Random Act of Gratitude #142: Family Reunion of the Miniature Variety

A couple of weeks ago, my entire Canadian family got together with four members of my Old Country family, for the closest thing to a family reunion we've ever had, as far as I am aware.

Today I met up with two aunt/uncle sets, one from here and one from England. It was lovely to sit down to lunch, to chat, and laugh, and generally give them cause to think I'm nuts. I do have quite the fantastic extended family, though there aren't many of them I know. (I've got to stay in good with the Brits so I can stay with them if I ever get over there. Haha!)

Random Act of Gratitude #101: Parentally Bound

I was off to visit the parents this weekend and, in addition to excellent driving conditions and easy traffic, it was great to get up to see them. They make me laugh. They're currently in that place of having to plan what's going to be going on in their lives in the next year or two since retirement is coming up quickly and having no money certainly will have its effect on their plans.

Of course, that has meant that my very practical mother has already started purging the house of everything extraneous while my packrat father is left scrambling, trying to do his part but not really having the cut-throat approach to disposal that my mother expects. Very entertaining in its own right.

As for me, I've been doing my part by taking a few boxes from my stash there with me every time I return home after a visit.

I really have wonderful parents and it was grand to get up to visit over the Easter weekend.

Random Act of Gratitude #32: Signs of Improvement (Pet Edition)

Lately, my pet tarantula's behaviour has been unusual and I was getting a bit worried. I didn't think much of it when she dug out a little space in the substrate beneath a piece of bark and spent some quality time there -- she often digs little ditches in which to sit -- but after a few days of her not emerging, even when I gave her new water, I was starting to get concerned.

My first thought was that the bark had fallen onto her and hurt her, so I moved it gently out of the way (probably to her chagrin) but although she appeared physically unharmed, she stayed in her little ditch through the next day.

I went to buy her some crickets, to see if food would perk her up. She eats very seldom, about every six weeks, and she wasn't 'due' for another feeding, but I still thought that food was worth a shot. I dropped a few in and she grabbed them quickly. Over the next day or so, I gave her a good meal of crickets and since then she has emerged, spending time in various little corners and nooks of her aquarium. I hope she'll be back to normal soon, because the thought of her being on her last legs wasn't appealing. I'm quite attached to the little creature!

Random Act of Gratitude #19: Paternal Phone Calls

Tonight I was the recipient of another phone call from my father.

Yes, the calls tend to be a bit lengthy and meandering as he takes the long route around a story and yes, at times it's a bit challenging to get sufficient words in edgewise, but at the end of the day, I appreciate that he takes the time and effort to call and catch up a little.

That's right, Sonya, I do appreciate my funny father's phone calls.