about indoor plumbing all day after a bunch of questions about how Appalachian Trail thru hikers go to the bathroom from my daughter, haha! I’m so grateful for indoor plumbing and showers and comfortable shoes and fresh air and all sorts of things! Hope your house and the rest of your family was safe from the storm!
Glad you got out of Florida before Debby came! We got the outskirts of the storm, which was enough to flood SO many streets and houses. We are so screwed if we ever get a direct hit by a hurricane. I’m just glad she stayed a tropical storm until she moved past our area! I guess I’m grateful that my power/Internet never went out with the storm and my street didn’t flood. There were people trying to bail water out of their cars around here! Oof.
I’m grateful for indoor plumbing and especially appreciated all the facilities in the national parks!
Glad you had a safe drive.
Plumbing, hot water, groceries, a refrigerator, living in a safe place, having a car that works and the means to keep it working…. I could go on. Basically, I am grateful for being able to live the life I live. And it sounds like you are, too, whether you’re in FL or TX. 🙂
(Did you get to a Buccee’s? I am immensely curious but also immensely frightened by what they look like in pictures…)
Safe travels home, although I suspect you’re already back, LOL.