EPISODE 490-KT490-Heads-Up

GRATITUDE IN A MINUTE WITH KAREN TREIGER

I want to give all the listeners to this podcase a heads up that I am nearing the end of this particular gratitude journey.  I have decided to continue this project until episode 500.  I didn’t want to get to episode 500 and just say – well, this is my last episode.  I feel that a bit of warning to those of you have been avid listeners these past 490 episodes.   It is hard to believe that I have been working on this podcast for sixteen months.  I will say that this particular gratitude exercise, for me, has required that I sometimes ask myself what else am I grateful for?  This has led me down some interesting paths.  In these final ten episodes, I will try to share some final ideas and thoughts.  Thanks for sticking with me – hang in there for nine more. 

EPISODE 489-KT489-Gratitude-for-Screens

GRATITUDE IN A MINUTE WITH KAREN TREIGER

Window screens – I usually take these for granted, but in the summer, we should pause and be grateful for these bug-stopping window fixtures.   I find screens to be one of the most important things in my house.   In the summer, I keep the windows open and I find it’s the best way to cool down the house in the morning and the evening.   Without screens, the flies and bugs find their way into the house.   I have nothing against flies and bugs as long as they stay outside.  So, I am really grateful for screens – they stop the bugs from entering and keep the house relatively bug free.  Some bugs do sneak in through open doors or cracks in screens here and there.  But overall, the screens do a fantastic job and I so appreciate having them on my windows in the summer.  It makes a big difference.   

EPISODE 487-KT487-Bees-Love-Purple

GRATITUDE IN A MINUTE WITH KAREN TREIGER

Have you ever noticed that bees love purple flowers?   I saw this in an especially stark manner up at Mount Rainier, where the purple meadow flowers attracted so many bees.  But I see it in my own garden and in the neighbors gardens as I walk past them.   It turns out that bees see purple more clearly than any other color and these purple blossoms tend to have a high volume of nectar – which is what bees are after.  And after a bee finds a good source of nectar, the bee lets other members of the hive know with a “waggle dance.”   The bee performs a figure-eight dance sharing information about the direction and distance to the nectar-laden flower.    The other day, I saw a large purple flower as I was walking and I’m not kidding but there were probably 20 bees on that one large, beautiful flower.  It was quite a site to see.  Let’s all be grateful to the bees and hope for their good health – it matters to us all. 

EPISODE 486-KT486-Todd-the-Landscape-Expert

GRATITUDE IN A MINUTE WITH KAREN TREIGER

We all must face up to our weaknesses and one of mine is gardening.  So, I invited a landscape expert, Todd, over to assess what needs to be done to keep my garden healthy.  We walked around the house looking at the shrubs, flowers and trees and he knew just what needs to be done.  Todd took one look at a tree that is on the side of the house, and said “this tree needs water badly.”  He suggested a slow drip from a hose for about an hour.  I did it the same day and I hope the tree enjoyed the long cook drink.  Some of my plants and bushes are growing too large and he said, “oh yes, I can help you manage that.”   Finally, I showed Todd the monster tomato plants and he laughed and said he would try to find some bamboo to tie them up to, which he said will help a lot.   Thank you, Todd for your expertise and willingness to help me and my garden.

EPISODE 485-KT485-Yellow-Star-as-Protest-to-Vaccine-in-France

GRATITUDE IN A MINUTE WITH KAREN TREIGER

If you thought the use of the Nazi yellow star to protest vaccine requirements was confined to the United States, you are wrong.  The Times of Israel reports that at an anti-vaccine demonstration in France, there were people wearing the yellow star with “sans vaccine” or “non vaccine” written in the middle.   This protest had more than 100,000 people marching against the French government vaccine rules.   The Times of Israel reported that others, “carried signs evoking Auschwitz or South Africa’s apartheid regime, claiming the French government was unfairly mistreating them with its anti-pandemic measures.”   A 94-year-old French Holocaust survivor expressed his outrage stating: “I wore the star, I know what that is, I still have it in my flesh . . . It is everyone’s duty to not allow this outrageous, antisemitic, racist wave to pass over us.”   France’s secretary of state for military affairs called the protesters’ actions “intolerable and a disgrace for our republic.”  I believe it’s important to know that the United States is not the only place that this is happening.