Thankful on Thanksgiving

This is Thanksgiving weekend in Canada and I have SO much to be thankful for! I am thankful for the beautiful day we are enjoying - the sun is shining, the leaves are glorious in their autumn colours, the birds and squirrels are feeding in the backyard (keeping Oliver well entertained) and we are smelling the turkey roasting for dinner this evening. Yummm... I am blessed with a wonderful family and I'm so thankful for them every day (even though I don't tell them that often enough!) We'll certainly be missing Laura at the dinner table tonight, but she is cooking her first turkey dinner ever (not without a few phone calls and emails to Mum), and they have invited company for dinner; I'm so thankful for the wonderful young woman she has become, and she loves to cook - bonus!
My blogging has been sporadic lately and for that I apologize to my regular readers, but I've been so busy with other things that blogging has had to take a bit of a backseat. I am thankful to be busy with hobbies that I love, harvesting the garden and preserving, and teaching commitments, because in my mind, being busy is SO much better than being bored with nothing to do. I feel so sorry for people who do not have hobbies, or activities they enjoy.
I am so very grateful for my good health. Other than a cold for the past week, which really is very minor in the grand scheme of things, I have no ailments or complaints. I am not on any meds. If you have your health, you have it made in the shade, as the saying goes.
I am thankful for my many friends. I am so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and I love each and every one. Yesterday we helped friends close up their cottage for the winter (actually it was hubby who worked very hard all day, I didn't do much other than help with supper.)
Then we enjoyed a delicious turkey dinner with all the trimmings and three choices for dessert! (Yes we ARE spoiled...) And yes, most of us chose to sample all three! What a wonderful way to end a beautiful fall day - a fire crackling in the fireplace, sitting around the table sharing food and wine in such good company, discussing books and travel, sharing stories and laughter.. it just doesn't get any better!
Finally I am thankful for the many new friends I have made through blogging! And what's better than having blogging friends? MEETING them! In the past few weeks I have been lucky to meet TWO friends I've made as a result of this blog. A follower who lives in British Columbia contacted me last spring to tell me she had been reading my blog for a while and enjoyed it because she grew up here and it was nice to see photos of "home." She suggested perhaps we could meet while she was home this summer/fall. It turns out we are about the same age and attended the same high school and church; once we met face to face I vaguely remembered her - a quick check in the high school yearbook for her photo confirmed the memory I was questioning. (Yearbooks are such a valuable resource as we get older! lol) It was so nice to meet Cynthia and her family and chat about quilting, photography and other interests. So, waving Hi to you Cynthia! Let's stay in touch!
More recently I met Kathy of Gratitude... Attitude... at Forty-Four Latitude (formerly My Maine Blog). After a failed attempt this summer, we "connected" and enjoyed a tasty lunch together. It was so nice to meet this sweet sweet lady in person and chat about blogging and other common interests. Kathy is a
wonderful photographer and shares so many beautiful photos of  Maine - be sure to visit her blog often and leave her some bloggy love in her comment box! She blew me away with the gift of this wonderful basket which she had put together- full of yummy apples, mini pumpkins, candy, mulling spices and Pumpkin Spice tea, fall potpourri and some wonderful examples of her photography- postcards, bookmarks and her book "Old Barns of Maine." How lucky am I?!! Bloggy friends are THE BEST!!
I have much more in my life that I am thankful for, but that's it for today.. it's time to go check on Mr. Turkey's progress... can you smell him?  No? Well, he sure smells yummy... and he'll soon be in my tummy... Happy Thanksgiving!

Peace
Linda

"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you'll never ever have enough." ~ Oprah Winfrey