31. anticipation.

32. the ability to text and find out what is happening with the birth of my new grandchild.

33. seeing life through the eyes of a 31 year-old disabled adult. He helps me to name and understand my own concerns and fears.

34. Tom and his care and concern for his mother and step-father.

35. two months of seeing Justin and Emily on a regular basis.

28. the reason for coming to Florida. New babies and all the wonderful things they bring with them.

29. email to keep in touch.

30. sleeping in until 10 am, the decadence of it!

22. Sunsets with an appreciative crowd that claps!

23. warm oceans

24. swimming with a manatee.

25. shells washed up for me to find.

26. grandchildren who miss me.

27. vacation to clear and gain perspective.

15. airlines booking Jackson and me through even when it looked like we didn't have a ticket. I guess they figured we had to have gotten to Denver somehow!

16. the anticipation and blessing of the birth of a new little girl Spencer.

17. waking up early.

18. text messages at 4:45 am telling me that my husband loves me.

19. thunderstorms in the morning.

20. white sand beaches.

21. humidity that makes my skin so soft.

gifts

9. taking a 5 year-old to visit her great-grandfather, not knowing it would be his last day in his home. She blessed him and me

10. walkers and wheelchairs

11. people who work as caregivers for alzheimer's patients

12. wood; cords to chop, burn

13. planes to fly 3000 miles in 10 hours so that one can see a son, daughter and new grandchild

14. the love of cooking, the blessing it is to others

Thanksgiving

I have been reading a great book, one thousand gifts by Ann Voskamp. One thousand gifts, here goes:

1. fresh ground coffee in the early morning

2. a degree, required by your father, that blesses others

3. looking at life and scenes through a camera lens

4. garden art, a moon winking and a sun smiling, hanging on the fence since your 30's

5. freshly picked strawberries from the patch that was planted when your 16 year-old was born

6. electric washers and dryers

7. seeds that grow

8. experts at photoshop willing to share their knowledge with patience

Plumbing

The plumber said, "Re-pipe the house."

What does re-piping mean? Finding where, on a 111 year old house, all the cold water pipes are.

What does that mean? Ripping out the walls and ceiling in a very unappealing bathroom. There are separate pipes to every fixture in our house.

Our mission, should we choose to accept it, is to rip out until we find where in the walls the pipes are that feed: our bathroom sink, our kitchen faucet, our toilet (found), our bathtub, and our washer. Another Saturday projecting on something we didn't plan to do. I guess we have found our winter remodel project after all.

The good news? We have hot water (go figure) so that dishes can be done. Jackson learned a very important bit of information, you can flush a toilet if you fill up a bucket and pour it down. You can also wash white clothes in hot water. The unappealing bathroom will be, in the end, remodeled.

The lesson; when you hear water running at odd times you can ignore it and hope it goes away (I tried that for a few days), or you can investigate to find you have a broken cold water pipe under the concrete in the basement resulting in hearing the plumber say, "Re-pipe."

Photos of the progress may be posted.