Glad your daughter was able to make it home safely! 😊

I'm grateful the climate where I live is relatively mild and that we don't get any snow.

I'm a firm believer in expressing gratitude whenever possible. Sometimes it's something big, like your daughter's safe arrival in bad weather, or good test results; other times it's for the silly squirrel sitting on your deck railing or finding that earring that had fallen behind a book.

I work at expressing gratitude every day. It's not always easy to do when the waves of life are battering your shores. One thing I am always grateful for are the forums here. Even if the thread is predicated on purchases, I can still enjoy the excitement that others express in their finds.

Glad one of your daughters made it to town safely and hope the other one arrives safely, too!

”how nice it is to have a place to post about life without monetization being a factor?”

It really is.

Happy your DD is home safe and hope your other DD has a safe journey, too! My DD and SIL will be coming home next week and I can’t wait. 💚

I honestly dont know how people can manage in places with extreme weather, although obviously they do, just fine. Sort of.

This week we had a snowstorm that was a surprise. Now its warm and rainy and all the snow is gone. We used to have very snowy winters ( Philadelphia) but now its only an occasional storm. For which I am grateful

Glad you DD got in safely. Lucky you to have the kids home at Christmas.

We lived in the northeast for many years and we're definitely grateful to have the choice to live in SW FL where it is currently 77F and partly cloudy. Anything under 70F is "freezing" for me, so I don't mind, at all, the summer heat/humidity that comes with the mild winters.

Just took this photo of the corner of my lanai with my plants/planters. The Bromelia loves it in this location and grew from just one plant, to around a dozen plants crammed into the original pot! I need to pull the plants out, try to separate some of the "babies" and get a bigger pot. It has sharp serrated edges, so it isn't easy to handle.

Love being able to have green and colorful tropical views all year round.

Oh rub it in, Chispa! 😉😉😉

chispa, what a beautiful scene! Wondering if you miss the change of seasons? I am sick of winter after a few months, but love the extreme change of seasons we have.

ded, last year one of our girls couldn't make it for the holidays. It just wasn't the same, so doubley grateful this year.

Fun and jilly, I just want to clarify that by monetization, I'm referring to platforms like instagram (and I'm probably using the term monetization wrong) where people post videos or pics and request comments or shares/likes about their content in order to gain followers and make money from their work. Not saying they shouldn't make money for the effort/work they put in to create entertainment, only recognizing that it is refreshing to just share thoughts for the sake of friendship and community.

Bunny, we are bundling up and heading out in the storm to visit my MIL who lives a 30 minute walk away. Sometimes I'd be grateful to live somewhere more temperate, but it is kind of exciting to have such extreme weather to venture out in. Just grateful I don't have to work or be anywhere important today. Lots of work places expect employees to arrive at work even when authorities are asking people to stay off the roads for safety.

Daisy, no I don't miss the extreme change of seasons! I loved going skiing, but hated the dull/dead scenery of winter outside my house and around town.

We have excitement in our seasons ... specially when a hurricane heads in our direction! ;-)

So glad your DD made it home safely, Daisy, and safe travels to the next one.

I live in Chicagoland, and although we do not get the snow we once did, we do have some extreme weather at times. When we do, I always feel resilient. Perhaps in another decade, I won't feel that way, but I do now.

I've kept a gratitude journal off and on over the years, and it really is a wonderful practice. It's helped me during difficult times to realize not all is horrible. And it got me into the mindset of being able to recognize small moments of joy in my daily life. Life's big moments (birthdays, weddings, vacations, etc.) are special, but we spend far more time in daily routines. Finding appreciation in them can very much enrich our lives in between the big moments.

Enjoy your visit with MIL!

Daisy, don’t I recall one of your daughters headed east for college? and wasn’t that just 2 days ago? Are they now living independent adult lives that require flying back for holidays?! Where does the time go? It’s funny not to know each other and yet still feel like we know so much about each other.

I went out to lunch twice this week, which is rather unusual. What a treat to see friends in the middle of the day. Lucky me, I have 2 more lunches, and 2 dinners lined up in the next week. Plus seeing family on Xmas eve and Xmas, even though I still don’t know what I want to cook.

My nephew’s wife sends me ultrasound pictures of the baby after her appointments. I think they’re a bit creepy 😆, but I’m happy she wants to include me in their excitement.

Glad your daughter made it in for Christmas. Love the snow! Happy Holidays!

I'm in Black Forest Colorado. The weather has been mild, warm, 56F. DH & I went walking around a beautiful Park known for it's twisted trees...or Bent Trees. The Ute Indians bent the trees to mark trails, memorialize a death, ect. The orangish bark color means the tree is 80 years old or older....

Having our kids, no matter their age, back under our roofs never gets old and is always something to be grateful for.

We are doing our family Chanukah (my family and my brother's family) this Sunday. Once I'm done shopping, and done wrapping so the stress is over, I'm always very excited and grateful. Nothing better than watching the little ones open their presents.

It's so interesting how weather patterns can be so different. Here in the mountains of Utah we are experiencing a dearth of snow. We are 2/3 of the way through December and I think we only had 1 or 2 light snow storms. This week I was grateful we had some strong rain at least. It's been on and off cold and then unseasonably warm. I am also very grateful that I've moved into a less populated area where I don't have to worry about breathing in accumulated pollution every day that the weather is clear in the winter.

@chispa your lanai and pool and plants are so inviting! Beautiful!

@NiCOZ5 I love your picture and the story! I had no idea about the tree bending. Amazing.

I am sick of winter after a few months

I'm sick of winter after about a week. I recently got a new car and am reveling in a hot butt.

@daisychain011

Great news re DD1, and I hope the same for DD2.

The weather down here is the atmospheric river heading our way that will arrive the afternoon of 12/23 and leave very early 12/26. Which messes up travel plans to visit family during the holidays — both for me and many other Angelenos.

I’m grateful that I had the roof replaced when I did. Three of the last four years we have had atmospheric rivers dump buckets on us.

Edited to add: I’m also grateful that the current usage is ’atmospheric river’ instead of the grating ’pineapple express’ that weather forecasters used at one time.

Daisy, very thankful your daughter arrived safely and that you are all weathering the storm with vigor and good humor!

All our immediate family will be here by Christmas day and we are also very grateful the kids still come home and that my mother is still with us, hale if not especially hearty 😁

A lovely message, thanks for sharing, Daisy, and very nice to hear from you!

I am grateful for my neighbors, my community. This evening we hosted a gathering, a baked potato bar. We baked the potatoes and had toppings. We had wine, beer, soft drinks. People were welcome to bring a side or desseert, or nothing. It was lovely. There were about 26 of us in the end. Mixing, laughing, being convivial.

Tomorrow afternoon is our annual carol sing-a-long. We gather in a 1700’s schhool house. Someone plays the piano. Good people.

I'll bet you're also grateful to have a warm, safe home, with all that snow 🙂

Sitting here in hot, sunny FL, wishing for more wintry weather (but not a storm) hope you stay nice and cozy and your DD2 makes it home OK.

Well we've had I don't know how many atmospheric rivers (fancy word for rainstorms coming off the Pacific bringing rain and warm temperatures) in the past two weeks and now it's getting cold for which the local ski hills (and Whistler) will be grateful. But the highways will be covered in snow. I hope everyone's travels are safe.

Glad your daughter arrived home safely for Christmas.

Very nice post about some of the good moments in life.

Living in Southern California we generally do not get extreme weather. Of course, this means we do not have the typical distinct seasons found throughout much of the country. A mixed blessing as I love a cool fall but am not to keen on much snow or ice. We are expecting a good amount of rain next week, over Christmas Eve and Christmas. I am grateful that my children and MIL are local. We have other family coming in from about an hour away when no rain, hoping that their trip to us is safe and the roads are not a big mess. Californians as a whole do not drive well during rain. Seem to drive too slow or like a speed demons, not sure why. If the rain is very heavy I hope the others willl decide not to make the journey.

While I am enjoying my morning coffee, I take time to think about things that I am especially grateful for that day. I am going to consider a gratitude journal, it would be interesting to look at back over time.

localeater, baked potato bars are the best! We should do them more often. Along with giving thanks for our blessings.