Happy Independence Day, USA

Happy Independence Day, USA. We have no official fireworks celebration this year due to physical distancing. I am thankful, just the same, living in this country, with its wealth and freedom. Of course, no country is perfect. The USA still has a lot of promise, and I want to contribute to its fulfillment and the peaceful fix, however small.

Here's my gratitude list.

• Toddler, Josiah, and Alayna are sporting their red and blue outfit on the 4th of July. For them, it's another day of play, enjoying the outdoors.

• I continue to enjoy my patio garden, small and manageable for me. I haven't bought a bouquet of flowers for weeks.

• I am thankful for the bees and butterflies in my new home. I didn't know that these insects play an active role in pollinating. Maybe I will have pumpkins this year and not just pumpkin flowers.
• My vegetable scraps are growing tall, at least, a centimeter a day. The picture is a 5-day old picture with goldfish in the bottom-feeding the plants continuously with organic fertilizer. :) They're fun to watch while I'm doing the dishes.
• I continue to have new tomato and eggplant flowers.
• My herbs are happily producing many leaves. I just picked some cucumber, parsley, sage, mint, basil, and cilantro.
• I have some netting around my vegetables. So far, I don't have uninvited creatures feasting on my patio garden leaves. I see squirrels and birds, but they don't go near my plants.
• Spin wheels and scare-owls seem to do the trick on keeping some creatures away.
• Paul's and my energy to work morning and afternoon yesterday, pruning and weeding. We filled ten lawn bags.
• Garbage day today!

• My new workspace with less clutter where I blog, do homework, and bills :(
• Paul and I frequently eat out in the backyard. It's several "steps" away from eating from restaurants. We redefined the meaning of eating out.
• The mature trees around the backyard replace camping for now.
• Debriefing at work post-busy-COVID times. It feels good talking about our past struggles as front liners, our feelings, what we liked about the workflow, what worked, and how we can improve.
• COVID census in the hospital continues to shrink.

Smile

Hello, hello. We're passed the middle of the year. How different this year has been so far. I only hope it will get better with more peace and good health needed around us. I understand we cannot totally control the world if at all. But I can improve myself and hopefully positively influence others.

My little grandson turned 15 months and can walk faster now while he plays with his toys holding one with the right and the other with his left hand. Every time he falls, he gets back up on his feet quickly without crying and asking for help. He has grown so much in less than two years. He is easy to please, and smiles from the simplest things--a cup of fruit, playtime with family, a new toy . . . He likes to do things independently and asks in his own way for assistance when he needs it.

I can smile too with the simplest things around me and be grateful for what I have. I have many blessings so far. We are healthy, we have food on the table, we have jobs, we have a loving family.

My planned vacations that I set 1-3 years ago, all got canceled and got replaced with staycations. I put more time into leisurely walks and gardening instead, and so far, it's been fruitful. I am no near self-sustaining. It's the other way around. I spent more money on soil, seeds, plants, and planters combined in exchange for the small harvest. But the joy of seeing I can grow something, even mushrooms, is gratifying and a real stress reliever.

I have a sole eggplant, tomatoes, and herbs. I even harvested some strawberries that my grandkids enjoyed. I have many more gardening duties to do, mostly pruning.

This year is my tenth anniversary with Paul as a couple. We are finally sharing a home, and now I have a bigger backyard to get busy with. Our children are not surprised. Our friends are not either. It is more like, "finally." It is the unspoken word, but they look happy, just the same. We are getting married!

I admitted 2-critically ill COVID-19 patients this week. Patients are still trickling in, and most of them get better. Generally, the COVID census stays low, so that's reassuring.