Giving Thanks.

I am thankful that I have tons of leftovers and won't have to cook a meal for three months.  I am thankful that I love turkey.  And thankful that we are able to put this bounty on our tables and share a day filled with good food and love, even if (one of us) would rather have been at a restaurant having someone else go through all the fuss and wash the dishes.

I am thankful for second chances.

I am thankful that the grand-dogs did not decorate the lovely Oriental rug with the remnants of their own Thanksgiving feast.  They are good dogs.

I am thankful for GF cornbread so that I can have stuffing (is it still stuffing if it's not put in the turkey?  Or does that make it something else?  Dressing?  But that would connote that it's ON the turkey.  Which it wasn't).  Sometimes I'm not so thankful for my wondering mind.

I am thankful I didn't have to wear my Fat Pants.

I am thankful that the cats didn't hold it against me for not taking them to the grandparents.  This gave them the opportunity to find every plastic bag not safely stowed out of reach and chew the ends off.  What is it with cats and plastic bags?  Can anyone tell me?

I am thankful for Todays and for Next Weeks.

Giving Thanks.

I am thankful that my cats allow me to live with them and share their furniture.  I am so very lucky that I can act as a launching pad, scratching post, and accepter of their offerings of mouse parts.

I am so thankful that Scrappy continues to forgive me for not feeding him treats 24/7.  I am thankful that he leaves his toys and chewed marrow bones scattered about in strategic places, which allows me the opportunity to practice my balancing act.

I am thankful that I have created such a firm bond with the Guineas that they wait outside on various high roosts until I arrive home in the pitch dark to try to guide them into the safety of the coop.

I am very thankful that the chickens have taken such a long break in laying eggs that I don't have to worry about collecting them, or gathering enough to pay for their upkeep.

I am thankful for my sense of humor - which is sometimes all I have left by the end of the week.

Giving Thanks.

I am very thankful that I had five years to enjoy the sheep-ness of Flora.  She was the matriarch even then, the steady one, the patient one (with my bunglings).  She had beautiful lambs and I am thankful that I have Juno, her first born on this farm, and Linden, her grandson who inherited her sweet nature and beautiful fleece.  (I forgot to add how thankful I am for R's wonderful photographs...)

I am thankful that I have a job that supports me and all my dependents.  I am not quite as thankful for the long commute, but thankfully I only have to make the trip five days a week!

I am thankful that I live in a country that offers me so many freedoms - freedom to cast my vote.  Freedom to speak my mind (or write it).  Freedom to live where I want, move when I want, or to put signs in my front yard - even though someone feels equally free to be able to steal them...

I am thankful that I live in a place where I have enough room to grow my food and can have my furred and feathered friends that add so much to my life, my happiness and my well-being.

And I am always thankful for those Americans who have fought for and defended the freedoms I hold dear.  I cannot literally or figuratively thank them enough. 

Giving thanks.

SweetLand Farm had a great idea and I am stealing it.  I hope she doesn't mind...in order to end this week on an 'up' note, and to continue the trend, I am going to list some things I am thankful for every Friday.  That is the plan - although I chafe at restrictions, as you know.  I may list them on random days.  I refuse to be pigeon-holed...

I am so very thankful, first of all, for all of you.  This single-homesteading business can wear you down when there's no one there to share the joys and sorrows.  Y'all are my rock.

I am thankful every minute of every day for the people I love - for my parents who retain their senses of humor, enough fortitude to be on their own at their age, for loving and supporting me no matter what I put them through.  For my sisters and my girlfriends and everyone else - you know who you are.  If not, I am slipping and I vow to do better!

I am thankful that I am able to live the life I do on my own, no matter how stressful it can be at times.  Mostly, it is wonderful.

These characters would fall under "The Ones I Love."