Life is not so wonderful for me. But I'm happy that my old father seems to have escaped the clutches of death. They diagnosed him with colon cancer. And his operation went well and the patholoog-anatoom did not find any outgrows in surrounding tissue.
We shouldn't let good things go by unnoticed!
So I'm taking my parents out to dinner tonight. There aren't a lot of nice restaurants in their rural neighbourhood. But this Wapen van Athlone restaurant from 1680 is great. ≡ Click to see image ≡
The name hails back to when king William III ruled Great Britain ('the glorious revolution'). And when the local graaf took part in a battle near Athlone, Ireland.
Before dinner we'll be taking a stroll around the castle across the road.
The old gravins family is btw also part of the British nobility as the earls of Portland.

What are you thankful for?

Every restaurant should have a castle across the road.

It is still a pretty miserable winter, which is discouraging because I want to do so many things that require warm weather, but I have books to read and music to listen to and occasionally I manage to cook some delicious food, so there are still good times to be had. Best of all, I have two kitty house guests arriving this weekend for a two-week stay. I have renamed my house "Camp Fuzzybutt."

Last night I was hanging around with my nephews and the 6-year old accused the 11-year old of stealing his Calvin & Hobbes book.

The older boy giggled. "I didn't steal it. I appropriated it."

The little guy corrected him. "No, you inappropriated it."

Our 7 year old was playing outside with his favorite ball and it rolled into the street. He struggles with language but he came inside and pointed to the street and said, "Ball!" instead of running into the street to get it. Huge. And he laughed like crazy watching his daddy run down to retrieve it.

There's tons more I'm thankful for too. Including that jouke's dad is doing better. And I really liked seeing the postcard of the restaurant and imagining the stroll on the castle grounds.

I am thankful that I got to visit my sister on her birthday last week. She lives in a pretty rural area, with the closest family 3-3.5 hours away, and doesn't have a lot of support there, either. I was able to take the day off (yay job that will let me do that!) and drive down, take her and the youngest (2) to lunch, pick up the oldest (7) from school, hang out, and then drive back (3.5 hours) to get home only a couple hours later than if I'd worked. It was so much fun, and I want to try again next year.

I'm thankful my grandmother knows me, and that she's in assisted living halfway between my office and my house, so I can stop by in the morning before work and chat with her while I get her coffee/breakfast. I'm only there for 30 minutes, but it's nice to get to see her, and when she does pass away, I'll have these memories.

I'm thankful for my bunny - who hopped up on the chair this morning and let me pet him, while he hunkered down next to me. He's getting older (9 or 10?) and while I hope he'll have several more healthy years ahead of him, I'm glad for the time that I have with him.

I'm thankful for my partner, who I adore, and who adores me.

I really feel lucky -- and thankful -- to have my Bear, our awesome dog, our Cleopatra cat, my fairly good health, my great job, and to live in this lovely corner of the U.S.

In general I tend to wonder why I got such a fortunate life.

Jouke, I'm glad your dad is doing better. I hate cancer.

I am thankful for two sons who are awesome in so many ways. I was blessed in the offspring area, and I do actually give thanks for that every day. I am thankful for where I am now..it's not the life I had planned, but that's okay.