Thanksgiving, what are you thankful for this year?

Yeah, Celeste, you are one of the most generous people I've ever known! What goes around DOES come around!

That includes the negative too.
Karma is so cool.

Have I been negative towards anyone here? If I have it has not been intentional and I do apologize!

Thanks, Pixie for the reminder---we have a box in town hall---you can drop whatever, whenever in it---we are a small town, but the box is always full.

I love that idea!
Do you have a soup kitchen or Food Pantry in your town? I find that they will often take my produce in the summer time.

This message was edited Nov 25, 2008 6:26 PM

Celeste, I don't think JoAnn was referring to you when she said that the negative comes back around as well. I believe she is speaking in general terms in response to my reference. I have never seen you post anything negative towards anyone.

Celeste, I too know JoAnn is always a positive poster. You need not apologize to anyone for anything and neither should JoAnn. Just a comment, about the circular nature of life.

I'm inspired by the N.E. resolutions for proactive help. Mailbox donations and community street gifting is not done here. Your ideas have inspired me to get something going. Thanks all for the great ideas.
Laurel

OOOOOOHHHHHH Celest e
I certainly didn't mean you. I WAS speaking in general terms as Donniebrook said
I am so sorry if you took it personally.
We all have to admit ,this is a difacult way to communicate, subtlties in refrence and speach are lost.
You have been so helpfull to me personally, I would never want to aime anything at you.
I have lived long enough to see some instances where the universe "pays back" both ways.Thats all I meant.

Probably should post this on the animal forum but here goes.
Dont try this at home
http://canecorso.com:80/lorenzo.htm

That is really awesome. Couldn't stop watching once I started even though I'll be late for work!

Oh Jo Ann, in so glad you meant that in a round-a-bout way! I was fretting all night!! We lost power several times yesterday, after the PC went out for the 5th time I just left it off.

Love the flying frenchman, beautiful horses!

Hey pixie I would never knowingly hurt or aime bad stuff at anyone.
Sorry about your sleepless night.
You have the power to mend,thank goodness.

I am thankful for the new 1 GIG memory chip in my old PC that lets me fly through cyberspace!

Laurel, in my town, adjacent to Boston, we don't do that New England-y helping, that Celeste and Robin are talking about, on a town level. We do it through houses of worship and volunteer groups. I, too, escaped an abusive relationship with my children and my sanity and got toys at Christmas for them. (My fourteen year old daughter still has an intimate relationship with the stuffed animal that really truly came from Santa!) I've started participating in that program as a donor for the past few years. I'm not yet at the stage to provide a whole dinner yet, financially. I do give to the food pantry, again, through my church.

Back to the subject of this thread. I'm terribly thankful that Michaela's husband didn't have a SECOND heart attack - I missed this thread all together last year. I'm thankful that this country has a Social Security system so that I get a payment each month (that I earned) since I'm too disabled to work. I'm thankful that my mother has always been there when I needed her. I'm thankful for my education. For my DG buddies, that goes almost without saying. And most of all for my beloved DH and DDs #1 + #2, and for the relationships that are finally starting to blossom with my stepkids!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my new and old DG pals. I, too, am so thankful for each of you and the help, support, encouragement, ideas and fun you have brought into my life. I have so enjoyed turning a cyber friendship into face-to-face friendships through the generosity of those who have held RUs so that we could meet each other. Thanks to those of you who have put yourselves out for us all.

I am so very thankful for a great marriage to the love of my life, for being able to retire before I got too burnt out to think, for the joy of gardening (planted 40 new vincas today!), for a wonderful son who inspires so many with his determination to overcome a recent disability with incredible grace, for adorable grandchildren who are anything but sedate and boring, for so many fantastic friends and for all of our family - near and far, biological and extended. Finally, I am forever grateful for my faith that has withstood the crucible of trials and proven that there is indeed reason to have faith in a higher power, and for our freedoms secured by so many brave men and women.

Wishing you all a peaceful, thankful day tomorrow.
Louise

If I could write so elegantly, I would have written pretty much those exact words. Well said Louise, and thank you for voicing what is in my heart but my hand and brain can't seem to convey!!!

Happy to speak for you as well, Celeste, but you are never lacking in just the right words!

Well said indeed, Louise! I just paid off a big credit card bill - THANKFUL! Not even on the same plane as what you're speaking of, still, I wanted to mention it,

I am still thankful I have my own natural Teeth

Me too, even if yet another one is going to have a crown on it in the new year.

Me three, even if another of the root canal ones has a huge crack and may need to get wood putty or something. Phew, I just finished paying a huge stack of bills I had been dreading. Thankful I was able to pay them all without going broke - yet.

I'm thankful for so much in my life, more than I could list here. A few things would be:

I'm alive and healthy (for the most part)
I have a family that's not too dysfunctional (LOL! No, their great, have their quirks, but great).
I have many great friends, include all my friends here at DG.
I have a great dog who is near perfect for me.
I have all my wonderful gardens.
I have my sanity (mostly intact!)
I have a job I enjoy (wish it paid a lot more, but who doesn't wish they got paid more [maybe professional sports players and movie stars. No, on second thought, scratch that, I think many of them are not satisfied with what they make, either. Heck, if I made even a 4th of what they make I would be thrilled!).
I grew up in a family with loving parents who never expected us to do anything we didn't want to do with our lives, who always encouraged us to follow our dreams.
I love my new PT Cruiser that I got last December. Still running great, and thankful for that.
I'm thankful gas prices are now the lowest they've been in the last 3 years. Woo hoo!!!!


It's great to hear about some of your efforts to give to those in need. I work with the special needs adults that my company supports in their volunteer jobs, and 2 of the jobs I do with them are Meals-On-Wheels, and volunteering at a local food pantry. I enjoy both jobs very much. Tomorrow my father and I will be going to our local country club where they provide a free Thanksgiving dinner for those who sign up ahead, and the only requirement is that each person bring a non-perishable food item to donate to our local food pantry. Usually I make a big turkey dinner, but I wanted to do something different this year. In lieu of making dinner on Thanksgiving I will be cooking a big dinner this Saturday and having a couple of friends over.

JoAnn, I, too, have seen how karma can pay back good and bad. I have witnessed 2 people, both who had done many wrongs to each other and to others, and both are suffering through very hard times now. Not from things that they did to retaliate towards one another, but from other things that have happened to them. Seems like everything went from ok to bad to horrible to worse. Is it karma? Could be. I couldn't say for sure, but that's what it seems like.

We all get what we give in life. I do believe that where we go after we leave this life is determined on where our true heart is at when we pass on. I don't believe God determines where we go, but we do the choosing ourselves. To me it is the only reasonable explanation, because I don't believe a loving God would condemn good people. And I better quit here before I get into trouble.

Oh, Carrie, and I know what it feels like to get rid of a debt. I just got a big bonus check from work, and I owed the IRS a good amount of money for 1099 income (don't do it unless you have money set aside to pay your taxes). I took that check and paid off the balance of my debt. So thankful I don't have that over my head anymore. Unlike you, though, I am broke now. I get paid on Friday and have 3 large monthly bills to pay. Won't be much left over after that.

Karen

I'm grateful for the opportunity to make a difference today and tomorrow. I don't believe that we all get what we give. I believe that there are many of us who try hard and work hard and get little or nothing. I want to say, at the end of my time, that I lived my life and made a difference. I don't care about money or material things. I don't even care that much about the functionality of my family as it holds up to social scrutiny. I think that I have an obligation to make sure that people have a better life and better opportunities. I'm grateful for the chance to be a part of change.
Laurel

MOST of all this year, I am thankful that my mom is still with us. She fell last Thanksgiving and broke her elbow, ( thankfully not her hip). That healed well, but then other health issues came into play and she has been on hospice care since April. We are amazed at her progress. I stopped working one year ago to stay home with my mom. Needless to say, it has been an adjustment.
As always, I am thankful for a loving husband and family.
I am sooo thankful to have found DG and all the wonderful friends I have met. You brighten my day and have inspired me to garden smarter. ( Now, if that would only work - with my pea brain)

Happiest of Thanksgivings!!!
Jan

I am thankful this morning that pumpkin pie is a complete breakfast!

Hee hee...me too! Goes great with the bacon!! lol

AMEN to that AYK. LOL I'm having birthday cake, cuz I had to make room in the frig. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Jan

I had pumpkin pie at 4am.

Hey EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh I miss you guys... yesterday was a crazy day in a way and I tryed to get some time to get into this computer!!!! but when I make a list of what I am thankful for, you guys come at the top! I told my mom yesterday that without you guys I would never have made it this far... my life is so rich because of you guys! Gardening is trully a blessing in my life - more than anything it gave me a way to meet you all!!!!

I am so thankful for so many things... and when I start thinking about it, all that comes to mind is how I am surrounded by wonderful people! oh such a great thing... so here goes my list!
Thankful for friends and family...
For a garden that gives me not only a way to relax but reminds me of God's creation... and also is a living testimony of the generosity of my DG friends... oh that makes my garden really special!
I am thanful for my friends from my old job... as I go there to see them it feels like a party... oh I miss them... but I am so fortunate for having their friendship and support... they really encouraged me to go on and be a nurse!
and yes, I am thankful for my new job! I love my patients... they are so nice to me... I am learning a lot... each one is so unique and so far I have been able to relate well to each one of them... such a privilegde to get to know them and care for them... my heart goes to them!
I also love my new co-workers... they are so nice to me... everyone is so welcoming and supportive!!!! and I am soooo blessed by them every time I go to work... can't tell you guys enough on how the staff at 7 Central - Lahey Clinic in Burlington is just fabulous... such a great team! our manager is such a wonderful leader... a REAL person... she is so nice... really a great nurse and such a great mananger... totally a people person ... she is really a cool person... I love her! and some of the nurses tease me more than the others... and since I get to work smiling every day, some ask me WHY I am smiling and perky at 7am!!!! oh well, I just tell them I am so happy to see them... and being there!!!! oh they laugh and tease me... such a good feeling... and they are such a fun group... we work really hard, its busy busy busy... but we share good laughs too... my preceptor now is just as wonderful as the previous one... I hope to have pics to post next week since we have our xtmas party and I will take pics! I am soooo in love with all of them!!!!

And yes, by all means I am trully blessed and thankful for exclamation key!!!!!!!!!!!! oh goodness gracious how can I not be! really!!!

Yes, really!!!!

I believe not only pumpkin pie but apple crisp is a complete food group.

LOL!!!!!! I love you, Kassia! You are so full of life, and that is a very good thing to be.

Karen

Ya forgot stuffing, Carrie! Now THAT'S a complete food group.

We sent the guests home with most of the traditional foods while we savor the best. A stew of roasted onions, celery, 'shrooms and carrots plus herbs with turkey neck, heart and gizzard and greens from the garden with fresh pasta. I know this might sound not favorable to some, but it is a traditional lighter family fare the day after.

Hope you all are having a great TG and weekend holiday. Enjoy friends and family while you can. We had a chance to spend time with loved ones and missed others. Darn those uncontrollable, growing up kids with other commitments! (not lol)
Laurel

Well I am thankful I didn't overeat this year and my first try at a choclate pecan pie came out pretty darn good.

Chocolate pecan pie ... ? Do tell!

I've found a tiny bite of everything takes me a long time to get through, but then I'm a slow eater anyway. Then if I have space, I can have seconds on one or two things that were irresistible. But I'm usually full by then.

Good idea, Carrie. Eating slow is best. Your brain takes awhile to get the signal that your stomach is full, so eating slower gives it a chance to catch up. Then you don't stuff yourself.

Karen

I heard that a long time ago, so I trained myself to eat slowly. Now I can't eat quickly - I drive other people nuts! It does help me keep my weight were it should be.

LOL! I drive other people nuts, too! Unfortunately for me, it hasn't helped me keep my weight down. It takes a lot to fill me up. And I enjoy eating. I eat slow because I enjoy savoring every morsel, and also because I have a bad tooth on one side. Will have to get that fixed one day.

Karen

I am so blessed by all of you.