Thankful Thursday

I am too late for the thankfulness carnival organised by Lisa at Joyful Chaos, but I'm going to join in anyway! For the big things, see Elizabeth's list at Frabjous Days. Saves me typing a pretty much identical one. Beyond those, here are ten things I am thankful for today ...

1. My mother has found a house at a price she can afford (just!) only five minutes safe and easy walk from ours. This is after her house sold last week within seven days of being put on the market, and for a better price than we expected. (Thank you God! Prayers that everything will go smoothly appreciated - there is no guarantee here that property transactions will go through until all legal formalities are completed, which could take two or three months.)

2. Our new car, which means I can transport the items liberated from the clutter monster (all the more important now her house move is looking imminent), assorted children, baby stuff, musical instruments and the ridiculous amounts of paraphernalia our life seems to involve ... and there are no puddles in the footwell. Joy!

3. Breastfeeding. It means I get to spend loads of time sitting down snuggling my Cherub. And she is getting the best possible nutrition. Double whammy :)

4. Mars Bars. Better still, Mars Bars on special offer so that I can justify keeping a stash of them. And thanks to 3, I have an excuse for eating them ;).

5. Star found the missing king from our Playmobil nativity set - before Christmas, not after - and the missing base from the Playmobil swing set.

6. Central heating, especially now that autumn has finally arrived and it is turning chilly.

7. My laptop, which brings the world not just to my living room, but right to my sofa.

8. National Health Service dentistry, which means we will not have to pay a penny for Angel's orthodontic treatment.

9. Star received an email to say that her entry in a Halloween quiz competition at a nearby children's farm had won a prize. It didn't say what the prize was, but we think we remember the leaflet mentioning a free pass for a year (we didn't take much notice as we never, ever win these things!)

10. The nice chilled glass of white wine Tevye is about to bring me ...

PS. Glass has arrived!