Day 5 and still plugging.

#1: Today I am thinking I am grateful for garbage disposals. I know that it is not the usual thing that people talk about when they say they are grateful for something, but since when have I been normal? I was thinking today, as I scraped dishes into the sink, that it is one of those wonderful inventions that people take for granted. The last couple of years of elementary school, and through junior high, we had animals, mostly chickens. We were not allowed to throw scraps away, but instead were required to put it all in the garbage bowl that sat next to the sink. Then at some point, whenever it was too full, or at night, whichever came first, we took it out and fed it to the chickens. I can still remember the sloppy sound of it all landing on the ground in the chicken coop. They would immediately attack, heaven forbid you got in the way of this most delicious treat. Eventually, you would have to clean out a few cantaloupe rinds that they just never seemed to finish off. Ahhh, good times. Occasionally the bowl would start to smell a bit, particularly in the summer. That was the time we emptied it nearly every meal. I always thought it was weird that we put eggshells in the pile to take back out to feed the chickens that gave us the eggs in the first place. Isn't that a form of cannibalism, or something?

#2: Keys. How many times a day do you use a key? The world being what it is, we use them so much more than I remember as a child. Today Doug and I went with his sister and her husband to grab something for dinner, and when we came out, we thought we lost the key. Turns out Doug had it the whole time, and all 4 of us were searching under the seats and under the vehicle for nothing. This made me remember when I was about 8 or 9, my family went on a trip to New Mexico to visit my uncle for several days. With as many kids as we had, this was a long trip. For the first time that I remember, my dad locked up the house. We always had someone home. We weren't even sure which key to use. When we left, everything was locked up tight. We thoroughly enjoyed the trip, all of the kids in the camper, and Mom and Dad in the cab of the truck. I think this was the trip that my pillow caught on fire, but that's another story. When we arrived home, completely exhausted and ready to be back in our comfy home, Dad realized that he couldn't find the house key. We spent awhile trying to break in, but we had done a fantastic job of locking up. Eventually dad found a mastercard in my mom's wallet, and proceeded to break in using a credit card. I was fascinated. I didn't even know you could do that. See how educational vacations can be? You should all know that I am proud to say that I can break into my home with a credit card in mere seconds. I have had lots of practice. Lots and lots and lots......

#3: Junk mail. No, I have not lost my mind. No, I don't want more of it, either, so please don't even think of putting me on your mailing list. Unless it's a Christmas card. Or birthday present. Or money. I prefer the latter, just in case you were wondering. Every day there is the ritual trip to the mailbox to see what items the local stores think I can't live without. If you are brave and dare to open the plethera of ads we are assaulted with every day, (all those poor trees...) You are then enticed into believing that you are never going to find a better deal, or better merchandise, and that your life will be a complete waste if you do not have the latest and greatest items to claim as yours. You can always justify the desire by saying "What a great deal! I better jump on this, because I will never find it for this price again." Or, "What if the Jones's down the street have one? I can't be outdone, I must have this before I plummet off of the social ladder I have worked so hard to climb! My neighbors will shun me if I don't have an apron that looks like a gingerbread man!" This is why I have learned to love these ads. I can look through every one of them, and I am now completely unaffected. I am immune to their ability to suck me in to their distorted reality. I laugh at them! I am so proud of the skill I have learned. They have no power over me. None at all. (Or maybe, just maybe it is the fact that I can't afford it, but I doubt it. I am sure it is my personal power that makes me so resistant to it's effects.)

#4: Candles. I first started collecting candles when I was 15. I was in an airport in Indianapolis, coming home from a band trip. (We won, of course.) I was wasting time in a gift shop when I came across some really cute candles that smelled fantastic. I bought 5 of them and brought them home. They sat on the shelves in my room, and every few months or so, I would pull one or two down and reminisc about the trip. I think that was the first time I ever smelled pina collada. I loved it. That started my candle collection, and in a short time I had shelves and dressers full of them. I had one that I loved that was purple and made of wavy lines all connected at the top, one that looked like an owl, and one of my favorites, a house. A couple of friends gave me a candle that looked like a little house that you would put in a Christmas scene, and to go with it, they found an actual christmas ornament that looked just like it. It had an opening in the bottom for a light to go in and it would light up the whole house. I loved it. I had that ornament for years. I still wonder what happened to it every Christmas. Even today I love to decorate my house with candles. I have a tendency to put them everywhere. I have 12 in my kitchen, alone. There are candles that are pretty, some that smell wonderful, (my fav is Christmas Eve by Salt City Candles) and some that just look good with the other things they are next to. Still others are strictly utilitarian, like my lamp that has a utility candle in it. I love my candles. They just happen to be useful, too. We are never short of something to light when the power goes out. Just be careful what you stand next to, my house is somewhat flammable, and so is your hair.

#5: Mountains. I love the mountains. I enjoy the greenery and the rivers and streams. For this topic, I am referring to my specific mountain that I see outside my living room window. I love to watch the change of seasons on the mountain. I watched the leaves change color from green, to yellow and bright red, to a softer brown and red, to just the muted browns. Now I can watch the clouds swirl over it, and see the snow line getting lower. Along one side, there are little trees that look like some kind of animals grazing on the Serenghetti, or maybe some strange dinosaurs from a long forgotten world. It instantly transports me to another land for a few moments. No, I have not been overdosing on pain meds, I just love that I have this exceptional view of a mountain in my living room window. I bet you are envious. You wish you had dinosaurs in your window, too, don't you? I knew it. You will just have to come and visit me now.