Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving, Mudflatters!
With so much distress in the world, it’s difficult sometimes to remember all the things to be grateful for. There are many.
First of all, I’d like to thank all of you for reading! I suppose I’d be writing anyway, even if only into the void, but it certainly wouldn’t be as much fun. And thanks to those of you who comment, and give us your feedback. I do try to read all of the comments, and constantly marvel at how thoughtful and insightful they are. Thanks also to those who not only lend their moral support, but financial support as well.
And of course, the list of thank yous wouldn’t be complete without giving a big virtual hug to Snoskred who keeps the Forum running, and to Radans her other half (and our server guy), and to the amazing Admins and magnificent Mods over at the Forums.
The Mudflats certainly wouldn’t be what it is without our wonderful contributing editors Linda Kellen Biegel, and Shannyn Moore, and all of our other regular contributors and guest bloggers who add so much spark and great content to keep things interesting.
Here’s hoping that everyone has a wonderful day, no matter where you are. Use the comments to share links, or recipes, or well-wishes, or tell us what you’re grateful for, or what you stuffed yourself with today!
It is literally true, as the thankless say, that they have nothing to be thankful for. He who sits by the fire, thankless for the fire, is just as if he had no fire.
Nothing is possessed save in appreciation, of which thankfulness is the indispensable ingredient. But a thankful heart hath a continual feast.
~W.J. Cameron
I’m thankful for dogs. My best friend and travel companion of fourteen years I had to let go in July, and the new sweet friend (four years old) adopted in August.
While approaching 100 inches of snow already, I’m thankful for good friends, good food, the physical health one gains from shoveling and hauling in firewood, and for a strong roof (so far, so good).
Thanks everyone for your wonderful wishes. This was a really great thread. I hope you are all having sweet dreams with full bellies and grateful hearts.
Thanksgiving is almost over; I am still working on being thankful for the 50+ years I spent with my beloved sister, who died in February. She valiantly fought cancer for 16 years, determined to live a normal life- and she did, until the last 4 months. We raised each other and she was my best friend- and now I’m the last of my birth family.
She was the strongest person I know; I hope to be just like her, as I face my adversities.
And I am thankful for my oldest daughter, whose baby is due December 5th, the first grandchild for both families. She wants me with her, so I’ll head to Las Cruces NM on the 2nd. The joy of this new life will help me get through the holiday season…
Thanks to AKM, all the mudpups and everyone who makes this blog a great place to visit.
((CO almost native)) the loss of your Sister has to be so hard!
Thankfully, the new life of your Grandbaby will hopefully soften the pain.
I know this probably seems silly. But the last time I saw my older Sister, all of us Siblings went to LoneStar (some restaurant in Phoenix, we don’t have one in Seattle). Big Sis paid the tab. I signed onto their email coupon acct for reductions, whatever maybe it gave a price decrease that night. My beloved Sis has been gone a couple of years now but even tonite LoneStar sent me an email/coupon. Funny how it still gives me comfort remembering that night with her and all of us kids. That’s why I let them keep sending their emails, always nice to remember.
{{CO almost native}}
For every loss there is a gift to help us through. You have many wonderful memories of your sister and soon you will have a new little someone to share those precious memories with.
Your sister would no doubt be proud of how you’re looking forward to the future and all the happy things it will bring to you and your family.
after winter must come spring. the loss of a beloved sister is devastating but now a new life. a new beginning. we have so much to be grateful for.
“Working on being thankful.”
That says it all. So sorry about those hard times. Love sharing the flats with you.
Oh great!
Now the reply to 33.2 (yeah, I ain’t spelling that out again) is now message 35?
Ohhhhh? The reply button on the right side of the screen….,
Never mind.
Oops sorry, meant to make the above reply thirty-three dot two.
My bad!
God blessed you Beth, for having such a wonderful partner to travel life’s path.
I am truly sorry to hear of your loss.
I am thankful that I had the unimaginable privilege of being wife to my best friend, soulmate, and darling, Steve, for a fantastic 39 and a half years; I truly was a lucky, lucky girl. Incredibly lucky.
Although just turned 62, his poor old body was just too worn out to keep going. He died a week ago yesterday. But, oh!, what a glorious love he gave me and how eternally grateful I am he choose me to share his life! beth.
Hugs Beth… and what wonderful memories you obviously have …..
Huge hugs to you. What a loss… I will be thinking of you and am grateful that your memories and time together were obviously so special. Please take care of yourself, Beth.
(((beth)))
Oh Beth, I’m sorry for your loss but happy that you had 39+ years of a beloved Soulmate. ((Beth)) Steve also was a lucky man.
{{{{{beth}}}}}
{{beth}}
You were both lucky to have found each other and shared so many special years together. The pain will ease but all those precious memories will remain. in your heart.
(((beth)))
Beth. i am sorry to hear of your loss. yes my dear lady you are incredibly lucky to be so loved.
hugs and warm regard.
Ahh, Beth. Nice tribute to that best friend/soulmate. Hugs.
Happy Thanksgiving to all. I am also grateful for The Mudflats and everyone here. I don’t post often, but I come here and read posts and comments every day.
As others have said, this has been a tough year. Our small congregation lost two key members in the space of a month, another almost died, then my hubby suffered a heart attack. He had double bypass surgery and is doing well. So I’m thankful that I still have my hubby with me. I’m thankful that our congregation is still going along, despite the bad economy and the heavy losses we have suffered. I’m thankful that my company decided to give me full-time hours and health benefits, which have paid for hubby’s hospitalization. I’m thankful for our families who have supported us, spiritually and financially. I’m thankful for our two sons, daughter-in-law, and one-year-old grandson, who all give us so much joy.
How did thanksgiving begin and why did thanksgiving begin?
http://youtu.be/m900f_qCapw
You must see this! It’s a Teabate/Charlie Brown Thanksgiving mash up. INcredibly funny…….do not, I repeat DO NOT have any sort of liquid in your mouth at any time during the short video. Especially at the end 😉
Happy Thanksgiving to Mudpups, one and all!
Here’s a story guaranteed to bring a tear to your eye and smile to your heart:
“U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords helped serve a Thanksgiving meal to service members and retirees at a military base in her hometown.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/24/gabrielle-giffords-serves_n_1112199.html?1322166593&icid=maing-grid7|maing11|dl2|sec1_lnk2|115460
Happy Thanksgiving Day everyone! Have been reading just not posting but I am so glad that you are all here.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone 😀
To the person who left a raspberry leaf..with a..’happy face’..on it..many thanks..and also..so happy that there no longer are any, full-functional bottles of this …strange-mix..from the 1950s around: Blue Waltz! 😉
Happy Thanksgiving, AKM and Mudpups! 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving. And for all you dog lovers out there, here’s a little video to be thankful for:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD3cgDRsDck&feature=player_embedded#!
have a lovely Mudpups day. i am thankful to all who make this their home away from stresses from every day life. love you AKM and a warm and sincere thank you.
And Happy Thanksgiving to you, too, Jeanne, Linda and Shannyn. I’m thankful for you guys.
Happy Thanksgiving Mudpups. Wish we celebrated it here.
Wishing a happy, love-filled, and peaceful THANKSGIVING to everyone in the Mudflats kingdom, and to their family members as well! May nothing mar this time of fellowship with friends and family as you celebrate life. 😆
Happy Thanksgiving all!
Thanks to all of you guys. My life is certainly enhanced by you, especially those of you I have had the pleasure of meeting in person.
Also, just an aside: I awoke to a dead mouse in the living room and some very proud cats. I figure it should take about 10 minutes on 350. 😀
Happy Thanksgiving.
http://youtu.be/LjKF7aQthcQ It’s not Thanksgiving without Arlo. Enjoy.
Oh, and Pie.
wait.. this version is incredible… http://youtu.be/LNLE5z7jNaM Arlo, live.
Oh, Ripley, you crack me up. And I’m glad I’m not coming to your house for dinner. Ew. 😉
Oh my kitty would be thrilled with your planned ‘dinner’. Thanks for the chuckle.
And just HOW do you stuff THAT???
with a VERY small spoon……
Greetings and salutations on this lovely holiday. We are preparing a Thanksgiving feast for family and friends from Iraq. I have already had my first cup of Turkish coffee as a reward for getting our 20 pound turkey in the roaster. 🙂 I really wanted to share with you all the perfect symbol of what makes us not so different. Walking into our friends house this morning the first thing I notice is a picture on the refridgerator, drawn by the youngest child in the home. I asked Alyaa, the boy’s mother, if parents in Iraq display their children’s art work on the fridge. She said it is very common. I told her that we do that here as well. This is going to be an amazing day. :). Much love to all of you and your own mudpups too!
Isn’t that the real use for a frig? Mine is covered in dog pics, family pics, cards, clippings, announcements, pics from neighbor & faraway kids. The food is just secondary, but I am grateful always for whatever ends up inside, and outside, my frig.
Ahh, occupy the refrigerators of the world–our common ground.
Don’t post often, but I read daily, including all the comments. Seems like a good time to say Thank You to AKM and all who comment here. I appreciate your sanity. 🙂
Us? Sane???
Shhhhhh!! 🙂
Here to all that make MF such a special place for us all to come.
To all others..here is to thankful times today, with plenty to eat and warm love from those around you.
To the start of new and better times for all.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Ditto- I can’t say it any better, UgaVic!
It’s been a tough time since the last Thanksgiving……lots of challenges mixed with some moments of joy….This will give me a chance to gather my thoughts before the hustle and bustle of preparing food and enjoying the Family gathering that is about to descend upon our abode in a few hours…
I’m thankful that I have a job with benefits, so that I can provide a roof and food, light and heat for my family; it may not be the lifestyle we’ve had in the past, but it is sufficent , and for that I am thankful, for many others have less.
I’m thankful that I have a caring wife, who has stuck by my side thru many difficult times not of our making, who can with a smile still set my heart ablaze and make me feel I am the luckiest man alive.
I’m thankful for my two daughters, who hold special places in my heart and life, both wonderful caring people in such different ways, and proud of their individual accomplishments. One who has needed special care and support thru the years for having a ready smile, and the “never say die” attitude as she makes her way thru a life with difficult challenges, the other for being understanding of her sister’s needs, being focused and determined in making her own way to adulhood ( and for playing softball !)
I’m thankful for the large extended family that I have, as I know there is always someone within it for support or advice when needed, and for the new friends I have made and the new places I have seen this year.
I am thankful that I have the opportunity to help others less fortunate , that I live in a country that allowed me the honor to serve, allows me to express my opinions and to live my life the way I choose,
and lastly 🙂 I’m thankful for all this food we’re gonna munch down on, especially that pumpkin pie that has my name on it !
Hey Ben — you spent too much time writing. I ate the pumpkin pie while you weren’t looking.
Don’t worry Ben, I snagged a piece and hid it for you while Slipstream was getting the whipped cream from the refrigerator!
Hey!
Thanks Lennie… but I figured Slip would try something… I hid an extra pie in the back of the refrigerator …. wife makes 3, one for T-day morning, one for the guests/family, and one for the day after ! OY! I SO need to dust off that excercise machine now !
wonderful post BenLomond. what a gracious pup you are.
🙂
A perfect example of why mudpups are the best.
I am grateful to have found such a warm, welcoming, thoughtful, intelligent, curious, caring, compassionate, and entertaining community here at the Mudflats. Thanks to AKM and all those behind the scenes who make this place run so smoothly and to all those who visit our community.
May you all enjoy a peaceful – and tasty – Thanksgiving with those you hold dear.
A song of thanksgiving from Joy Harjo-
“At this table we sing with joy, with sorrow. We pray of suffering and remorse. We give thanks.
Perhaps the world will end at the kitchen table, while we are laughing and crying, eating of the last sweet bite.”
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/179782
Life has been full of losses lately. It is good to be reminded of the full richness which still surrounds.
Best wishes to all.
The bf and I are going to Mahopac, NY, for a family gathering at the lovely home of his younger daughter’s MIL. I’m the only vegan, so I made gorgeous stuffed portobello mushrooms. The recipe is posted in The Forum. I also made a scrumptious portobello/Cippoline onion/rosemary gravy, and am preparing a raw cranberry/tangerine relish with sweet spices (cinnamon, ginger, vanilla bean, allspice, nutmeg, clove, mace, and cardamom). I may even make it my dessert, because other people’s confections tend to be loaded with dairy and eggs, neither of which I eat. Can’t wait to see what veggies are on offer! Also bringing an organic Spanish Cava. Yum.
Much to be grateful for, including The Mudflats and everyone here. Health and peace.
Oops! I meant to post this:
http://www.care2.com/causes/thousands-to-gather-for-thanksgiving-dinner-in-zuccotti-park.html
3,000 dinners will be served at Zuccotti Park this afternoon for anyone who wants them.
Thanks for the link.
It truly warms my heart to see this.
And it’s the side of the OWS, their sense of community and caring, that the media should be showing to the general population.
I am thankful for the abundance of goodness in people…and the evidence of it is there to focus on….if we will.
A Happy Thanksgiving to all, especially to AKM for this special site and its community.
Happy Thanksgiving to all. I’m grateful I’m not Sarah Palin. 😉
Gobble, gobble.
Littlebird is safely home and sleeping in.
Her tofurky is ready for the crockpot,
and Happy is roasting a small turkey for the omnivores.
(teh ebil rooster survives to crow another day…but his day is coming soon)
🙂
We’ll feast and Skype with friends and family.
We’ll play scrabble and watch the parade and “the puppy show.”
We’ll tromp around the forest.
Here’s a family favorite for the season,
served warm from the oven for breakfast
or later as a side dish, or with a scoop of ice cream for dessert.
“Some like it hot,
some like it cold…”
Littlebird’s Favorite Cranapple Oatmeal Bake
4 medium apples
half a bag of fresh cranberries
1/4 (one fourth)cup sugar (a little more if you have a real sweet tooth)
Wash cranberries.
Chop or slice apples
(we like ours chunky, but some folks prefer sliced or petite diced. Suit yourself.)
Combine fruit in a baking pan/dish, sprinkle with sugar, and mix well.
Topping:
1 stick butter
3/4 (three fourths) cup brown sugar
1 1/2 (One and one half) cups oatmeal
cinnamon to taste
Melt butter.
Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, and oatmeal.
Spoon the topping over the fruit.
Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, until bubbling hot and nicely browned.
I cover the dish for the first 20-30 minutes to keep those juices in, the uncover it for 10-20 minutes to brown the top.
Frozen cranberries work in this recipe, but I usually stir them in a pot on the woodstove until they pop. (Add some water or apple/cranberry juice to keep them from scorching.) Smells like heaven with the apples and cinnamon sugar.
This recipe expands and shrinks well, also, too.
I like a pretty much equal ratio of apple to cranberry, but we’ve tried other ratios with the same delicious results.
Enjoy!
*counting my blessings*
thatcrowwoman
Wow, that sounds absolutely scrumptious!
Don’t have an cranberries in the house but have everything else so I might have to try that tomorrow when I can stop at the grocery store.
Enjoy!
Thank you for the recipe! I happen to have a spare bag of cranberries and 4 apples.
Unfortunately I tend to expand more than shrink this time of year.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
And thank you AKM, Linda, Shannyn, Guest bloggers, Mudpuppies all for making this a place for which I am endlessly grateful. 😀
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We are at my daughter’s and missed the first snow of the season!!!
I really want to sit in that rocking chair and warm my feet by the cozy fire. I guess I could do that in my own living room, but it’s a bit late for that, so I’ll just imagine myself into the picture.
Hmmm, what am I thankful for. My youngest daughter and I were talking about that last night. It has been an odd year for our family. Things have been really good or really bad. It started when I had a car accident and totaled the car, followed the next week by my father-in-law’s passing. Then we found the perfect replacement car. Hubby and I had a fabulous trip to Florida where we spent a day enjoying Harry Potter, several days at Walt Disney World, a 3 day cruise on the Disney Dream, more days at Walt Disney World – all with uneventful travel.
Oldest daughter and her husband had their first child (our first grandchild – a boy). And then for the bad part- he has some real health issues that meant three stays and two surgeries during his first 4 months. That’s a lot for a little guy and very hard on first time parents. But the good part is that our grandson was in Seattle Children’s Hospital and the doctor in charge is one of the best in the field for what he has. Sometimes we just land in the right place. And he is now back home and they have some excellent home care nurses.
On one of those trips to Seattle to see grandson, I was driving with my husband and decided to get in the HOV lane (rush hour, dusk, just coming out from under the Convention Center) and changed lanes and got hit. I didn’t see anyone there (I don’t think the guy had his lights on actually), but my car was totaled – again. We’ve now been able to replace that car, and I’m happy with this new one. But honestly, getting a horse is sounding very appealing about now – and I don’t ride. The only good thing out of that is that we weren’t hurt, beyond a small cut next to my eye where my glasses hit my face and we both had stiff necks.
Younger daughter came up with the idea to record some songs for older daughter’s son and we have started working on it. We love singing together but always find reasons that we don’t have the time. But now that we have a purpose and a goal and a time constraint (it’s to be a Christmas gift), we’ve started and had a great time the other night and set up more rehearsal/recording dates.
Oh, and another good thing is that my husband has retired this fall. So there were two retirement get-togethers tucked in there with the visits to the hospital to see grandson while he was there for 33 days. So far so good with the retirement. We’re not driving each other crazy yet. We’ll be taking a long weekend trip to Disneyland soon – hopefully it won’t be raining as much there as it is here.
I’m thinking of changing my name to Pollyanna as I have needed to play the Glad Game this year. There are so many things to be thankful for and I really need to focus on those and not the sad ones or, in the case of cars, the scary ones.
So, tomorrow we will go to daughter and son-in-law’s house because it’s very difficult for them to take grandson anywhere and he can’t be away from home much more than an hour. I only had to make the dressing and it’s done, ready to be baked.
Happy Thanksgiving to all – stay safe and do something wonderful with your family and friends today. 🙂
Let’s hope that your year from here out is filled with less sad and scary and more much happy and good.
Be careful with that Seattle craziness, called driving or commuting!
PollyAnna is always a good example to follow!
I really do avoid driving in Seattle, especially at rush hour. So now that grandbaby is home, I won’t have to make that drive 4 or 5 times a week like I was doing. That’s something to be thankful for right there.
Wow Pat, I hope next year is a bit more boring for you! But a new grandbaby has to be the highlight.
(remember, middle lane in the Convention Center Tunnel, always!) 🙂
Keep on singing. So good for everyone. Wonderful the way folks rise to the challenge of being thankful when life has thrown a few curve balls.
Nice to prop my feet by this fire. Hope all have a relaxing day.
Yea, what are you doing here before me. I’m usually the first one trolling the blogs in the wee hours. Happy Day to all just the same.
Cheers!
I should correct myself and say “blog” since is the only one I really read any more. I used to get a kick out of Halcro’s posts, but he has sort of fizzled out lately.
What am I doing here before anyone else? I don’t have a recipe, but I do have a silly muys joke.
Tea Partiers – Symptoms Without a Cause
I’m grateful that no one reading that will be able to throw a snowball at me. We have the absolute best snow right now – tons of it – and tomorrow is going to be kid and dog heaven! I might just go out and play with them. Have a good day all!