Gratitude and Giving, Part I

Evening all...............There's going to be more than one post to this topic. In fact, there may be several gratitude posts over the next week, month, etc. There's a marker coming up in my life - our 40th Wedding anniversary. There are so many things for which I am thankful, grateful. Markers make us think so I have been particularly reflective this past couple of years. Two years ago, the marker in life was my 40th High School Class Reunion. Yep, you figured it out. I was a child bride, just 19. Today while I was grocery shopping in Mankato, I made an observation. The city is home to Minnesota State University (or Mankato State as it was once known) and I realized that either college students are looking an awfully lot younger or I am just getting older. Hmmm.........could be a little of both. :-) Anyway, this post is about gratitude and here's my first bit of what I am grateful for........... When I checked out at the grocery store (Cub Foods, of course), I spotted a cashier that I knew was friendly and courteous. Her name is Molly and I am sure she's probably a young college student. Anybody who says the younger generation has no manners, well, they need to meet Molly. Molly has manners. Somewhere her momma should be proud, and dad, too. I am grateful that Molly was so courteous because it made me smile.

Molly wasn't the only courteous person I met today. I got the opportunity to meet a gentleman who kindly put some air in the tires of my car. This is the second time since June that my car's "danger tone" went off and I got a message telling me "Low tire pressure". I don't like gizmo's but I think I really like this feature. The gentleman who helped me was actually putting air in the tires of his truck and I kindly asked if he would help me check the air in my tires and thankfully he said yes. Do you realize, folks, how few gas stations offer any actual service these days? Not many and for me, a woman who is technically challenged, this is not a good thing. The gentleman quickly discovered that the back tire only had 29 lbs of pressure so he filled it with air and I knew I would be able to get to Mankato for repairs. I thanked him and he was on his way and I was on mine, but not before I wrote down the website that was written in black and white across the side of his truck. You are in for some really beautiful photography. Check it out here. I am grateful that Jon Smithers was putting air in the tires of his truck so that he could help me and I could see his photography. It made me smile.

When I got to Mankato, I smiled again because the guys at Tires Plus took my car right in and checked out all the tires. They couldn't find any leaks but thought perhaps the fairly cold temps this morning could have caused the problem. Interestingly, years ago, I had this issue on our old Blazer - a perpetual slow leak on a tire that always showed up in cold weather. Ah, but I have a gizmo now that will let me know when I have low tire pressure. My day is saved and so was my pocketbook as there was no charge because they could find no problem. Oh, yeah, I smiled.

My last note on gratitude comes with this photo. Since I discovered blogging last spring, I have had more fun, "met" more nice people, learned more about how to do computer technical stuff than I ever thought possible and finally found the way to express and share the talents and gifts with which I have been blessed. So, a few weeks ago when Melissa at OneCraftyMumma announced she was going to do a "Gratitude Swap", I signed up. The charge to each participant was to make a small card holder and also send along a little gift to your swap partner. I am sure I got the best swap partner because pictured below is what Teresa of DiddleDaddleDesigns sent to me. When I opened her package and saw this little quilt, I was just deeeeelighted!!! This frame had another piece of handwork in it but I removed it and can you believe it, it's like her piece was meant to be in that frame!!




Also in the package was the card holder and some lovely cards that she made, plus the little fabric postcard that says "bloom" and cookies. I love cookies and these are especially good. The whole package really made me smile. It arrived the day of our "Rock Party" so I hung it near the food so everyone could see it. Give Thanks. So simple and yet so profound. I am thankful for shelter, food, family, friends, and so much more. And, of course, because I am a quilter I am thankful for fabric. And that's where Part II of Gratitude and Giving will begin. That will probably come on Sunday, though, because tomorrow I'll be making my 100th post and I have a special little giveaway to offer. I'll be posting it right around noon (CST) and you'll have til midnight (CST) Monday, Oct. 6th to sign up. It's lights out for tonight.
Sandi


P.S. Her are the items that I sent to Teresa. She said she liked red and fall colors so I found a fabric that I thought might be just the thing and a few items to go with it. There's candy in the heart tin and a pack of Fall "Mat papers" in the box. This was my first "scrapbooking" related swap and I did okay but I have a lot of room for improvement. :-)