Daily Ramblings – Bonus Content – Thanksgiving Countdown

Tags

Christmas, family, Friends, Good Food, Good times, Gratitude, Happiness, Holidays, New Years, passion, recharge, Relaxation, Thanksgiving

Ooh! Pumpkin pie, turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and all the rest await! It’s going to be a great Thanksgiving this year, like every year. I’ll be making the final grocery run tomorrow and I always end up getting more than we need.

I’m not much of a football fan, so I don’t watch the games, nor do I watch the parades. I used to when I was a kid, but now, I just enjoy hanging out and doing whatever. I’ll be doing a little gaming, reading, hanging out with the family, and eating a truckload of food, on and off all day long.

I decided today would be my last posting for the year, other than my holiday postings. I was going to continue all the way to the end of the month, but decided it was time to just shut things down for the rest of 2022. It’s been a great year, folks.

I’ve made some great friends here, that I would not have met anywhere else. So here’s a shameless plug for their blogs, in case you are interested:

https://kmallan.com/ – K.M. Allan is an Australian YA author. Her Blackbirch series is terrific. If you’re thinking of writing a book, she provides all kinds of tips, tricks, and real-world experience writing and publishing a book. She mailed me a copy of her first book, which was not cheap, and I so appreciate her.

https://tierneycreates.com/ – Enjoy crafting? Check out this blog for anything related to quilting, travel to cool places, and even some postings from one of her creations. Her husband is also quite the craftsman.

https://joannaoftheforest.wordpress.com/ – If you want some great pictures of the outdoors and enjoy reading articles that are happy and interesting, you’ll want to check out here postings.

I consider all three of these bloggers friends, because they always respond to my blog postings and we have had some interesting interactions.

Well, folks. I hope all of you have a terrific holiday season and get some time with friends, family, and your favorite hobbies. I’ll be doing what I love–gaming, reading, and writing. I’ll also be making some decisions about some daily postings that I’ve done this year, that I may change up, just to keep things fresh and help me explore new areas that I have not dove into before.

Happy Holidays, folks.

See you in 2023!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Funny Friday – Black Friday

Tags

Black Friday, Corn, family, Friends, Good times, Gravy, Sweet Potatoes, Thanksgiving, Turkey

I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving. My hope, is for those of you that celebrate, as some of my readers do not reside in the United States.

That being said, we had a great time yesterday! We had smoked turkey, sweet potatoes, baked corn, and apple pie for dessert. We had a small gathering this year. My sister is here visiting, so today I am only posting this, so I can hang out with her, while she is visiting.

If you are out participating in Black Friday events, please be careful. There are always a lot of incidents involved with Black Friday. Well, that’s it for now. I hope you have a great weekend. Tonight, we are having leftover turkey and gravy open-faced sandwiches. Yummy!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – I’m back…

Tags

Brother, Evaluating, family, Fun, Good times, Laughter, Monday, motivation, Planning, Scheduling, Sister

I’m back, after a great week with my brother and his girlfriend, We all had a great time, and we all got to celebrate my Mother’s 78th birthday. My sister came down, so all of the siblings were here, along with the gal.

How do you get back on track, after a long vacation? For me, it’s my to-do app, set up with recurring tasks. All my daily to-dos are recurring, so my to-do list literally tells me what I need to do. It’s great!

While my brother was here, I was surprised with an early birthday gift (My birthday is in October). The birthday gift was a 2TB storage drive for my Xbox. After installing it, which took about a minute, I now have 1.7TB of storage remaining. What a treat! I’ve also started playing Call of Duty, Mobile. It is Call of Duty’s way of allowing folks to play their game, who cannot afford an XBOX. I have to say it is quite a good game. I play it on my iPad, and use an Apple-specific controller. It’s great fun. I’ve also decided, since I enjoy so many games, that I’ll stick with Call of Duty Mon-Friday, and then play some new games on the weekend.

Today, I’m knocking out the cobwebs and getting back on track. I recently received an inner prompting to take stock of my life, look at what I am doing every day, and make some adjustments. I get this prompting from time-to-time, and it is a great way to evaluate, consolidate, and reorganize. A friend of mine recently retired and asked for some advice. I told her, find a hobby, list out the things she has always wanted to do, but never had time, and put together a list of daily things she could do to start getting all these things moving. She asked, “Why?” I replied, “Because, binge watching Netflix will get old real quick.”

The point I’m making here is that when you have a lot of time, it is easy to waste it. Retirement does not mean you quit life. It means you enjoy it more fully. If you have recently retired, take a look at your life. What works? What doesn’t work? Then, make a list of all the things you want to focus on for the rest of your life. It could be writing a book, going back to school, learning a musical instrument, taking up drawing, creating a reading list, or even join a book club. The possibilities are endless, and you’ll have fun deciding what you want to do with yourself.

For me, my focus is on learning, reading, writing, spirituality, staying in shape, and gaming. Gaming is my hobby, so I don’t do any gaming, until I’ve knocked out my daily tasks. Life is not without some form of self-discipline. My exercise habits waned during the pandemic, so this is something I will be revisiting for sure. The older I get, the more quickly I get out of shape. Whew!

I’m also doing something different this year. My religious path, follows a different calendar than a traditional one. Our New Year starts on the 23rd of October each year. So, November will now be my January. So, plan on my yearly goals, aspirations, and plans in October instead of December. I’ll get this out to all of you, after I’ve done some thinking, planning, and scheduling.

Well, that’s it for now. We had a great time with family over the last week. It was so much fun, having family meals, playing board games, talking about our memories, and just laughing and laughing. Here’s to family.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – Sisters

Tags

enjoy, family, Fun, Games, Good Food, Good times, Movies, Relax, Sister

My sister just left for home. It was a nice 5 days. We watched movies, got take out, hung out in the living room and chatted, and she even watched me play some Call of Duty with my brother. It was a great visit! She likes coming down and hanging out with Dad because we don’t know how much longer Dad will be with us. Last night, they watched some Star Trek movies (Dad loves those).

It’s terrific to have family visit. The folks get a kick out of it, and it’s always fun to catch up. When I have a family member visit, you’ve probably noticed a little inconsistency with my postings. I put everything I am doing on hold when family comes to maximize my time with them.

Anyway, I’m grateful for the time we had together. It was great fun!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Giving

Tags

family, Friends, Gifts, Giving, Good memories, Good times, Togetherness

As we give of ourselves, of our patience and love, to someone else who needs it more, something changes inside us. Something flows in, a flow of good feeling. A spiritual upliftment occurs both in us and in the person receiving the love.

—Harold Klemp
The Language of Soul

Have you ever thought about your favorite moments in life? I do from time-to time, and none of them involve money, an award, or anything else material. My best memories are with family.

I remember playing Scrabble with the family when I was a kid. I remember learning how to play card games. I remember my grandfather teaching how to play chess. The best memories I have are those where I spent time with someone else.

When we give of ourselves, we open ourselves up. It is an expanding practice. It makes us feel good and the person receiving the gift to feel good. Sometimes, just giving someone the time of day on the phone is enough. Maybe they’re having a rough time of it and need to vent. Maybe they just did something terrific and don’t have anyone else to tell. These little moments are the most precious to most people.

There is one circumstance when I was thrilled when I received something. It was when my late grandmother sent me a gift in the mail, while I was in the Army. What meant a lot to me is she never missed a birthday–ever. I also knew she didn’t make a lot of money from Social Security and other things, and it meant so much that she would still take the time to get me something. Toward the end of her life, she used to send homemade chocolate peanut butter cups. Sometimes they would show up all melted, but it was truly the thought that mattered.

My mother is the same way. She never, ever, misses a birthday. Even when I was deployed in the Middle East, she got me birthday and Christmas presents. Another time, my wife and I decided to put together a cheese and meat plate and sit behind our home next to the pool and listen to jazz. We didn’t say anything to one another. We just sat there, enjoyed the music, nibbled on cheese, meat, and crackers, and enjoyed our moment together in complete silence.

I hope each of you has a terrific Saturday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spread Your Wings Sunday – Weekly Challenge

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Friends, Good times, Reconnect, Spread Your Wings, Sunday, Weekly Challenge

There’s only one challenge this week. It is brought to you by The 5-Minute Journal

Challenge: An old friend you’ve been meaning to connect with is (there name). Call this person today.

Have a great Sunday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursdays – Ah, Holidays!

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Christmas, Coffee, family, Friends, Good Conversation, Good Food, Good times, Grateful, Holidays, Movies, Snow, Thankful, TV

Today, I’m thankful for the holiday season. I don’t really care about the gifts and such, but I enjoy relatives visiting, the Christmas lights, the tree, the snow, and all the food that comes this time of year.

This year my brother and sister are coming to town and it’ll be great. We’ll watch movies, talk as a family in the living room, eat out a few times, and maybe even catch a movie at our local movie theater. Then there’s the Christmas dinner, which will be Mom’s recipe for roasted duck! Yummy!!

Obviously, the gifts are fun, but I get a kick out of people opening my gifts, not so much the gifts I get. It’s nice to get people something you think they’ll like. It’s also fun to just enjoy the vibe of the family being together, reminiscing about times past.

I realize we should all be giving to one another all-year long, but because this time only comes once a year, it is special; you know?

I realize for some this is a traumatic time of year. It brings back memories of family members who have passed and the gaping hole they have left in the family. This is just tough and my heart goes out to all of you who are experiencing this. That being said, I would recommend throwing yourself into a charity or volunteering. I’ve always found that when I give of myself, my problems fade a bit. I know this is probably a simplistic solution to your problem, but I wanted to throw that out there, in case you have never tried it. It works. At least it does for me.

Well, that’s it for today. I hope all of you have a great Thursday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Bonus Content – Thanksgiving Dinner

Tags

Creamed Peas, family, Friends, Good times, Holiday, Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing, Thanksgiving, Turkey

Here’s a shot of my Dad (left), Mom, Sister, and her boyfriend. In the picture on the right is yours truly on the far left. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, creamed sweet peas, stuffing, and mom’s homemade cranberry sauce, which goes really well with breast meat.

Later we’ll dive into pumpkin pie.

For those of you that celebrate, I wish you and yours a great Thanksgiving!

Until next time..

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursdays – Family

Tags

family, Good Food, Good times, Grateful, Nephew, Netflix, Sister, Thankful, Wife

Our nephew visited this last week for a few days. It was great having him here. We went out to some restaurants, hung out on our deck, watched some shows on Netflix, and got in a little Xbox gaming. He got plenty of face time with Mom and Dad and we all enjoyed his stay. He headed back yesterday to get ready for his senior year at ASU, which started today. My sister also came up for a few days. While she was here we binge-watched Mindhunter Season 2 on Netflix. If you haven’t watched the Mindhunter series, it is worth your while.

I have been working with my wife to help her get ready for her teacher’s certification. We have been burning the midnight oil every day for the last few weeks for a few hours each night. It’s nice to help her get ready.

I am thankful for all the opportunities to spend time with family. I am blessed that I could be in the situation to spend time with my folks during their senior years. It was great seeing the nephew this week. It is also nice to spend time with my wife, while she pursues her career in Arizona. I am so proud of her.

I am also grateful for the new followers this week. Daily Ramblings is slowly creeping toward the goal of 1000 followers this year. It is nice to see new followers when I check into the Daily Ramblings blog site on WordPress. Thank you to all who have opted to follow my blog.

Over the next few days, I’ll be on a religious retreat, so Friday and Saturday postings will not happen. I’ll be too busy with the retreat and will not have time to get something up on the site. I’ll see you all on Monday!

I hope all of you have a great weekend!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday

Tags

Bad times, experiences, Good times, Grateful, Happiness, Learning, Life, Sorrow, Thankful

“I believe that if you don’t derive a deep sense of purpose from what you do, if you don’t come radiantly alive several times a day, if you don’t feel deeply grateful at the tremendous good fortune that has been bestowed on you, then you are wasting your life. And life is too short to waste.” – Srikumar Rao

Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/srikumar_rao_563863?src=t_thankful

This life is such a blessing. The ups and downs, the happy times and the sad, and the times of loneliness and joy of being with family. All our experiences combined comprise our life.

When the bad times come, we are in the thick of it. We are at the edge of the abyss and highly creative, solving the problem right in front of us. During these times we aren’t so happy. We are stressed out, we are overcome with emotions, and we are struggling to survive. Interestingly, when these times pass and we recollect the experience we view it as a source of triumph, sometimes even laughing to ourselves. We laugh because we see the comedy in some of the things that go wrong in our lives. These bad times are the areas in our lives where we really do learn and grow. I am thankful for all of the bad times. They taught me so much about myself.

When the good times come, we are ecstatic. We are so happy and joyful. Everything is bright and colorful. We enjoy these times so much that we hope they never end, knowing that something can go wrong at any minute without notice. These are the memories we store away for later. These experiences slip in and out of psyches over and over again. They remind us how precious life is.

Then there are the times that reside in the middle of these two extremes. They are the workdays. They are our habitual experiences. Getting up, going to the gym, getting our kids off to school, our morning commute. These are the days that we rarely notice. Nothing good or bad, exciting or boring, just time passing by.

Our lives are all of these things woven together into a quilt, with the myriad pictures we capture and remember. Pictures of friends, holidays, and graduations. Pictures of marriages, reunions, and anniversaries. Pictures of dinners, vacations, and birthdays. This is the life we lead.  I am grateful for all of the pictures in my quilt. The good pictures, the bad pictures, and the opportunity to share my quilt with others.

New Followers

I also wanted to thank all of the new followers this week. We are getting really close to the goal of 500. Daily Ramblings is at 488 followers. I only need 12 more to hit the goal of 500. If you know of anyone that may be interested in my content, send them my way.

I hope each of you has a great week!

Until next time…

Dave