1 EAGLETON NOTES: Thankful Thursday: A New Month

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Thursday 1 September 2016

Thankful Thursday: A New Month

This morning is the 867th new month in my life. It's not a very significant number in itself but it's one helluva lot more than many people are fortunate to have. In fact if it hadn't been for the British National Health Service I almost certainly wouldn't have had 667 of those months. For the NHS I am thankful.

When one wakes up to a morning like this one can be nothing but thankful.


I complain about the dire weather we sometimes have here in the Outer Hebrides but in reality it's not that bad, particularly compared with the weather many people have with drought and storms at opposite ends of the spectrum.

In weather parlance today is the first day of Autumn. My garden has suffered this year from unusual summer gales but the geranium Roxanne has been prolific from Spring and is still going strong:


So whilst I may find it hard sometimes to be thankful for our weather I am thankful that it allows me to have a wonderful garden.

Right. New carpets are due to be laid tomorrow so I had better stop enjoying myself blogging and get back to work on the house: my home. For which, I have to say, I am very thankful.

31 comments:

  1. Thank you for reminding me Graham. For I too can be similarly grateful to the NHS and on more than one occasion, albeit that I am loath to calculate the months - as actually I don't feel to be very much past 35 except that the real figure is double and more.
    You will certainly be snug for the winter with those new carpets.

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    1. I'm glad, Heron, that you, too, are grateful to the NHS. So many of us owe so much to those who work in it and to its very existence but so often all one hears is complaints.

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  2. And here today we celebrated the first day of Spring. This year is disappearing in the rear view mirror all too quickly for my liking.

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    1. Lee the years disappear so quickly now. I never realised what my parents meant. I know that many youngsters have no idea what I mean. But it will come to them in time.

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  3. A lovely sunrise picture. Such an uplifting scene to take in at the start of your day. I envy you your view. A home with a good view is blessed - seeing beyond the ordinariness of our domestic lives.

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    1. YP I have lived with a view and big skies for so long that I cannot even imagine living without them. But, like most people, I would doubtless soon adjust.

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  4. You are very fortunate to live where you do, there may be down sides, but the pluses outweigh them.

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    1. Indeed they do, Cro. Indeed they do. As an aside do you know the village of Warboys?

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  5. Beautiful glimpses of your view and garden. Hope you're not forgetting to take pictures of your renovation project :)

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    1. Monica I have been taking photos. The carpets were laid today and once I've managed to finish painting and slicing a bit off the bottom off nine (yes 9) doors things will be back to normal....I hope.

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  6. Great reasons indeed for being thankful.

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  7. Nhs helps but the positive attitude goes a long way. Well, I'm going to start fall on Sept 21!!!

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    1. Officially here it's the 22nd, but like you I shall celebrate on the 21st.

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    2. Red and Cro I think technically in the UK it's the 21st or 22nd depending on something or other to do with the moon. However the weather people like to divide the year into three monthly seasons for statistical purposes.

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  8. Gorgeous photos - and since you credit the NHS for some of your longevity, then I'm thankful for them, too! September and October are my very favorite months of the year... I feel so alive and awake, even as all of nature is getting ready to sleep.

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    1. That's interesting Mrs Slapthing. I love the September countryside colours but I'm not sure that I actually have any months when I feel more alive than others. I must think about that one.

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  9. That is one thing I like about you (and your blog - which is how I "know" you, anyway) - you don't whine and complain, but see the many good things in your life and are grateful for them.
    I've always loved the beginning of a new month, and somehow, the 1st of September feels extra special in that way, although I don't really know why. Some years ago, I wrote a short post about the topic. If you like, the old post is here.

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    1. Interesting Meike that we should both have chosen the 1st September for our posts on the topic. Your post made me wonder what things I do on a regular monthly basis defined by a date. The answer is that I can think of absolutely nothing. This month I did remember to say "Rabbits" as the first thing I uttered but it's rare for me to remember.

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  10. Your 867th new month. Gosh. Perhaps you will become a great uncle this month too (though it's more likely to be next month).

    That is indeed a beautiful geranium.

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    1. Well, Helen, that would certainly make the month a very memorable one.

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  11. You are feeling very thankful today thats good. Love the top photo. Hope the weather keeps treating you well through winter.

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    1. Thank you Diane. I am by nature a very optimistic person but with weather..........

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  12. Beautiful photos, as always. As for the NHS, I'm praying the junior doctors' strike is called off. It will be catastrophic for patients, and for the senior doctors who have to cover for them, and who have in their time worked the kinds of hours that today's doctors wouldn't dream of (I have a personal interest in this). But I'm so glad the NHS saved you, Graham!

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    1. Oh dear Frances. I am sorry I didn't respond to your comment. I've been so occupied with other things that Blogland has been neglected. Thank you so much for your kind comment.

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  13. Wonderful blog, sir. I cannot remember if I have been here before. Your last post about the hike to the oil rig was most interesting!

    I have never thought before about how many months I have been alive, but I did the math just now and find that I am 3-1/4 years older than you at 906 months. The exercise made me think of T.S. Eliot's J. Alfred Prufrock: "I have measured out my life in coffee spoons...I grow old ... I grow old ... I shall wear the bottom of my trousers rolled... I shall part my hair behind. Do I dare to eat a peach? I shall wear white flannel trousers and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing each to each. I do not think that they will sing to me." and so forth. Now I'm off to read more about Lewis and the Outer Hebrides.

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    1. I have a feeling Bob that you have been here before. I certainly used to read your blog and I've no idea why I stopped except to say that my Blogland is quite a small one and I don't stray outside into the big wide Blogworld very often. It may well be that I read it when I was in New Zealand and never transferred over. Given that I see you often on other blogs that I read I have now remedied the omission. I like the T.S. Elliot quotation. I will let you know if I hear anything from Adrian.

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    1. One of the advantages, Liz, of living with Big Skies is that every so often one comes along that takes one's breath away.

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  15. Wow GB that first photo is absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!!

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    1. Thank you Virginia. It would have been hard not to take a beautiful photo of such a beautiful subject!

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