Sleep

Late in life I discovered the value of sleeping attire.  I have several gowns for summer and several gowns for winter as well as a set of PJs that work well for either season.  Sleeping attire is meant to be loose and permit the unconscious movement that takes place with normal tossing and turning during the night.  The tossing and turning prevents muscle binding. There is also the advantage of maintaining sheets and clothing.  Just as I change out of the more formal clothing I wear to church and temple, I change out of the casual clothing I wear for work and lounging.  I like the silky bedding and soft cotton sheets that help with my comfort.  I am grateful for the opportunity to sleep without pain. 

Provo City Center Temple

I go to the Provo City Center Temple twice a week.  I begin the 8 AMendowment session, proceed to sealings, then initiators.  I am grateful for the temple workers who make my service in the temple possible.

Tools

I have a lot of tools.  This is not to mention paintbrushes and other items that are used for art.  Today I made prints so that I can use them with the lesson using my printer.  I printed the newsletter and yesterday I scanned Diana's design for stained-glass panel and helped her make it more colorful and regular.  I finished making arrangements on a new phone case using a varied set of pliers.  I need to organize my tools so I can get to them more easily.  I have tools in a large drawer in my studio that are relatively well arranged but the plumbing and carpentry tools in my work room are in disorder. But even though tools are responsibility, they are a blessing.  I'm grateful for tools.

Chicks

The sound of several chicks is similar to running water in a decorative fountain.  Today I purchased six nifty chicks.  I chose them for their cute racing stripes.  They were a premium price, but since they are two weeks old they were 30% off and cost less than even common chicks.  I was planning to get Austrolorps which are dark and lay bluish eggs, but when I saw these chicks which already have brindled feathers in their wings I decided on getting six of them.  Last year at this time I was practical and chose four white Leghorns.  They were okay at first, but then my favorite turned out to be a little rooster and we ate him.  The hens laid well and we often got three eggs a day from the three of them, then they began to eat their eggs as winter began.  Two of them died and one is left.  I feel an obligation to let her live although if she does I will need to isolate her from the new little hens so she doesn't eat their eggs and teach them bad habits.  Meanwhile I learned that the variety of chicks I bought are good scavengers and will essentially feed themselves in the warmer months.  This is good because I wanted to 'pasture' them, insuring a higher quality egg.  Normal eggs can be relatively inexpensive but pastured hens lay more nutritious eggs and they are more than twice the price of ordinary eggs.  I really like my chicks.  I hung their feeder so they wouldn't throw it around as much as if it were on the ground and they seem to have adapted to taking water from the waterer which means a lot less mess.  Of course I will need to finish my chicken run, but this gives me more incentive to do so.  I am grateful that I chose to buy the chicks today.

Internet Info

I have been putting together a strategy for my health.  I have increased my exercise, limited carbohydrates and stocked my freezer with assorted types of 'healthy' meats, although I have not yet purchased grass fed beef, instead relying on supermarket sales of roasts.  I am able to get information by entering questions in duckduckgo, an alternative to Google.  The amount of searching I can do on the internet far exceeds what is available in the average library, and it doesn't need to be dug out laboriously.  I am grateful for the internet as well for my financial errands, such as paying tithes and offerings.  I had a lovely visit from some boys I taught in Primary this afternoon.  In order to give them something meaningful to do now that most people pay their fast offerings on the internet, they prepared a very nice lesson.  If it were not for the internet they would not have this opportunity.

Lelia

Lelia turned eight in February and today she was baptized.  She sang with her older sister, Diana, and her brother, Ralph for the opening program.  She comes to my house twice a week to work with stained glass.  She is merry and determined.  I am grateful for Lelia.

Family

I like my offspring.  I would rather spend time with any of them than with anyone else I know.  I was reminded of this as I sorted through the thousands of emails that I've accumulated in my Gmail account.  Today I finish sorting them into various files designated with the names of my children or the activities that we are engaged in.  In the 12 years that are covered since I opened my Gmail account there have been many events including births, marriages and deaths.  We have gathered both physically and electronically.  I am so grateful for my family.