Three Things...Gratitude Thread

[leebee]

Potter, the black and white cat we had for 17 years. We miss him so much!

Penguins- they are funny to watch and are my youngest sister's favorite animal. I am always on the lookout for a new penguin "something" to send her!

Newspapers and magazines- I know print media is dying, but I love to sit with a cup of coffee and read the Sunday paper, or browse thru a favorite magazine.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

1. Black & White photography - Not that I'm any kind of pro with color or other filtration approaches, but it's this sort of happy accident for me when I try my hand at it and am successful at using these stark contrasts to convey more feeling than a saturated alternative. Most of my black and white photos feel very cold and I wind up scrapping them for color, so I really appreciate it when I see anyone meeting and exceeding this artistic challenge.

2. Black and White Cookies - I may not be a fan of Oreos, but I do love a black & white. I'm not usually a fan of cakey cookies, but these have that nostalgia factor. They're not available in many places down here, but if I'm lucky enough to get them, I still eat the black (chocolate) side first.

3. Magpies - They're pretty common birds in certain regions, but we don't get them here, so it's always a treat when we travel west and I see one of my favorite birds. I tend to prefer the aesthetics of the black billed magpie over other varieties, but many people on the west coast probably get the yellow billed version (like Heckle and Jeckle). They're supposedly very intelligent creatures and this video (not mine) seems to illustrate a deeper connection with others of their kind.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Black and white keyboard keys that help us all stay close and in touch.

Oooh, good one!!

(I also second books, pianos, and cookies!)

and will add Chess/Checker Boards

 

[newski_mom]

Black and white things:

1. Soccer ball - not a huge soccer fan per say, but loved watching DS play in high school!
2. Piano keys - love playing and listening to piano music!
3. Salt & Pepper - easy and convenient seasonings!

 

[bluecastle]

1 The 88 keys on my piano have brought me much joy over the years. Also the 70 or so on the electronic keyboard I inherited from my dad when he passed in November. No geater joy than watching my DGD rock out while she plays to the pre-recorded tunes.
2. Definitely black and white photos. They somehow capture what is essential, especially in facial expressions
3. Watching old black and white TV shows and movies. Can’t stand when a movie is colorized. Very grateful for the DVDs I have of the original MMC, Dick Van Dyke show, Twilight Zones, and movies like Casablanca and The Philadelphia Story (to name just a few)

 

[1420Elexismc]

Me! LOL
Love black and white photography
Printed pages in books

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Leebee, hugs, my dad gets the newspaper daily. He worked for many years for a major paper out here. Glad you enjoy it too.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Today's Topic (Thur, 3/7) - Favorite toys you are/were grateful for

 

[leebee]

Spirograph- the original one, with the push-pins to hold things in place. I loved that! The resident 7 year old has the current version and it is merely a former shadow of what used to be. I understand safety, but the ruined spirograph because you can't trust kids not to poke themselves with a pin? Grrrr... don't get me started...

Easy Bake Oven- I never had one, but my friends all did. Man, I loved that thing!! My parents refused to buy one- "we have a kitchen and oven you can use"- but it just wasn't the same.

PlayDoh Fun Factory- I had all the dies, all the cutters, all the colors. I'd play with that thing for hours! We have one now, and I think I stay occupied with it longer than the 7 year old does!

 

[WDWEPCOT]

Board Games - we played all kinds of them Yahtzee monopoly scrabble game of life aggravation I can go on and on

Deck of cards - if you had a deck card you could play just about anything - we play cards at lunch at school we play cards at night we play cards on the weekends all kinds of games - jacks / crazy 8s / rummy
Poker

Puzzles - seek n Finds / word finds / cross word puzzles / regular puzzles - get the weekly TV guide and start doing the crossword puzzle before your sibling grabbed it

 

[bobbiwoz]

Today's Topic (Thur, 3/7) - Favorite toys you are/were grateful for

My bike. It was black and white, and when I was on it, I pretended that it was a horse. I rode all around, and I lived in a rather large city. Never told my parents, I was very lucky!

Hula hoop

Played Monopoly a lot…had lots of day dreams about houses and hotels!

 

[slo]

Good Thursday Morning!

#1 - Barbie Dolls - My BFF and I loved loved loved playing with our Barbies.

#2 - Mr. Potato Head and My Little Pony - not just any ones you’d buy at a local store, but the ones we got in Downtown Disney at Once Upon A Toy. You paid for one box and were allowed to shove as much as you could in this box - the only rule is the box had to close. I have the best memories of my DH spending a great deal of time working on getting as much in these boxes as he could. With him being an engineer, he took this as a great challenge. The amount he’d fit in these boxes was mind blowing. He did this every year for a few years. We still have all of it in storage (with one of those boxes, for each DD, for a few years, adds up to a lot of pieces) in the girls playroom for grandchildren one day.

#3 - American Girls Dolls - Holy Moly, we bought so many of them. Each DD had 9 each, for a total of 18 dolls. My DD20 still has hers here and they are in the playroom. We have fantastic family memories of going to the AG Store in downtown Chicago. We actually still go and walk through it. These dolls will always hold a special place in our hearts.

 

[WDWEPCOT]

OMG the potato head I remember doing that I wonder where mine is at??? That was so much fun walking around the store shoving all that stuff in those boxes and then get the lid to shut !!!!

Back when I was a kid you Mr. potato head was used on a real potato to get one my mom to give me a real potato so I could play with it was like asking for gold

 

[WDWEPCOT]

Curious question - have any of you all bought those huge Lego sets and done any of those?? I think those things look so cool but I would be baffled to put those things together just wondering if anybody on this thread is done any of those and how that worked out for you?? They have some amazing looking sets that store is always jampacked with people buying them just wondering if anybody here it’s done one and how it worked out??

 

[bobbiwoz]

Curious question - have any of you all bought those huge Lego sets and done any of those?? I think those things look so cool but I would be baffled to put those things together just wondering if anybody on this thread is done any of those and how that worked out for you?? They have some amazing looking sets that store is always jampacked with people buying them just wondering if anybody here it’s done one and how it worked out??

We have bought large sets, but in the end, we donated them. The last one we bought wasn’t that large, but we like Up a lot, so we bought the house with balloons. We wound up donating it to Toys for Tots!

We have Dreams of doing something like that together, but it may not happen.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Love to all of you and so many wonderful early morning shares

Stuffed animals soft and friendly looking brought me such comfort as a child. Minty and Benjy, two much loved stuffed animal friends from my very young years still are with me today.

Playmobile kids were toys that helped me to rise above unhealthy living situations at timed and feel safe and at peace.

Dad and I still enjoy hidden pictures especially and also spot the differences meant for kids because we both prefer the simpler fun and all color images to black and white. I enjoy kids word searches because they are fun themed, not as many words, and larger print. Paint with Water books were a lot of fun growing up too. I enjoyed all activity books as a kid, mazes especially.

Colorforms were also such fun. Did any of you have a Big Wheel? I only know I had and enjoyed mine. I don't have any clear memory of riding it. Bike, skates at times, mini golf, etc, all fun

 

[WDWEPCOT]

Big Wheel - the ultimate cool toy!! Took forever but I did finally get one!!! Loved it !!!
I love doing paint my numbers mazes those kind of things spot the differences they used to have these books I wish I could remember the name of them something rangers and they come I think it was once a month they were geared at kids and they had stories and all these little puzzles and things to do with them I remember getting those when I was a kid they were a lot of fun

 

[mumto3girls]

Toys:

Sleds—we had a yard we could sled in—so much fun.
Barbies—played for hours with sisters and neighbors.
Pogo stick—I was really good at the pogo stick.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

That sounds fun, WDWEPCOT, I don't remember those maze books but would enjoy doing one with you. To you and everyone, a reminder that Dollar Tree sells an activity book called Super Play Pad Jumbo. It has word searches, crosswords, fill-ins, hidden pictures (not in color though), mazes, etc, such fun and at a bargain price!

 

[Tink-osophy]

Sorry, I missed yesterday, I didn't get onto the Dis at all!!

Favorites toys

The board games thread makes me think of games, so

I had a game I loved called Fun Fair (I think it's still in a box somewhere)

Scrabble for Juniors is another one I remember enjoying.

And Twister!

ETA: Reading all of yours is making me nostalgic for Play Doh Fun Factory and PlayMobile and cycling around for hours!