Part of the Fun is the Planning

I always enjoy planning Thanksgiving. Sometimes family has come to my house and as a group we have put together a fantastic feast. A few years mostly due to weather we have stayed home and done Thanksgiving by ourselves. One year we just went away for a night and had dinner out and stayed in a hotel. It was a quick rest during a busy time.

This year we are returning to my mother's house for Thanksgiving. That hasn't happened in a few years. It will just be three of us, but the planning has already been fun. How many ways can you do a turkey. Lots! One recipe I wanted to try made my mom wrinkle up her nose. "I don't like sweet things on turkey." The maple glaze idea went away. After discussing many turkey ideas, I think Mom will just do it her way, which is the all-time best. 

I can't wait to try some new side dishes to serve up with traditional potatoes and gravy. Soon I will can pear mincemeat for one of the pies. All the planning and conversations is what makes planning for the holiday meaningful. It is weeks away. I am sure Mom and I will have a few more conversations about the menu. I am sure I will check out more ideas for the dinner. Along with the big dinner, I also look forward to some quiet time during Thanksgiving break.

I am thankful for Thanksgiving.

A Gift Outright

Today I am thankful that I live in a place that is free. I am provided with opportunities to explore the vast land any time I want. That is a gift outright.

The Gift Outright


The land was ours before we were the land’s.
She was our land more than a hundred years
Before we were her people. She was ours
In Massachusetts, in Virginia,
But we were England’s, still colonials,
Possessing what we still were unpossessed by,
Possessed by what we now no more possessed.
Something we were withholding made us weak
Until we found out that it was ourselves
We were withholding from our land of living,
And forthwith found salvation in surrender.
Such as we were we gave ourselves outright
(The deed of gift was many deeds of war)
To the land vaguely realizing westward,
But still unstoried, artless, unenhanced,
Such as she was, such as she would become.

-Robert Frost

Remembering With My Camera

Today I am thankful for my digital camera. I am on my third one and these cameras have helped me create a visual timeline of my life the last few years. If we ever need to remember when something happened or where we were, we just go to the photo files. Here are a few of my favorites from the last few months.

Thankful for Friday

It has been a hectic, crazy, busy month. I am thankful to have a job that I love, but today I am thankful for Friday with a short day at school and plans for a relaxing week-end. Photo above taken a recent morning on Lake Roosevelt by Barnaby Island.

Thankful

Today I am thankful for the beautiful corner of Washington state where I live. Today sunshine, mist, and a rainbow.

Good-bye October

It must have been the combination of sunshine, clouds, rain, lack of rain, barometric pressure, lining up of planets, fog, and harvest moons that created a most spectacular October. The flowers have never bloomed as well. The fall foliage has never been so diverse in color and texture.

The skies have never seemed so blue. Sunrises and sunsets have been breathtaking. November is usually a study in contrasts. Tomorrow we will begin more gray, early dark evenings, fog, bare trees, and the winding down of autumn. It all has it's own beauty though. Enjoy favorite images of October.