Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday: A New Driveway and New Steps

73 Comments

 

A couple of the blogs I read—notably Cimple: A Curious Introvert’s Musing & Photos about Life and Enjoyment—have Thankful Thursday posts, where each week they list a few things they are thankful for. I really enjoy these posts and have decided to follow suit.

It hardly needs to be said—but I will say it anyways—that life is not all sweetness and light. There is much that is wrong with the world, both globally and locally.  From the climate crisis to my creaky knees, I can dwell on the negative with the best of pessimists. To some extent, focusing on what is wrong seems to come naturally to most people, who tend to complain, complain, complain when they get together with family and friends. (I’m no exception, that’s for sure.)

So focusing on things to feel thankful for seems like good spiritual practice, a way to counterbalance the tendency toward negative thinking.

I’m not advocating toxic positivity, pretending everything is hunky-dory when it isn’t. Far from it, and in other posts I will feel free to crab about things large and small. (Hot weather, I’m looking at you.) But on Thursdays, I’ll step away from that to give my thanks for the good things in my life. Like everyone else, I have my struggles, but I also have so much to be grateful for.

And this week, I have two humdingers, thanks to the generosity of our daughter Dee, who lives with us, and our neighbor Bob Smart, who lives next door.

First, our driveway. Truly, we had one of the worst driveways in our town. Long ago, it been paved, but over time it had heaved because of  underground rocks and roots. Then this year, a big truck for pumping our septic system crushed one side of our driveway into a valley.

After the truck fiasco, Dee took one look at the driveway and said, “I’ll pay for a new one.”

Clif and I, who have a budget as big as a minute, were oh so grateful.

I don’t have any pictures of the old horror of a driveway, or at least not ones I could readily find. But here is our new one, beautiful and flat and made from pea stone and gravel, one that will drain and can easily be repaired.

For days after the driveway was installed, Clif and I would stare out the window and gaze lovingly at it.

Our neighbor, Bob Smart, who owns his own construction company, Building Smart, oversaw the project, which involved moving our front steps. Unfortunately, the steps were rotten and were smashed during the process. Without charging extra, Bob rebuilt and installed the steps, and now we have brand new steps to go with our brand new driveway.

Woo-hoo! make that double woo-hoo.

 

 

 

73 thoughts on “Thankful Thursday: A New Driveway and New Steps”

  2. Two wonderful things to happen! If those stairs were rotten then best it was discovered now and not when they are covered with snow! It is marvellous now to have a fine driveway and sturdy steps – the latter is exactly what creaky knees need 🙂 🙂

  3. Double woo-hoo Laurie, the new drive and steps look marvellous! 🧡

  4. Yay! I can’t remember how your steps looked before, but they look great (and sturdy) now. And you’re sure to enjoy and appreciate the new driveway regularly. Also, glad to have you back.

  8. The driveway looks smooth and wonderful.. and worthy of your positive Thursday choice.
    I like the idea of Thankful Thursday… good for me too, as you said, it is too easy to concentrate on the negative..have a happy Thursday Laurie ..💕💕

  10. I’m very envious of the gorgeous drive. Ours is an utter embarrassment. Every year we say this summer we’ll get it fixed and each time something knocks it off the priority list

    1. I know exactly how you feel. Ours was an embarrassment, too. Don’t know how long your driveway is, but even a short one like ours was very expensive.

  14. Now I have driveway envy! And front steps too, lol! But really, what a wonderful facelift to your property. Thanks for sharing; now I can envision similar fixes for ours.😊

  16. That’s one good-looking driveway, and it’s good that the steps were replaced before they gave way with you on them. Are you going to paint them, or just let them weather? Your conditions are so different from ours I don’t know what would be best. In any event — I’d be grateful, too!

    1. I think we will let them weather. Pressure treated wood doesn’t hold paint well. We tried painting our deck, and within a few years, the paint was gone.

  17. Thank you for sharing this inspiring “good news” story. Negativity and misery threaten to engulf us all in these troubled times, so it’s great to be reminded that all around us there are good people doing good things.

    1. My pleasure! It seems that we don’t need much help focusing on negativity and misery. On good things, it’s another matter. I suppose there is a reason for this, but what a funny species we are.

  18. Thankful Thursday sounds a great idea – I may have a go at that. Your driveway looks lovely so well done Dee and Bob. I think I only remember seeing it covered in snow with snow-gauge-Clif! So I wasn’t aWare of its decrepitude before the makeover. And new steps are a great addition. Posh or what?! 😀

    1. Yes, posh. Tee-hee! Kind of outclasses the rest of the house, which, ahem, needs work. And wait until you see what’s coming up for the next Thankful Thursday. Posh, indeed!

  21. What a good daughter and neighbor you have, Laurie — reason indeed to be thankful (even if it’s not November!). I think Thankful Thursday is a great idea, one I, too, might opt to join in on. After all, it’s best for our mental health if we focus on the positives around us rather than the negatives.

  22. Wowowowowow

    Wowowowowow

    I love Thankful Thursday. Something for me to look forward to when I am able to enter this space more frequently.

    Chuckling at the image of you & Clif gazing lovingly at your new drive … I have done loving gazing of my own watching my new bathroom sink being built. So I hear you.

  23. Hi Laurie, I smiled my way through most of this post. Your driveway looks great, and what a generous gesture from Dee. I imagine it will be safer in winter as well. Many of our home updates of late have some element of safety. We had our sideyard leveled, and had the contractor remove the small and poorly spaced stone. It’s now easy to walk back and forth, easy to keep tidy, and safe!

    Your stairs look great! Once again, such kindness and generosity from your neighbor.

    Thankful Thursday sounds like a wonderful trend. It’s nice to have you back.

    1. Oh, nice! Thank you, thank you!

      Having your side yard leveled sounds like an excellent thing to have done. The older we get, the more level we want things ro be. Tidy and safe are a winning combination in my books.

  26. Have you considered posting a video of the new drive so that those of us with cracked and weed infested concrete can gaze in wonder. It has to be as relaxing as running water . . .

    Nice steps too – a stout handrail is a pleasure I have discovered as I have become more creaky over the last few years.

    1. Hadn’t considered posting a video of our driveway. Ha! Wish I had thought to take some before pictures of the horror that was our driveway. As for handrails…yes, essential, especially for those of us with creaky knees.

      1. 🙂 Yes, it’s like my food pictures. By the time I think of taking one all I have is a plate with crumbs on it. 🙂

        Handrails are good. If we were staying here I would have them installed on our steps by the back door as they are a bit of a trial these days.

  28. “focusing on things to feel thankful for seems like good spiritual practice, a way to counterbalance the tendency toward negative thinking.” I agree it is an excellent idea!

    We need more people like Dee and Bob in this world at a time when the world is losing its way.

    Your drive looks smart as do the steps.

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  32. Both driveway and steps look great! I think we’re in need of a new driveaway as there’s a big crack across it, although it has been there for years.

  33. Love your post and all the reasons to take a little break from all our daily struggles, problems and the world!! So happy for you seeing your wonderful new driveway and steps and wish your knees were feeling better!🙂

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