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Thanksgiving Monday 2005
Nov. 21st, 2005 09:04 amThanksgiving is Thursday. We purchased our Turkey yesterday. Since it is going to be Peter, Ariel, Caroline and I, the turkey didn't need to be that big. For our sides I am making mashed sweet potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and broccoli. We'll probably do something fun for dessert like pull out our somores making kit or something. We are going to do it as a late afternoon meal rather than dinner to fit in our schedule.
Thanksgiving is a relatively secular holiday in which Americans give thanks for their bounty. Thanksgiving is also a time that many remember the poor and needy. I can remember from way back Hosea Williams hosting his turkey dinner for the poor in Atlanta. There was always some form of drama attached to that feast.
Right now a lot of food pantries are pleading for turkey and other holiday fixings because donations are down over all. Some blame it on compassion overload between the tsunami last year, the hurricanes and earthquakes this year and other disasters, everywhere you turn someone is asking for help. Others blame it on the economy and the fears of job loss or the job is lost and they are looking for another one and not finding much. (I can relate to that sentiment quite a bit.) Of course if everyone who buys a $5.00 candy bar in a cup would skip that and give the $5.00 to the charity of their choice, I think donations would be up and possible their waistlines size down. But then that's me.
So this week I am going to publicly express some of the things I am thankful for and why. There will probably be other things I will "talk" about during the week as the mood strikes me.
In no particular order I give you Kathleen's 2005 Thanks list
1) I am thankful I have a roof over my head. Probably more so this year than others considering that people I know and a number I count as friends lost theirs. I know one couple that collected action figures since they were children. For them it started with Star Wars and just continued. They would go to conventions and toy shows looking to fill-in the gaps in their collection. They use to living in Mississippi and now are, according to mutual friends, somewhere in the Mid-west. They miss their collection a little but are grateful that they escaped with their lives as did all their relatives and most of their extended convention family. He went back to see what could be salvaged and it wasn't much at all.
2) I am thankful I have my health. I know I complain about aches and pains and the occasional illness but compared to others I have it easy. I also have health insurance which I know a lot of people don't have so they don't go to the Doctor for minor things and only go to the hospital or free clinic when a small problem becomes a big one. I can go visit my doctor and sort out the small things before they compound to more complicated problems.
3) I am thankful for the art shows I entered this year. Sometimes I need a big push to do anything creative and art shows do that to me. They force me to create work to be seen by the public. I hope to do more of them next year with some new stuff I have been contemplating in my head.
4) I am thankful for the costumes I did this past year. It is always good to expand what you can do creatively and I had a banner year for that. I learned how to make an Indian Headdress, how to knit fuzzy yarn, how to draft a pattern for an adult sized person, how to refit patterns to what I need, how to use paint stirrers to make scissor hands (which was Peter's brilliant idea that worked so well) and how do build Miss Piggy's head. I did a lot of costumes this year and each added to my pool of knowledge.
5) I am thankful to the artists that I have met on the internet and in person this year. Each has expanded my horizons into what is possible. I have also learned more about the business of selling art and the joys of making art. I love hearing the passion in their voices or writings about projects they are working on.
I am grateful for all I have to give thanks for.
Thanksgiving is a relatively secular holiday in which Americans give thanks for their bounty. Thanksgiving is also a time that many remember the poor and needy. I can remember from way back Hosea Williams hosting his turkey dinner for the poor in Atlanta. There was always some form of drama attached to that feast.
Right now a lot of food pantries are pleading for turkey and other holiday fixings because donations are down over all. Some blame it on compassion overload between the tsunami last year, the hurricanes and earthquakes this year and other disasters, everywhere you turn someone is asking for help. Others blame it on the economy and the fears of job loss or the job is lost and they are looking for another one and not finding much. (I can relate to that sentiment quite a bit.) Of course if everyone who buys a $5.00 candy bar in a cup would skip that and give the $5.00 to the charity of their choice, I think donations would be up and possible their waistlines size down. But then that's me.
So this week I am going to publicly express some of the things I am thankful for and why. There will probably be other things I will "talk" about during the week as the mood strikes me.
In no particular order I give you Kathleen's 2005 Thanks list
1) I am thankful I have a roof over my head. Probably more so this year than others considering that people I know and a number I count as friends lost theirs. I know one couple that collected action figures since they were children. For them it started with Star Wars and just continued. They would go to conventions and toy shows looking to fill-in the gaps in their collection. They use to living in Mississippi and now are, according to mutual friends, somewhere in the Mid-west. They miss their collection a little but are grateful that they escaped with their lives as did all their relatives and most of their extended convention family. He went back to see what could be salvaged and it wasn't much at all.
2) I am thankful I have my health. I know I complain about aches and pains and the occasional illness but compared to others I have it easy. I also have health insurance which I know a lot of people don't have so they don't go to the Doctor for minor things and only go to the hospital or free clinic when a small problem becomes a big one. I can go visit my doctor and sort out the small things before they compound to more complicated problems.
3) I am thankful for the art shows I entered this year. Sometimes I need a big push to do anything creative and art shows do that to me. They force me to create work to be seen by the public. I hope to do more of them next year with some new stuff I have been contemplating in my head.
4) I am thankful for the costumes I did this past year. It is always good to expand what you can do creatively and I had a banner year for that. I learned how to make an Indian Headdress, how to knit fuzzy yarn, how to draft a pattern for an adult sized person, how to refit patterns to what I need, how to use paint stirrers to make scissor hands (which was Peter's brilliant idea that worked so well) and how do build Miss Piggy's head. I did a lot of costumes this year and each added to my pool of knowledge.
5) I am thankful to the artists that I have met on the internet and in person this year. Each has expanded my horizons into what is possible. I have also learned more about the business of selling art and the joys of making art. I love hearing the passion in their voices or writings about projects they are working on.
I am grateful for all I have to give thanks for.
