Giving Thanks

Not your typical Thanksgiving bird. Being involved with a few projects this past couple of weeks has caused me to resort to an archive picture from July 4th. A nesting osprey with offspring resided at an area south of Saratoga...Cow Creek. There are several homes there on small acreages and the osprey was none too happy about having her picture taken. She was very vocal, but like the sitings of the moose, deer and other creatures co-habitating with us, we continue to marvel at their existence and are thankful for the opportunity to be an observer in mother nature's scheme of things. We are all leery of what the future will bring in this shaky economy and I am very thankful for the way my parents prepared me for survival. One very important thing I have come to realize is that what you THINK you need and what you REALLY need are two very different things. Take pleasure in simple things. Be thankful for family, your health, your friends and don't lose your sense of humor. It may be the only thing to get you through some difficult times.

This past two weeks have been crazy. I stripped the office of 4 walls of horrible wall paper only to find a bright pink paint underneath. Not only was there pink paint- there were craters where nails had been and a section behind the door where the wall had been pathetically patched. Now though, it is a pale shade of buttery yellow and much more pleasant in which to work. (Another notch on my tool belt!). Today I began to paint the floor in my studio in the basement. It is a large room and a wonderful place to work.

Most of this week we have had construction in our back yard. The power is being upgraded in our neighborhood and our yard was selected to be one of the points to bore in both directions for the new lines. First we had all of the utilities marked which involved people with funny flags and bright paint lines everywhere. Then the actual equipment and workers arrived to bore holes and that brought big trucks and equipment of all sorts. My poor dogs didn't know what to think.
Today they finished here and as compensation for the inconvenience they moved a pile of dirt from our front yard to the back to fill a hole back there for us. Unlike most of our neighbors, our yard has not been landscaped and it really caused no damage to have all of the equipment there. They expressed their thanks to us several times.

Then, since my poor old body is aging, I am fighting the process with all available medical help I can get. Luckily we still have insurance and I am trying to get all of those ugly tests and procedures the experts say you should have (and we all dread) before the end of the year. Maybe, just maybe I will meet my deductible!! Sooooo...I drank the half gallon of gook (it used to be a gallon), and starved myself for a day and a half, and spent a lot of time in the bathroom and had my colonoscopy like a good girl. Every one over 50 should have that done. It is one of the procedures that can detect cancer in early stages. I am thankful that my pipes are fine!

So many reasons to be thankful.....I remember a story my Dad used to tell about a couple of people who had gotten snowed in for the winter in the far north somewhere. After being rescued, they told of having survived on only dry beans to eat. When asked if they were sick of beans their reply was "no, we were thankful for them-----the beans saved our lives!"

Perhaps this year with so much unknown about what our future might bring, we need to simplify and take stock of what really is important and be thankful, truly thankful. Have a nice Thanksgiving and eat a piece of pie for me!!!