Month: November 2006

A little photo album to browse.

Mmmm…What am I thankful for?

For this moment and the Lord that gave it to me. 

For parents who always allowed me to be me and are thankful that I turned out (mostly) just like they wanted.

For a mom whose friendship means more than she (or anyone else) will ever know.

For a dad who is beginning to see his daughter is no longer twelve (and likes it!) and the friendship that is growing from that realization.

For friends who make the daily pressures and stresses of medical school seem like trifles.

For an almost stepmom who not only makes my dad happy but me and the rest of my family happy in the process.

For grandparents and aunts and uncles and endless family members who pride in me keeps me going on my darkest days.

For times when laughter is the only medicine but the best solution.

For any holiday that I get to spend with my family.

For this summer and time that I got to spend with my dad (it was priceless!)

For old and new friends, in various capacities that may not stay forever but change your life forever.

 

I’m thankful for seeing the Magellanic Clouds for the first time.

safe landings after rough flights

people who write their representatives and senators about the war and how the rest of the world sees the US

positive attitudes – and an “attitude of gratitude”

books on disk

public libraries

well-written books and stories

independent book stores

UNICEF

people who try to make the world better

Prairie Home Companion

uncomplicated pregnancies, in this case, Danika’s

cheese

fresh fruit

mostly happy memories

a furnace that works

real maps (and sometimes Mapquest)

Skype

hearing aid and glasses

philanthropic people – philanthropic spirit

service clubs and volunteers in general

two “new” old cats

frequent flyer miles

imagination

having “enough”

Google

cell phones

hope

adventures

opportunities to talk with those from other cultures and to visit other places in the world

my passport

getting upgraded on long flights

Hello Everyone,

I appreciate all of you that contributed to our post.  You give me sustenance.

I am in Chicago at the home of my Joe & Beth, along with the WHOLE Bondi crew, spiced up by a Mirthful Muldoon and two Mighty Millers. Here is part of our Thanksgiving Blessing, to be prayed togther before we dig in.

 

As our hands are joined

so are we

joined together.

Bless these gifts,

for food lovingly prepared.

For loved ones

and the nourishment we give each other.

For seeds

and the buds of new life.

Make clean our hearts.

Keep us mindful of the needs of others.

Fiil our souls with good and joyful things.

Amen. Let’s Eat!

 

ideographs

sine waves, saw waves, square waves, bass drums

teachers who excel at exciting

a tongue

clean water delivered to my door

instant hot water for tea or soup

electronic financial transactions

maps

chilled wax apples, dumplings, grass jelly

gotta say it, Skype

siblings who are great friends

people to play and run with (because gyms are tedious)

sleep, sweet dreamland

teeth, intact and numb and utile

an entirely walkable living, working, studying, playing, eating, and shopping environment

the divine mornings I’m reminded my city is surrounded by mountains (though by 9am they’re once again veiled by pollution)

smart friends (too smart, the little snots)

airplanes

vegetarian “meat”

sighs and their miraculous efficacy

affluence

being naturally mosquito-resistant

cappuccino

forgiveness (self- and otherwise)

movie that impressed me this year: Wings of Honneamise

book: who has time for those?

music: Melvin’s recent cello recital

yes, maybe there’s a theme in there somewhere….

This list is from my friend Sarah’s 2 year old son, Harrison.

He is thankful for:

1. Grandma
2. Grandpa
3. Mama
4. Dada
5. Toys
6. Meow

After being gently nudged by my own gentle nudger I sit here too early in the A.M., trying to remember all the things I am thankful for:

My grown daughters and their purposefulness;

Memories of my son;

Music in general and particularily Jazz….the discovery of old (Louis Armstrong’s Hot five & Hot seven, Ella with and without Louis, Coltrane, Gerald Wilson) the new (Sean Jones, Carli Munoz, Julius Tolentino, Liz Wright) and my generation’s (Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard,  Joe Henderson, Cassandra Wilson…and so many, many more.

Good Food, Good Restaurants and really good friends

Montreal in February, only surpassed by Montreal in July

My parents 

Music festivals

Soaked Mesquite, Hickory and fruit wood chips just after they have been placed on the smoldering coals

Webber grills, charcoal of course

Fresh herbs

Really, really good bottles of wine for less than $20

The perfect cosmopolitan, muddled old fashion and single barrel bourbon

Xmas smells the day after the tree is put up

The end of Fall and the beginning of winter when the snow is fresh and the air is coldly crisp….and I descend my stairs feeling the gentle heat warming the house and making it such a cozy place to be…

The nudger, her heart, grace, artfulness and the way she shares her authors, music, friends, the New Yorker, Georgia Review, recipes…..St. Vicent Depaul treasures and a willingness to get in a car or on a plane in search of new adventures

Last year’s New Years Eve Party

Photography… a new camera… new photo opportunities

Sunrises in Saratoga

I have a memory impacted by the seventies and all the good times that resulted in a decade at college with that caveat I will list some of my favorite things of 2006:

Movies: Good Night Good Luck, Hustle & Flow, revisiting The Big Sleep

Books: Parables of the Sower(Octavia Butler), Kindred (Butler), Spending (Mary Gordon), Dreams of My Father (Barrack Obama)

CD: Two For the Road-Mimi Fox & Greta Matassa, Timeline and Blue Jazz (both by Malachai Thompson, old music I newly discovered) 

Concerts: Short term memory forces me to say Cyrus Chestnut & Kevin Mahogany, saw them Saturday Nite (11/18).

 

 

 

We are thankful for…

Hosting our first family Thanksgiving.

cool kitchen gadgets

the discovery of new beauty via a canoe

that Madi has successfully reached her second year of college and loving it.

Dominic’s discovery of the wilds of wrestling on his middle school wrestling team.

Beautiful morning walks

Beautiful afternoon walks

Beautiful evening walks

Love and family

The Future

“Miracle Whip” The icing of Thanksgiving leftovers

 

the genious who created Skype

portable pianos

exotic lands

opportunity

a Godchild having a child

love finding someone you love

the kindness of strangers

Favorite Book:  When Madeline was Young by Jane Hamilton
Favorite CD: Eye to the Telescope – K T Tungstall

Favorite Meal – inviting a Venetian couple who were in St. Paul for 3 weeks to dinner at my house. Word of mouth led to many side invitations and other Italians who had emigrated to St. Paul showed up. It had little to do with my cooking and everything to do with the life Italians bring to a dinner table!