169 - 365

I was going to call it quits, but then when I started looking through my latest list of 1,000 blessings, decided instead to pick 197 of my favorites to list here so I can bring this blog to proper closure. 

So starting with this Christmas and moving backward to the beginning of the list, here they are.

169. My New Jersey grandchildren who I have not seen in person since the pandemic, and who joined us for Christmas this year.

170. The forecast for a large snowstorm the day before Christmas, to be followed by icy rain. Instead, except for one very cold day, the weather was beautiful and sunny, and everybody was able to get to Joanne's for Christmas without a problem.

171. Watching Devlin snuggle his baby cousin, Nico, and be so in awe that this was his first time holding a baby, and they had allowed him to do it.

172. A perfect seat at Cirque De Soleil--dead center, and no one sitting in front of me.

173. The gift of a white poinsettia from my downstairs neighbor.

174. Restoration of the prayer room at PBC.

175. Being able to Facetime the grandkids.

176. Carson loving the I See Me  truck book I got him.

177. Ariella loving the black dress I got her.

178. Ninety percent off Black Friday deal on Office for Mac software.

179. Being able to watch livestream of Ryan's marching band routine that won state championship.

180. Dr. Nelson not charging me to fix the flipper that didn't fit after he filled my tooth.

181. Joanne vacuuming my apartment for me.

182. Gas attendant who alerted me that one of my tires needed air.

183. Medicare paid for my back brace.

183. Joanne paying my large dental bill for me.

184. Jeff changed the battery in my computer for me.

185. Checks from Chuck and Rachel.

186. Working on puzzle with Joanne.

187. Playing Yahtzee with Joanne and Ricky.

188. Healing of my shoulder.

189. Birthday flowers from Miriam with a card she signed herself.

190. Check from Chris.

191. Finding a box of toys and books appropriate for Carson that I didn't remember still having in my game cabine.

192. Joanne lined the floor of the kitchen cabinet under the sink.

193. Figs from Jeff's fig tree.

194. 20 year recognition plaque from WSOL.

195. Humberto bought me a jigsaw puzzle he won.

196. Not passing out when I almost stopped breathing while trying to carry the large repotted spider plant from the kitchen to the bedroom.

197. Dexa scan results were unchanged from 12 years ago.

198. Giant gift card from Joanne.

199. Jaedon took out my trash and picked up my mail.

200. Perishables from Costco I left in my car while at my doctor's appointment not realizing it would take so long, were still cold when I got home.

201. A gust of wind literally blew me into the lobby of my building just as it started to thunder and the rain started to fall.

202. Still being able to drive myself wherever I need to go.

203. Being able to walk without a cane or a walker, or needing a wheelchair.

204. Catching a glimpse of a beautiful, full, orange super moon before the clouds covered it.

205. Remembering my Minol bill in time to avoid a late penalty.

206. Melissa telling me how much I've helped her, at a time when I'm feeling very purposeless.

207. Maxine ad Herb saved me a shady spot and provided a chair for me to sit on while we watched the 4th of July parade.

208. Policeman led me into the Sub parking lot even though the road had already been blocked off and traffic was being re-routed.

209. Joanne set me up for HBO Max on my computer and tablet.

210. Spotting a cardinal sitting on the handlebar of a motorcycle in the parking lot.

211. Discovering I can do 500 piece puzzles on the coffee table and sit on the sofa, instead of having to stand at the card table.

212. Jeff sharing a victory and that my prayers had an impact.

213. Making it home from therapy and into my building before the torrential downpour.

214. Humberto was able to put the memory card in my new camera.

215. Finding a USB cord in my drawer that works with the new camera.

216, Joanne surprised me with binoculars.

217. Remembering the things that skip my mind.

218. Pomegranate juice samples at Costco when I was feeling so thirsty.

219. Finding my missing puzzle piece under the sofa.

220. Very timely message by guest speaker Brooks Gibbs at Shadow Mountain service.

221. Joanne taking me to visit Christiana and Carson.

222. A new leaf popping up through what I was sure was my finally defunct amaryllis.

223, Amazing display of giant tulips outside the Vintage Store on Main Street.

224. Amber wanting another copy of my book, Along the Trail, to take to read to the kids at her school.

225. Rain washed the bird poop off my window.

226. A beautiful rainbow after the rain.

227. Discovering that the free version of NOOM has all the features of the paid version except for the articles and coach.

228. People who helped me walk across the grass at the cemetery (Gladys' funeral).

229. $15 in savings on a small Giant shopping trip.

230. Found my "lost" card with bank info and codes on it.

231. Getting a shady spot in the parking lot.

232. Joanne cleaned my balcony.

233. Being able to get my shopping bags up the stairs by myself.

234. A surprise  reward check from Costco.

235. Finding an old comment from Veronica that I had missed, saying she had shared my book with friends and family, and that it had blessed and encouraged many.

236. Pictures of Emelia lovin the cardI sent her.

237. Sprouts coming up in tomato plant pots.

238. Finding a bunch of carrots at Harris Teeter with a huge amount of greens.

239. A $10 gift coupon from Kohls.

240. New babies popping up in the aloe plant pot.

241. Catching sight of a little bird hopping across my window sill.

242. Finding tee shirts at Dollar Tree in Leesburg for $1 each.

243. People parked in front of me at all three parking lots I was in today pulled out before I did, and so I didn't have to back out of my pot.

244. Finding cilantro, chopped garlic, and spaghetti sauce at Dollar Tree saved me a trip to Giant, and was a whole lot cheaper.

245. Seeing how happy Ariella was with her birthday present.

246. Plant that got blown off the table on the balcony landed upright.

247. Even though I overslept, there were still some GH files left for me to do.

248. Mail lady was here when I got home, so I didn't have to make another trip up and down the stairs.

249. Took a big fall trying to get out of the Tire Shop door against the wind, but only got a few scrapes and bruises--no broken bones.

250. Margie selling me supplements at wholesale price and even delivering them to me.

251. Link to violin video from Margie.

252. Andy's message on contentment that spoke to my heart.

253. The Lord using me as a catalyst to get Nancy connected.

254. Not getting hurt when I slipped on the ice and fell on my back while trying to get into Joanne's van.

255. A mystery person cleared the snow off my car.

256. A full morning of GH and TBO files.

257. Free masks at Giant.

258. Pharmacist at Giant opened up the safety top of my bottle of baby aspirin and switched it out for a non childproof one.

259. A family afternoon in the park.

260. Neighbor's son offering to help me carry my box of recyclables down to the car for me.

261. Voice messages from Wunmi.

262. Finding the little plug that I thought fell down the drain in the kitchen sink.

263. Hairdresser assuring me that my hair is thicker than I think.

264. Missing mail with the free Covid-19 home test kit showed up at the end of the day.

265. By the grace of God, the chicken gnocchi soup I made stretched out to be enough for Miriam as well as for Melissa and me.

266. Nancy invited me out to lunch.

267. Free N95 masks from Target.

268. Enough money left on my Target gift card to pay for all my purchases.

269. Being able to watch Olympic figure skating through Joanne's Peacock subscription.

270. Livestream of Brooklyn Tabernacle concert.

271. Being able to speak to a live person on Apple support.

272. Joanne turning my mattress for me.

273. Seeing the piece of shell on my egg before biting into it.

274. Feel better texts from Alexandra, Christiana, and Ricky.

275. Neighbors who help me carry my heavy groceries up to my apartment from the car.

276. Seeing how happy the chocolate rose I gave the cashier at Giant made her.

277. Jeff giving me a ride to pick up my car.

278. Melissa gave me a package of KN95 masks.

279. Noticing a duplicate AAA payment while looking through my cancelled checks. AAA said they would send me a refund.

280. Little boy who helped me walk across the ice in the courtyard to the mailboxes.

281. Didn't have to clean off my car because the snow had melted.

282. Humberto changing my water filter.

283. Humberto being able to open my can of condensed air that neither Joanne nor I had been able to.

284. Remembering names of two former neighbors that I had been wracking my brain to recall.

285.Humberto bought me some of the chili he had made for the church chili cook off.

286. Playing games with Joanne and Ariella.

287. Suni checking in on me.

288. Winning two games of Memory, even though I didn't think I could remember anything.

289. Toilet suddenly flushing when t looked like it was about to overflow.

290. Having enough change in my change jar to be able to make a trip to Giant.

291. Finding pretzels in the pantry that I didn't remember having.

292. Coming across YouTube video clips of Joanne Robertson that made me laugh so hard.

293. Megan gave me a ride home from the body shop.

294. Clogged kitchen sink turned out to be an easy fix.

295. Chris sharing awesome testimonies with me.

296. Gift card from SBKC.

297. SSI check increased by $60.

298. Free Giant rotisserie chicken.

299. Visit from Christiana and Carson.

300. A huge batch of frozen grapes.

301. Carson dustin my bookshelves.

302. Listening to Carson's giggles.

303.Finding my "lost" driver's license.

304. Being able to see the full moon from my window.

305. A sweet and sour soup that turned out delicious even though I didn't have the cabbage called for in the recipe.

306. Finding a better vase for the flowers on my dining table.

307. Joanne's wineberry muffins.

308. Neighbor who managed to open the door of my frozen shut mailbox.

309. A scraper/brush with an extra long telescopic handle.

310. Having $10 more in my checking account than I thought I did.

311. Snow prevented me from seeing the dentist or being able to pick up an antibiotic, which turned out to be a good thing. Both proved unnecessary and I was spared from spending money and time I didn't hav to spare.

312. Sale on red seedless grapes.

313. After a year, pressure in my head got better as suddenly as it had started.

314. Joanne found my ring.

315. Waking up to a winter wonderland.

316. Having the exact number of tabs I needed to set up my budget book.

317. A surprise text from Michelle Bergeron who was finally able to track me down (after 60 years) through Facebook.

318. Six surprise pears I didn't realize were at the bottom of my Harry & David gift box.

319. Spending Christmas Eve with Wunmi.

320. Larry saying I was the sweetest, kindest person he knows.

321. Unexpected gift card from Martha.

322. Surprise visit from Pastor Cory bearing many gifts from PBC.

323. Concert at St. Frances with Humberto.

324. Making Samantha happy by giving her my large philodendron plant and several spider plant cuttings for her new apartment.

325.  Finding the puzzle piece both Joanne and I were convinced was missing.

326. $100 Giant gift card and a large bag of cleaning supplies, several of which were on my shopping list, from the Housing Department.

327. The toilet bowl cleaner I got from the Housing Department was able to get rid of the ring I had not even been able to get rid of with bleach.

328. Very unexpected $20 from Dot.

329. Christmas livestreams of Shadow Mountain and Brooklyn Tabernacle services.

330. Calls from Dot and Hannah.

331. Melissa carried m chair from Amazon up the stairs for me, and Humberto put it together.

332. Joanne brought me some Trader Joe triple gingersnap cookies.

333. Mr. Print was able to print out my Christmas newsletters for me while I waited, and even gave me some extra copies for free.

334.  New TV has enough ports to plug all my jacks in so I don't have to keep switching them out.

335. Melissa took my old YV and computer chair down to the dumpster for me.

336. Extra Christmas card I bought to give to one of my special friends wound up not getting used, and was just perfect to send to the lady who gave me the TV.

337. Noticing I didn't have stamps on my envelopes right before putting them in the mailbox.

338. Chick-fil-A peppermint shake.

339. The beautiful sunset on my way home from Alexandra's.

340. Picture Malachi sent me of a rainbow over Miami he took.

341. Thanksgiving at Alexandra's.

342. Audio text from Wunmi, praying peace over me.

343. Catching sight of a hawk calling out from the top of a tree in Dr. Norbo's parking lot.

344. Encouraging texts from Wunmi.

345. Lady saw me trying to take a selfie in front of the wings on 21st Street, and offered to take my picture for me so it would all fit in the frame.

346. E-mail from Maxine thanking me for always being there. 

347. Richard bringing over his shop vac to vacuum the water out of my car.

348. Finding a heads up in the parking lot. 

349. Unexpected large dump of MaxWot files.

350. Free frozen turkey from our local police department.

351. Being able to print out a temporary license to use until my replacement one gets here.

352. Eating Manhattan Pizza's pizza with artichokes with Joanne.

353. Surprise package from Amazon outside my door with a gift card from Danielle and family.

354. Surprise birthday text from Pastor Cory.

355. Finding 18 ballpoint pens for $3.50 on Amazon.

356. A little bird on my balcony.

357. Livestream of Michael Smith concert on TBN.

358. Wendy brought over two large stacks of jigsaw puzzles from Edna.

359. Very welome, unexpected translation job from Matt.

360. Wunmi's plug of my Old Gray Dog book on Facebook.

361. Seeing Emelia's delight over the bike horn I gave her.

362. Both girls saying a blessing, in unison, over our meal.

363. Michelle reminding me of how my mother used to type with a pencil. 

364. Tooth abscess was contained and came out with the tooth.

365. Being able to put together this list. It seemed to take forever. Hopefully nothing on it is a duplicate of something I had actually posted.

THE END