I'm thankful

I have SOOOO much to be thankful for. And Thanksgiving is a wonderful reason to celebrate with friends and name those things. I have so much abundance and richness in my life. An abundance of good people, family and friends. An abundance of good food. A lovely husband. An adorable son and a great God! Last weekend was Canadian Thanksgiving. We enjoyed some local harvests including my first pumpkin pie - which I determined to make from scratch in protest to canned pumpkin. Here is my post from Thanksgiving last year. I just love this poem. I followed this pumpkin pie recipe, making the base as well.

The last of fall

It feels like summer was late arriving in Vancouver, but hung on tightly in September  with a last glorious burst at the end there. Then fall happened all of a sudden. On the 17th of November we had the first snow (snow on the mountains doesn't quite count). At my school it snowed at home time. What a thrill! A lovely thin white dusting of snow. It looked like they had received some new electronics in heaven and the polystyrene packaging was being (carelessly, though undeniably beautifully) thrown down to Earth in the frenzied excitement of the angels. I need to add this type of snow to my other technical drawings. (A few days later we had even more snow - this time it was shaved ice style.) Perhaps there will be a thesis in this work one day... Anyhow, to keep the colour lasting a little longer, here is some more of this magnificent time they call fall (it's always been autumn to me) as we welcome in Winter and the Advent season.










This last image is the view out our kitchen window. A few windy days was the only difference between the first and last picture. One upside to the bare branches is a better view of the city and mountains.

Change

the mustardy house on the right is ours


this is the view from the balcony off our bedroom




This is my first Fall. In Brisbane, back home, what we call Autumn is a lovely season of cooling down for the winter but there aren't a great deal of noticeable changes. Trees don't lose their leaves. So, I love seeing changes around Vancouver as the trees tell us it is time to get ready for the shorter days, the cold and the rain. I think it's beautiful that even in a busy city, the trees are still so connected to the cycles of life on this Earth that we can't avoid the messages they tell us.

Kicking and crunching leaves is something I do with the enthusiasm of a child. I've never had to rake leaves off the pavement before so thankfully our neighbour Annie is friendly and helpful (and patient) and has lent me their rake and some technique training for filling bags. Through Sunday afternoon leaf raking I was also able to meet our neighbours from 2 doors down who have lived in this neighbourhood (same house) for 63 years. I hope to hear their stories some day. I'm saving the leaves in garbage bags for our compost throughout the year.

One afternoon recently when admiring colourful* leaves I had the realisation* that the more they change colour, the more they fall and thus loose their colour and before long the branches will be completely bare - for many long winter months. People do get a little sad about the winter here, and I was really feeling for those naked branches until I saw the first new snow on the mountains driving to work last week. I was cured of any winter sadness. The trees will be beautiful, are beautiful, even in their bareness. I love the change of seasons, there is something to be loved about all of the different times of year.

*I think it's great that Canadians and Australians share many spellings, where Americans don't.

Georgia St colours

Thanksgiving

Last night we had a thanksgiving dinner in our home. Our (Josh and myself's) first Thanksgiving and hopefully not our last! It was fun to all pitch in. Steve made a beautiful roast turkey and some yam mash, Matt made delicous stock and stuffing from scratch, Josh whipped up a gravy (using said stock and delicious juices) and I tried my hand at a cranberry and jalapeno sauce and some potatoes. Jen arrived back from a big weekend away in New Orleans (gifts in hand!) to a warm house wafting of home-baked joy. Someone read this poem which was perfect for the occasion.

We give You thanks

for You sustain us

with real food

and real drink.

You nourish us with friends

as real as food

with joy as clear as water

with love as good as this meal.

This is enough.

We do not ask for more.

This is more than enough

reason to bless Your name Forever.

Make us always mindful of those

who do not have enough food

and friendship

water and love and joy.

Give them enough

that they too may be thankful

Amen.

Mary Jo Leddy from Radical Gratitude

Some other photos from Thanksgiving long weekend (Canadian date is about a month earlier than the US). The bean photos are of Steve roasting coffee !! on our (currently messy) back deck. Imagine that, home-roasted coffee! Oh and the pictures at the top are my first fall experiences captured. Have I ever mentioned I love the seasons?!