Ringraziamento

* small kindnesses
* natural light filling the house
* my reading chair with soft afghan, cup of tea, and book
* listening to Bob on the piano and ukelele
* our garden and the hummers that live in it year-round and who delight us with their acrobatics
* Karima’s emerald kale salad
* returning to Crescent Beach (OR) after 20 years
* my favorite new plant: pineapple sage that is still blooming and going strong
* getting to know our little neighbors Zain and Sami and watching them play endlessly in the fallen leaves
* camping and hiking at Crater Lake NP again
* golden light and autumn crispness
* my neighborhood walks in this beautiful place
* red maple trees (ah, the flaming beauty!)
* puddles
* leaf collages on the lawn and sidewalk
* walking one block to the store
* favorite places to return to
* new places to discover
* visiting old friends and the feel of instant and remembered closeness
* hiking in the Columbia River Gorge and finding new trails and vistas
* old-growth trees
* the breaching of Condit Dam on the White Salmon River
* the people we deliver Meals on Wheels to and for all they have taught me
* beeswax candles
* reusable grocery bags and composting food scraps

the song: “You are Royalty to Me” by Ellis

CD: We’ll Never Turn Back by Mavis Staples

books
Whistling Season by Ivan Doig (F), “the past is vacant but it is not empty”

Born to Run by C. McDougall (NF)

Travels with Herodotus (NF)

The Known World by E.P. Jones (F)

for seeing the A. Wilson play, Gem of the Ocean

the movie: Midnight in Paris

the movie: If a Tree Falls (documentary)

* Occupy Wall Street and marching with Occupy Portland
* Winter squash, homegrown tomatoes, basil, and peaches
* returning of our family to be with us for this Thanksgiving despite a very long road trip
* good times and food to share together
* health and Bob’s recovery – a truly grateful Thanksgiving

I’m thankful for:

* Life. I’ve learned not to take it for granted. And I’ve lived long enough to see a lot, and to understand some of what’s going on.
* My Donna, my life’s traveling partner since 1969. How lucky can I get?!
* Our children, who have shared so much with us and taught us so many things we would never have learned otherwise.
* My extended family, mostly in Buffalo. They love me, I love them.
* All those who went before, starting on the plains of Africa. Thanks for not giving up. It’s great to be part of this.
* My near-term ancestors, especially my mom. She loved her children so completely and died way too young.
* Friends on the journey. My Rust Bowl buddies John and Will in Pittsburgh and Pete in Detroit, all friends since the 1960s.

And there’s more I’m thankful for:
* Living long enough to hear the Thanksgiving message delivered by an African-American president.
* Mavis Staples, Neil Young, James Taylor. . . Oh hell, all those who share their music and lyrics with us.
* All those great writers who thankfully were motivated to share with us.
* Little kids who remind us how cool it all is.
* The birds in my backyard who let me watch them living their little lives. Little creatures who do amazing things.
* And the beauty of nature, everywhere. In the Pacific Northwest part of nature – the beautiful waters; the incredible lives of salmon; volcanoes rising on the eastern horizon; wildflowers; rain. All of it.
* Greg and Karima and their magnificent obsession with food. I’ve benefited.

That’s a start. There’s so much. I’m thankful this exercise got me thinking.

Getting to spend everyday with my loving partner for life.

Kayaking on the big lake.

Friends and family coming from all over the country to celebrate love.

Monday girls nights.

Grandparents that I still learn from.

A sister that scores all the points for her roller derby team.

A job that still challenges me.

Seeing my first bear up close and then watching it walk away.

Fleece pants and slippers.

Sleeper trains abroad and at home.

Saturday morning breakfasts.

Books: The Glass Castle, All Aunt Hagel’s Children.

Concerts: Gillian Welch at the Royal Oak Theater, Opera in Millinium Park.

Meals: The lobster we boiled and ate in our over the water honeymoon hut.

* Kisses from Little Ones
* Saturday afternoon naps on the red couch with L
* Being out in the world this summer
* Technology and it’s uses
* Every day

Book: Pandora’s Star, Peter F Hamilton, because, you know, space opera is just fun
Movie: X-Men First Class. Seriously I don’t see much, but this was good.
Album: 21, Adele
Concert: Avett Brothers

We are so thankful:

That our Carlsbad house didn’t sell, held up well in our absence and we are back at home in it.

That we were able to find, unbroken, almost everything that went on the moving truck.

For nurses who take extraordinary care of their patients, including surprise birthday celebrations along with light treatments.

The full moon.

Stars.

Sisters of Mercy.

All of those who try to help the indigent and homeless.

Service Clubs, especially Rotary International. The Rotary Foundation.

Research on communication in families dealing with sever health issues like cancer.

Phone amplification devices.

Real letters in the mail.

Email, which among other things, masks the loss of handwriting capability.

Mohs surgery.

COBRA and Social Security benefits.

Being “this close” to eradicating polio. Less than 1000 known cases in the world at this point.

Friends who welcomed us back to Carlsbad.

People who give clear driving directions.

Phone calls from family and friends.

Quilts and what goes into making them.

Art in its many forms and especially public art in the neighborhoods.

Spirituality and many different expressions of it.

Public parks and green spaces.

Kindle that can fit in anywhere and travel with us.

The opportunity to travel.

Libraries.

Tolerance.

Volunteers the world over.

People who pick up after their dogs, as they walk them.

Friends of friends who become friends. Networking. Conferences with interesting topics and the opportunity to talk with like-minded people.

Those who provide additional chances to participate.

Weddings, holidays, opportunities to get together with others.

Memories of those we have loved and lost.

Technology that makes this type of sharing possible.

A new roof over our head;

The smell of a fire coming from our own fireplace;

The sun streaming into the man cave as I write this;

The Complete Ahmad Jamal Trio Argo Sessions 1956-1962 which I am listening to right now as well;

Kindles, Ipods, Iphones;

Living 10 minutes from Delaware Park by foot and 5 minutes by bicycle;

Spending time with grown daughters and growing granddaughters;

The Mistress of Meatballs, salted caramel and earthly garden delights;

The Detroit Jazz Festival with friends and mornings at the Inn of Ferry Street;

Friends and family that put up with all my quirks (which I like to refer to as quaint little nuances);

Being able to put on the first and only TOGG’s dinner with my boy from high school and beyond, Norman;

A bottle of wine and thine my love.

Best of lists, for me usually mean the last whatever it was (book, movie, cd, concert) I encountered; but I will attempt to do so:

Concert: I was fortunate enough to see a number of really good concerts this year, but it had to be Angelique Kidjo, Dianne Reeves and Lizz  Wright “Sing The Truth;

Movie:  Haven’t seen many this year, but I really liked “The Help”, but I saw that on Saturday, so I will say “Midnight In Paris” which I saw some time ago but still recall it fondly;

CD:  Ben Williams “State of Art”, Irma “Letter to the Lord” , Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa “Don’t Explain”  (I know it’s  more than one, but I did keep it to three!;

Book: “The Windup Girl” by Paolo Bacigaupi.