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Monday, July 11, 2011

GratiTuesday in July

It is so bleedin' hot and humid right now. I'm sweating just sitting in front of the computer, moving my fingers. I cooked pancakes at seven this morning before it really set in, and that's the last cooked food my children have eaten today. It's all about veggies, tortilla chips, hummus, and frozen fruit treats when the thermometer reads close to 30 degrees Celsius (and the weather people say it "feels like" 40 degrees with the humidity...)

So, let me think about this gratitude thing. Because I am wicked in the heat. Wicked like Miss Hannigan in "Annie", cooling off in her bathtub full of gin, shrieking "Kill, kill, KILL!" at those sweet little girls.

Okay. Let's begin.

I am grateful for

  • Carol Burnette, in her role as Miss Hannigan. Skinny legs, saggy stockings, a boa, those pencilled-on eyebrows...I'd copy her look if I could pull it off. I howl with laughter every time I see her in this movie.
  • This old quilt. I made it when I was 19, and it has travelled to many beaches and picnics over the years. It is torn. It is what I lie on when I read outside. And apparently, my children have invented a game called Quilt Monster...the quilt runs around the yard on little legs, growling with menace and a few giggles thrown in.


  • The joy of a really great read. This week it was "A Black Englishman" by Carolyn Slaughter. It explores so many themes that guarantee a good read: colonialism, racism, eroticism, marriage, the conflict between classes, travel...I felt like I was in 1920s England, and it is an unforgettable place.
  • While I'm at it, why not express gratitude for that skinny little feline that always finds herself in front of my camera? Camino (named for the fair trade chocolate!) came to us as a wild kitten, and I almost gave up on her because she seemed so untameable. Well, let's just say she's been tamed.
  • 
  • This ridiculous riot of a garden, known as the Rainbow Garden. It is at its peak right this moment, with colours of the full spectrum competing for centre stage. It is breathtaking, eye-catching, and completely full of weeds. Who'd notice them in the centre of all this colour?
  • Having a bit of one-on-one time with Jude by letting him stay up later than the girls! We played a boardgame (The Ladybug Game, great for kids 3-6), then drew silly pictures of us out in the rain and played "knots and crosses" (tic-tac-toe). He blossoms under this individual attention that he so rarely gets in the midst of his little sisters' demands.
Now, grab this groovy button, paste it on your blog with a link to mine, then add your name to the GratiTuesday list below! Share the love!


11 comments:

  1. Not sure if Mr. Linky worked for me this time...I'm a first timer!

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  2. I wish I could pull that look off too! I'm grateful for our swimming pool. We don't go anywhere during the summer due to our business and the farm so it's our place to relax and cool off.

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  3. Oh dear, the Mister Linky battles. I was SO happy to give those battles up. I wish I had words of wisdom to offer you, but I'm e-challenged. Wisdom-challenged too.

    And I am so delighted that you shared that Miss Hannigan still. Laughed right along with you. I once wore fishnet stockings that became mortifyingly saggy as the shadows grew long.

    I am grateful for the rain that came and watered my gardens for me.

    And I am grateful for dear friends that knit purse snails :-)

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  4. Camino bares a strong resemblance to the matriarch of our cat "pride". Her name is Lucy.
    I am grateful today for sick days.. The heat and humidity have triggered a mighty migraine.

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  5. Miss Hannigan!!!!! Love it.

    I'm grateful for wild raspberries in July:
    http://www.creatingafamilyhome.com/2011/07/jewels-of-summer.html

    Kelly @ Creating a Family Home

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  6. This morning I am grateful for the a/c that kept our home comfortable all night, that the tree that came down over the weekend missed half of my fleece flower bush, for the purring fat cat around my legs as I got dressed, and pulling out of our driveway while my love and daughters slept peacefully inside.

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  7. I just finished an amazing book the other night, The Gargoyle. I couldn't put it down and I read it in like a day and a bit?

    I am so grateful that I have started reading and knitting again. SO grateful!

    Great pictures, that quilt looks lovely.

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  8. I love to hear quilt stories. My daughter C's kidlets have an old "stinky binky" that I made many, many years ago before she was born. Every time I go to her house I want to drag the sad looking thing home and remake it. And the big secret about it is - for a base I used an old Strawberry Shortcake blanket (circa 1970 something) that just had random bits of fabric stitched to it!
    I am extremely grateful for the odd rain storm that blows through on these hot hot days.

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  9. Just published my own first GratiTuesday at.... a minute to midnight!!! so just got it in there! hehehe.

    Love your gorgeous pics. Makes me want to come right over and join you for a picnic :-)

    Oh when will we invent teleportation I wonder? x

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  10. I am thankful a day late, but thankful nonetheless. I am thankful that my daughter slept in long enough for me to shower and get a gourmet pizza made and out of the oven by 6am for my workshop. I am thankful the cool breeze blowing through my screens this morning and I am thankful for the big mug of hot Earl Grey tea I am about to drink. And lastly, I am thankful for the little warm body called Meredith that I will cuddle as soon as I am done typing this.

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  11. My favorite song is Ms. Hannigan's "Little Girls" - my little ones think I am nuts when I sing it.

    Great post.
    Nicole

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