A Basket Full of Thanks

My youngest daughter checked for turkey designs on line and found one that inspired her to put this fellow together.  Both my daughters and grand girls sat around a table in my room one day and put together a little flock of these fellows that decorated the walls of our dining room on Thanksgiving Day.

A friend mentioned to me one day that her family had started keeping a "Blessing Box" at their house.  During the year they would jot down things they were grateful for on little slips of paper and slip the papers into the box.  At their Thanksgiving dinner they passed around the box and each person would take out a slip of paper and read it out loud until all the blessings had been shared.  Then they prayed thanking God for all the blessings.

This year we decided to do a variation on that activity.  Before we ate and while we were waiting for the turkey to be done, we passed out little slips of paper and pens to each person attending, asking him or her to list things that inspired personal gratitude.   Then we passed the basketful of papers around and took turns reading each item of gratitude, before we thanked God for those blessings as well as for our turkey dinner.

 

The Saturday before Thanksgiving, a friend who is looking for a job asked me if I would be interested in hostessing a table at a craft fair with her.  This is the picture of us setting up our table.  I brought items my daughters and I had knit and crocheted.  My friend and I had great fun and a wonderful visit with each other, but neither of us sold a thing!  We were in a small church in a neighborhood with little traffic so we paid attention to those who did sell a few things to learn how we might better serve shoppers' interests.  December 3rd we are going to try again at a nearby middle school where we hope we will have better traffic and meet the needs of many shoppers.

During November we have been having more rain and the creek at the front of our property is running higher and filling up our pond more, but I still have not been able to get any good pictures of our Ducks and Beavers to share with you.

Saturday, November 26, 2011 would have been the 40th wedding anniversary for my husband and me had he not died two years ago. While grateful for the 38 years we shared I was restless Saturday afternoon.   My oldest daughter and I decided to drive to Sandy, OR  to run some errands. We were stunned by fantastic views of Mt. Hood! We drove to our favorite overlook to snap some pictures. While we have been getting plenty of rain in the valley, Mt. Hood has been draped in a dramatic snow white cape.  I was pleasantly reminded that 40 years ago my husband and I followed a snow plow when we drove up into the Trinity Alps in northern CA for our honeymoon.

In the foreground to the left of the fence there is a bush that is commonly called a snowball bush, I think.  Do you know its proper name?  It really does look like it is decorated with tiny little snowballs. And the snow on Mt. Hood was amazing to view in the afternoon sunshine.  My daughter and I were fascinated to see the unusual clouds resting on the mountain...an example of past circumstances that led to the mountain's name, perhaps.

We could hear the Sandy River rushing by as we viewed snowy Mt. Hood and I remembered with chagrin asking someone a ridiculous question this past summer.  We were enjoying one of the beautiful sandy beaches along the Sandy River.  I was so amazed at the amount of sand, I asked, "Did the county have to truck in loads of sand to form the beach?"

The person gently answered, "No...I think the amount of sand we see is why the river earned its name."

Indeed!!!

On the way back to our car we snapped a picture of this lovely little fellow.  If he could predict what sort of winter we will have around Portland, OR this year, what do you suppose he would predict?  Will the spectacular snow resting on Mt. Hood be reflected in our valley near the end of the Oregon Trail?