Welcome! It’s good to have you here. It’s such a busy season, moving into the holidays. It’s such a hectic time with all the planning and shopping and Christmas pictures. Personally, I like a nice gift as much as anyone, but honestly, I just don’t really need anything. The rampant commercialism irritates me too. My kids asked me today about Black Friday, so I spent some time explaining what being “in the black” means. I also went on a mini-rant about materialism and talked with them about why I generally avoid the stores on Black Friday. I just can’t fight crowds to buy things! And Black Friday sales get earlier every year. I mean, really, are the margins in the stores truly so razor thin that they must be open on Thanksgiving? What about their employees and their holiday? We can’t have one day a year to reflect and be thankful before we storm the stores for more stuff? Ok, I’m getting down off my soapbox now…

 

This is the thing – Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  I love the family and tradition, the food and hanging out with people. Most of my life, Thanksgiving meant going to my grandmother’s house and meeting up with my family. We ate and watched football and didn’t do much of anything, but it was always a great time. Since that era of Thanksgiving at Grandma’s has ended, we’ve been trying to establish our own family Thanksgiving tradition. It’s been tough to do, with me working on a lot of Thanksgivings over the past decade. Still, I’m sentimental about this holiday. It bothers me every year that the Christmas decorations go out around Halloween, like Thanksgiving doesn’t matter. I know, it’s not a money maker (except for the turkey farmers), but I like my holidays one at a time, thank you. I want to get through one before I have to start working at another! This year I’m off for Thanksgiving (yay!) and I’m cooking for our family. I ordered a heritage turkey (an endangered breed – not one you can buy in a store) and I can’t wait to see how it comes out. I roast my turkey the way Alton Brown on Food Network recommends (but I make a compound butter with fresh sage and rosemary to rub all over the bird and under the skin) and it is delicious!

 

 

 

The past few weeks have been a challenge for me, planning holiday meals, birthdays, Christmas gifts and of course, working. It’s also review season at work, so I’m giving reviews to the members of my team. I feel like I’ve been running at top speed and have gotten out of balance. When I feel like that, it’s a signal that I need to get back to basics.

 

So I went back to doing my grateful list daily. This week, I want to share the things I’ve been thankful for. It’s a reminder to me of all the good in my life, even when things seem off or hard. I hope it will also inspire you today while we enjoy this day of thanks! Here goes…

 

1. Qi gong exercises in the sunroom with Perry

2. Heat blistered asian string beans

3. Frying sage in butter

Smells heavenly!

 

4. Being in my quiet house, alone and peaceful

5. Glowing pink salt lamps

 

 

6. Yoga in front of the warm fire

7. Steaming rug of rooibos tea

8. The scent of freshly baked dinner rolls for Thanksgiving

 

 

9. Bright green soft ripe avocado

10. My children growing friendships

11. My huge cooking bowl

 

 

12. The sound of little one giggling as I help her knead the bread dough

13. A bright sunshiny day for my Thanksgiving morning walk

14. Steel cut oats percolating in my pressure cooker before we wake up

 

It really is a beautiful life. As I take some time to remember all the good in my life, I hope you have a chance to give thanks too, for the good things that you get to experience, no matter what challenges and hardships come our way. There is always, always something to be thankful for, if we will just find it.  Happy Thanksgiving!

 

How are you celebrating on this day of thanks? What are you grateful for? Please share in the comments below!