Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  It makes me think of a warm kitchen full of wonderful fragrances wafting from the stove top and oven, and family and friends gathering around with smiles and hugs, sharing memories, making new ones.

Christmas is just too hectic for me and it tends to cause me to hyperventilate and have panic attacks just thinking about the possibility of going to a mall where everyone seems to be in a hurry, pulling out cash and credit cards,with many spending more than they can truly afford, and businesses flashing ads in front of us at every possible angle (beginning before Halloween nowadays!).  It seems more about materialism and competition, and less of joy and good cheer.  Stress is evident in so many faces and depression rears its ugly head.  In general, the Christmas Season seems to have lost a lot of its original meaning and therefore its appeal for me.

Thanksgiving, on the other hand, is about sharing and giving thanks for the many blessings in our lives.  We share this holiday with those who are special to us while eating too much, and, for many of us, traveling to visit with family members or friends we have not seen in awhile.  And for some, there is a wonderful tradition of helping bring food and fellowship to those less fortunate in our communities.

I must inject here that I subscribe to the spirit of the holiday as portrayed in the First Thanksgiving, with the welcoming Native Americans generously bringing food to share with the starving Pilgrims, but not at all to the pain the Native Americans ultimately suffered at the hands of the White Man.

Tradition for the Thanksgiving meal is part universal and part individual.  To most the turkey is the centerpiece, but there is controversy on whether or not to stuff the bird with "stuffing" or have it as "dressing,"  to serve canned cranberry sauce or make it from fresh berries, to put marshmallows on the sweet potato casserole or to have baked potatoes instead.  The green bean casserole....well, some like it, some won't touch it.  And let's not forget the jello salad!  Growing up, in my family there was dressing, fresh cranberries, baked sweet potatoes, fruit salad,and cold canned asparagus....and two kinds of pie:  pecan and sweet potato.

Pea Salad

About thirteen years ago I added a new dish to     my Thanksgiving table....pea salad.  This cold         crunchy, cheesy vegetable dish is a delicious           alternative to that green bean casserole! (When I figure out how to do it, I will put the recipe on the Recipe tab.)  It contrasts nicely with all the hot dishes.  Yummm!



This year I am especially thankful for a number of things in my life.

In January, my little red truck with 165,000 miles on it "died" and needed too much work on it for me to keep it going. With the help of my boss, my financial advisor, my girlfriend, and one of the managers of my local Expert Tire, I was able to find a new home for that faithful vehicle and to wrangle an affordable deal for the Kia Soul I had been wanting for 3 years!  I am so thankful! I named her Steel Magnolia (Maggie for short) and still cannot believe she is mine!!!

Maggie barely escaped damage....Whew!

During a powerful September thunderstorm Maggie barely missed being harmed by a falling maple tree at the corner of the house near where she was parked.  I am very thankful that she suffered nary a scratch although several branches came within an inch of her driver's side exterior.




In May my oldest son, Matt, graduated from Arizona State University with honors, and I traveled by Amtrak to be there.  It was a wonderfully  relaxing trip and I am thankful that I was able to make it!  It took 36 hours by train each way and I reserved a spot in the sleeping car for privacy and comfort.  That way all my meals were included in the price of my ticket, and on the way back I had all my meals served in my roomette.  It was like eating in bed and watching the world go by outside the big window to my left.  I really enjoyed it!

My Amtrak train  2013

I highly recommend taking an Amtrak trip with a roomette if you ever get a chance.  You do not have to deal with the crowds of people and security and waiting that comes with airplane travel, although it does take longer to get where you are going.  It is also not necessarily cheaper, but I wanted to relax and enjoy my trip, and to try something new.  It certainly filled that bill, and I am thankful that I was able to do it that way.

Matt on Graduation Day

I am thankful that Matt graduated after all the hard work and dedication it took him to complete his course of study (Accountancy).  He stuck with it and made excellent grades all the while working as a waiter/supervisor at an Applebee's in the Phoenix area to support himself.  Within two weeks of graduation, he was hired by the State of California as an auditor and he and his girlfriend, Melissa, made the big move to Sacramento.  They seem happy and I am so happy for them!

Matt & Melissa in Olde Town Scottsdale, AZ

Mine are the blue ones!

I am thankful that I got to spend more time getting to

know Melissa (or Miss M, as I call her!).  The two of them have been a pair now for four years. Matt brought her to Texas about 2 years ago for our first meeting and this graduation trip was only the second time we had really had a chance to visit.  Since I never had sisters or daughters, I really wanted to do something "girlie" with her....and so we had mani-pedis!  It was my very first pedicure and it was such fun and I am very happy that it was with Miss M!

Benjamin, my youngest son, is still employed part time for almost a year and a half now, and for anyone who knows me, this is something to be very thankful for, indeed!  He likes the people and the work, and we only hope and pray that soon he will be able to get full-time hours once he gets his health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.  He will have to get more hours in order to pay for it, but that will also mean he has more funds for other necessities, too.

Ben and Pilgrim in the front pasture

I am very thankful that Ben lives here on the farm with me.

There have been many times when he has been a huge help with the fences, the barn, and the llamas.  He is also good company and a pretty good cook.  One day I will try to get his secret recipe for Awesome Spaghetti to put on my recipe page (when I get it figured out how to add that page to the blog!)

I am thankful that I was, once again, able to attend the Wildflower Fiber Retreat this past March and Knit Camp in August.  Being part of a community of fiber sisters and fellow knitters twice a year has become a must for helping to keep my sanity in a world dominated by electronics and mass manufacturing.

I am especially thankful for my job and for all my friends here and across the country.  I couldn't survive right now without the job, and my friends would be impossible to live without at any time.  I am thankful that my home and farm will soon be paid in full (31 more months!).  I am truly thankful for all I have and have experienced.