Thanksgiving Day

 I guess about one post a day is all I can generate. Oh, well. I'm not any less grateful even if I did not meet my self determined goal of at least one post a day this week.
Today, I'm grateful for the love of friends and family.
We may be having a quiet Thanksgiving with just Cal and me and Joe; but, our hearts are full of those dear to us even if our house isn't.
We are going to have the traditional turkey dinner and a lot of football will be on the TV (like most household in America). We did watch a few minutes here and there of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. (In this house, the Rose Bowl Parade is the one parade  we watch from start to end. In fact, the parade and game we saw in person a couple of years back is still a topic of conversation in our house. It was so fun to be there!)
As we celebrate today, we send our love to our many family members and friends, with wishes for a joyous holiday season.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Day 2 of Thankfulness

OK, post up a little late but it's here.
The brief essay today on my Thanfulness list is the comics.
My day is not complete without a little bit of humor.
I read every single comic in the paper and like those that make me think as well as laugh, like "Doonesbury". Cal only reads a few select ones like Bizarro and Rubes.While "Pickles" is one I often chuckle over with Cal, mainly because of the funny truths about the relationship of an older couple, it is not the first one I look to at this time of year.  No, that honor goes to "Mutts" by Patrick McDonnell. His entries on what you are thankful for are endearingly drawn and tug at my heart. Today the sentiment is 'family'.
Now, I know many of you just head over to the MSN homepage in the am. Others still get the newspaper; but, rush to the front page or the sports news. I do skim the entire paper even to read my horoscope (no, I'm not a silly ninny who believes in any sort of magical ideas - it's just part of my humor for the , like the occasional "Dear Abby", too). Comics though are my 'go to' first off. Cal is often the one who picks up the paper from the front step and always sets the comics aside for me. When the newspaper first started printing funnies in color every day and not just Sunday, I was overjoyed.
Stacy Julian, co-owner and co-founder of Big Picture Classes, talks about colors making her happy. Me, too! Nothing like a bright and silly moment.
Yes, I am truly thankful for the funny, silly, wise and thoughtful moments that come when I read the comic strips each morning.

Thankful Thoughts

 Here in the USA it is Thanksgiving week. Folk are planning huge dinners, forming shopping strategies and figuring out ways to juggle the in-laws and the outlaws. Many are collecting their thoughts about being thankful. I thought maybe this week I could write daily blog posts on that subject. Actually, I decided to focus my thankful thoughts, at least for the first part of the week on the media.
I was writing a reply on Paperclipping Round Table, http://www.paperclipping.com/category/roundtable/, one of my on-line haunts, that inspired this set of potential essays.
I really am thankful for my on-line communities. So many good friends, not all close; but, all meaningful. I think the early stages of retirement from an intensely time consuming job like I had could be very lonely. I simply have not felt that and think my on-line friendships are part of the reason why. A number of the on-line friends have become in-person friends, too and the on-line connection has helped some other friendships remain viable through time. Even family seem closer. We may not be invited to everything that happens in our grown children's and grandchildren's lives but we do see the pictures on Facebook. Oh, sometimes we can feel left out of some things; but' we'd feel those emotions even without FB. At least, we know what we missed!
For some individuals the electronic environment has been isolating and destructive. Hours of on-line poker for money could clearly be detrimental, I could not even imagine what that must be like. However, when one has a physical limitation the internet can be a godsend.
Just a short post without dwelling on the subject overly much. Just want to be thankful for on-line communities in specific and the internet in general.
Life is good. I don't think it will be too difficult to find other things to write about for the rest of the week. Tommorow's subject will have to do with the newspaper.

Flashes of Spark3 and Utah

 

Have not been home much

No, that trip to see the relatives was not my last. Shortly after that I made several trips to Spark3, CKU reunion,  An Osler Institute OBGYN review course in Dallas, and a crop for Susan Komen sponsored by Charity Wings in French Valley, CA.
I'm glad to be home!!!!
I did have fun, though travel and my neck problem are not particularly compatible.
It's been a lot and now that I am home the holidays, a bathroom remodel and Joe's poor health are challenges. I'm just taking a deep breath and trying to look at it all one day at a time.
I'll attempt to dig up photos and post some pictures of my fun and activities before next week. Just wanted to get this up-to-date.
I'm getting a new blog design and excited about that!