November 26, Thanksgiving

It is a beautiful day today. And for that I am thankful. For goodness reigns.

Corner View ~ Thanksgiving Yoga

I’m sitting back to relax after a really long day and opened my computer to find some wonderful and kind comments on my last blog. Thank you. But I read my daughter’s little comment and I feel compelled to explain.

When she said her butt hurts it’s because it is what every little equestrian girl complains about and in just about every language. Because they ride a lot, and their little bums are sore a lot. So…moving on.

This week’s Corner View theme is about eating out. But here in the United States, it’s Thanksgiving time. And no one eats out. Everyone is stressed because they are trying to cook something that they haven’t cooked in a year to impress people they would not normally spend time with.

But that’s the cynical view of things.

Or on a happier note, they travel hundreds or even thousands of miles to make sure they spend time with people they love and don’t normally don’t see during the year. And this is the one time where they can really sit back and watch mom cook them a huge delectable meal. As in my case.

Yesterday, my yoga class was completely full. I’m not sure which of the above applied to whom…but I’m sure what whatever the case, everyone needed a little bit of relaxation. A little cleansing breath to gird their loins for what is to come in the next couple of days.

Gird their loins…it’s my new favorite saying now. It’s biblical you know.

Look at the husband. He’s facing the opposite way as the rest of the class. Snicker, snicker.

None of the above photos were taken yesterday, but they illustrate the point.

I think that celebrations are only stressful because we don’t celebrate enough. Which is why I continually party during the year, in order to not feel stressed during those mandatory party times. If you exercise constantly, it doesn’t hurt so much when you finally get out to jog around the block.

But this year, it won’t hurt at all because my mother is doing the cooking.

So take your example from the husband. Just relax and have fun this Thanksgiving. He does the corpse position very well doesn’t he?

Namaste and Happy Thanksgiving to my blogging friends. You mean so much to me.

November 25, Holly In November

Is it Christmas yet? One holiday at a time, sorry. I just get so excited.

Thanksgiving Espanol

For those who are not aware, my sister suffers from ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. It is in the latter stages and she is completely immobile. She cannot walk, sit up, use her arms, eat or speak. This post however, is not about that, sad as it is.

It is about her companion, Gladys. Gladys comes to my sister’s home every day and for six hours a day. She takes her to the bathroom, makes her tea, changes her sheets, does her laundry and takes care of her kids when they get home from school. Gladys is a sweetheart. She’s from Guatemala and she doesn’t speak a lick of English. Which is fine, since my sister is no longer capable of speaking either. Somehow though, they understand each other, it’s the weirdest thing.

My ears would strain to understand the sister’s labored and almost inaudible speech and Gladys would nod her head and says, “Si, si. Mr. Si.” Or something like that.

Gladys will be spending the Thanksgiving holiday with us. So I am tasking my kids to translate for me. For you see, the girl is taking Spanish II and the boy? He’s in his fourth year of Spanish. I’m putting my kids, their teachers (who I hold resposible for their education, go figure), and the Maryland public school system to the test. It’s time to put the money where the tortilla is. It’s time to show me the quesadillas. 

Funny how the only Spanish words I know refer to food.

Though I’m sure the Ivy Leagues are not going to be knocking at the door to come and take the boy away (oh my), he has done very well and somehow ends up on the honor roll each year. (Watch he doesn’t do it this year just because I said that.) And the girl? She’s a smarty pants, really.

So kids…I’m sure there will be perfect translations of “I’ll take the number five value meal please.”

 

I told the kids this and they looked at each other with more than a little trepidation.

“Mom, ummm…I’ll try.” the boy says.

“Mi ya something, something, something (et al),” says the girl.

“What does that mean?” I ask.

“It means my butt hurts,” she answers.

Well then, this should be a piece of cake.

November 24, The Unexpected

There’s something about finding fresh blooming roses amongst the beds of fallen brown leaves that speaks to, dare it say it?

Hope.

Thanksgiving Sink

I know the titles have been a little strange. The only thing I can say is this, I can’t be any other way. I’m quirky and I can’t hide it.

And since this is my space, I’m free to be me.

For this Monday’s memory, I think about the girl and my mother.

The two of them together in the kitchen last year, preparing Thanksgiving dinner.

I loved seeing it.

And the girl loved doing it. This year, we’ll be with my parents again. And I hope to document that too.

 

It was 13 years ago when the girl would get bathed, in the very sink in the very kitchen where she now helps with Thanksgiving dinner.

It gives me a quirky, sentimental feeling.

Posted on Gayle’s Monday Memories. Happy Thanksgiving from the USA.

Hosted by Cecily

November 23, The Days Ahead

I am filled with optimism for the days ahead.

Thanksgiving Oil Change

A few weekends ago, I was at a serving event. The guys gave free oil changes to people who would not do this essential thing on their own. People like the unemployed, single moms, and the working poor. Yes, in this county there is a huge population of the working poor. Almost 200 people were served that day.

Last weekend, I missed a giving thanks event where my church handed out Thanksgiving meals to the needy. And I wish I was there.

For you see, in this season of giving, I take a look back to where my heart was six years ago, before I started attending church regularly, and where it is now.

I’m not saying that I’m an angel. And if you read this blog on a regular basis you will know that. But I do know that the spirit of serving and giving has been ignited in me. And after spending most of my life wondering what my purpose is, why I’m here, and if I die tomorrow, would my life count for anything, I feel that I have found my purpose. 

To serve.

Yes, I have read the Purpose Driven Life. I read those exact words and they meant nothing to me. I was actually a little bit offended. What do you mean? Am I supposed to spend every weekend at the shelter. What about my family? What about me? I have stuff to do on the weekends. If I buy something nice, am I a bad person? Am I supposed to give everything I have to the church? Then I’ll be the one needing a free oil change.

Unless your heart has matured, your head will never get there. So I spent the last few years on a heart journey. And now when I miss a Thanksgiving event, I feel badly.

So on an early Saturday, I watched these men give their heart serving others. And I was deeply moved. Because this is what life is supposed to be.

I watched them teach their kids how to change oil for the needy and I am filled with optimism for the future generation.

We don’t give our men enough credit for being there for their kids. I don’t know when that changed in our society, but it hurts our kids. It does.

I watched Lost and Confused Adolescent Teen Kegan serve at the event and I was thrilled. I knew him when his hair was blond and straight. Now it’s dark and curly and he’s a young strapping man on the high school soccer team. It’s just so moving to me.

And then there’s this. Awwww….

And this. Not only was I documenting the event, I was having fun too. I can’t help it.

Accidental Inverse, A Tutorial

One day, I was doing what I do every chance I get…play with Photoshop Elements.

I took this photo of a leaf in a mud puddle a couple of weeks ago, thinking that I could possibly do something with it later on. When I opened it up, it jsut looked like a leaf in a mud puddle. Go figure.

I was bored with it, so I went to open up another photo to play with. That’s CTRL O in a PC. And instead of hitting the O, I hit the I. This will invert the colors to the opposite color on the RGB color scale. It’s an awful explanation I know. Anyway, I inadvertently got a cool blue leaf with the reflection of the trees in the the mud turning to an icy winter blue.

The like the photo on the left more, but for some reason I didn’t post it. After inverted the color, I did an Auto Sharpen, Auto Contrast and Auto Color Correction.

So cool, so to speak.

I put a texture on it, and rounded the corners. Here’s a link to the texture I used. I feel badly that I don’t remember where I got it. It was free so I’ll have to go back and research it so I can give that person their due.

I kinda like it. This is what can happen when a not-so-great photographer meets Photoshop Elements.

Thanksgiving Lettuce

I just got off the phone with Neighbor Janet. I am hosting the homeowner’s association Christmas party in my home and she called to see if there is anything she can help me with.

Neighbor Janet is tasked to co-host December’s bunco game as well as make appetizers for the HOA Christmas party, in the same weekend. And she’s cooking Thanksgiving dinner for her family.

And she called to see if there’s anything she can do for me. That lady is beyond sweet.

So anyway, the lettuce. I bought this “living lettuce” to see how long it would actually last. Because that’s how I am. As it turns out, I had it for almost a month. And when I went to actually eat it, it was still fresh. And alive. Because it’s “living lettuce.”

It’s actually very cool. How much lettuce do we eat at one time anyway? And it goes bad so quickly. It’s great to have something last this long, and you actually eat the entire thing instead of having to throw half of it away. I think it’s the root ball on it that keeps it “alive.”

I can’t tell you how much I paid for it. But whatever it was, it certainly was worth it.

So buy living lettuce now. It will be fresh until you are ready to make Thanksgiving dinner. And if you are as busy as Neighbor Janet is this season, you will be glad that it’s one less thing you have to do.

Just sayin’.

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