[Winstonm]

I am thankful for my two wonderful daughters, Sara and Olivia, and I am grateful my granddaughter Ripley is cared for so well.

[gwnn]

I'm also grateful for Olivia.

[Phil]

Happy Thanksgiving!

Aside from the obvious (3 awesome kids, great wife and a fun circle of friends (you clowns included )) I am actually thankful for something that I never expected: this crappy economy that has seldom let up over the past six years.

Case in point. Kimi was looking at Pottery Barn a few weeks ago and saw this really cool farmhouse table. If you've never seen one of these things, they are the size of a Mini Cooper and weigh just about as much. At $1,800 I'm like, "nice but no way". 10 years ago I probably would have plunked down the dough (whether I could afford it or not).

Fast forward to last week, and my girls (now 19 and 21) see a replica of it on Pinterest. They showed it to me, and I said, "sure, let's build it".

Three days my daughters are picking splinters out of their fingers, my shoulders are killing me, I have woodstain on one of knees, and my bank account is about $300 lighter, but we have a new dining room table for Thanksgiving.

This is always how we've done things as Americans. When faced with adversity, we figure out a way to get it done. These times have forced us to become resourceful and return to many of our core values.

And I'm thankful for that.

[kenberg]

Life is a gift. With due regard for Oedipus' warning about not counting life as a success until we reach the end of it, I am still feeling pretty good about it all. Becky just put out some olives and some cheese, I'll be opening the wine soon, friends will be arriving. Best wishes to you all. Not everything is perfect, but the cheese looks good and the turkey is getting cooked.

[y66]

My father survived open heart surgery this summer. My father-in-law passed away in his sleep at home after a long, productive, interesting and fairly happy life. My wife and I are enjoying some changes we made to our house, esp. the kitchen which my son and his new wife and the rest of us are making good use of this week. I went out looking for whole sugar pumpkins this morning. There were none to be found at 5 local grocery stores. The guy at Dean & Duluca searched the whole store, thinking he'd seen one yesterday, but it didn't turn up. I am thankful that there are still people working in grocery stores who do that. My quest took me past the house of an old friend who had a stroke a few years ago so I stopped by to say hello and wish her a happy thanksgiving. Seeing her again, and seeing how well she is being cared for by her adopted family from Bolivia made my day.

[Rossoneri]

I'm thankful for my parents and extended family. Never realised how much I took them for granted until I was living in a different continent all by myself!

[hrothgar]

Phil, on 2012-November-22, 10:28, said:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Aside from the obvious (3 awesome kids, great wife and a fun circle of friends (you clowns included )) I am actually thankful for something that I never expected: this crappy economy that has seldom let up over the past six years.

Case in point. Kimi was looking at Pottery Barn a few weeks ago and saw this really cool farmhouse table. If you've never seen one of these things, they are the size of a Mini Cooper and weigh just about as much. At $1,800 I'm like, "nice but no way". 10 years ago I probably would have plunked down the dough (whether I could afford it or not).

Fast forward to last week, and my girls (now 19 and 21) see a replica of it on Pinterest. They showed it to me, and I said, "sure, let's build it".

Three days my daughters are picking splinters out of their fingers, my shoulders are killing me, I have woodstain on one of knees, and my bank account is about $300 lighter, but we have a new dining room table for Thanksgiving.

This is always how we've done things as Americans. When faced with adversity, we figure out a way to get it done. These times have forced us to become resourceful and return to many of our core values.

And I'm thankful for that.

Love to see some pictures

[ggwhiz]

I'm thankful as a Canadian that I get to celebrate yours and ours.

Family is awesome with one gal and a couple of grandkids in Maine and another in California that the wife spends a week with while I watch our first snowflake come down. Not only does my wife come home with smiles that last months, her daughter helps run a REALLY good winery and some of their best is in the carry on. Christmas looms with the Maine connection and those smiles carry us through to spring.