Giving Thanks

As I savor the last morsels of turkey and stuffing leftovers, I am also savoring the spirit of my favorite holiday as it passes once again this year. A running theme of this blog is how busy things get and how urgent life can seem -- these are also common themes of life, I suppose. I tend to fixate on what isn't rather than what is (there isn't enough time, money, appreciation, vacation, chocolate, hugs...), getting caught in the mire of my own naval grazing. This year, Thanksgiving reminded me to look up and around me and to appreciate what there is. Although my heart would have liked to have been at home with my family for the holiday--I cannot even remember the last Thanksgiving feast that I ate surrounded by my beautiful family--it was equally settled here in my home.

This year there were several activities tugging at my heart and soothing me into a sense of thankful belonging... Here I declare some of those to you, as a sign of appreciation and foundation for a holiday season spent focusing on what matters.

- I was fortunate enough to attend a performance of the Nutcracker Ballet at the Kennedy Center. Beautiful atmosphere, charming story, and gorgeous dancing.

- I was fortunate enough to be called a teacher (yes, really!) and work in a job that challenges and stretches my intellect and my humanity. I am surrounded by the inspiration of learning and the possibilities of what can be.



- It was in my good fortunate to help deliver meals to those who are homebound on Thanksgiving morning. I am thankful that I am so mobile and grateful that I could put my legs to good service and cheer.



- I am lucky enough to live in a city where it rains but where the skies also shine brightly.



- I prepared my first stuffed turkey successfully and shared the abundant fixings with a motley crew of vagabond city folks who brought their own dishes and cheer to the table. We were truly blessed with full bellies and warm hearts.



- Our holidays were enriched with fiery flaming drinks, quirky German movies, and lots of strategic (or not-so-strategic as the case may be) board games.



- Our guests made our house cozy with their charm, dazzling wit, and willingness to just hang out in pajamas the day after Thanksgiving, eating leftovers and playing board games!



Thanksgiving is such an inclusive holiday and such a beautiful time to set aside for that which is important rather than urgent. I am thankful for so much and hope to share my abundance and joy with those around me in this season of Advent and New Year.

Happy Turkey Day, Folks! Gobble, gobble, gobble.


P.S. I did the appropriate pre- and post- feasting measures. Everything is working out ok. I can still see my toes! (there must be room for more pie...)

Updates in pictures

I have been a bit of a lazy blogger lately. Here are some updates in pictures (hey, they tell a 1000 words!).

A race



The Gangsters come out for Halloween on rainy M Street



Artwork gets framed



Fall in my neighborhood

Boots on

Disclaimer: I've been listening to too much Country Western lately.

I'm driving a bit more often in the city this year as I teach night classes at another university one night a week and I have a FREE parking pass on the campus parking lot. Traffic isn't too bad at the hours that I need to go in and back out, and hauling piles of books and materials is easier by car than bike. It's made me think a little bit about whether I bike because it is more efficient, more ecological, or just because I am too cheap to buy the monthly parking permit, but that is another posting entirely.

All of that aside, I have been enjoying listening to the radio while I drive. Diverting from beloved WAMU and NPR, I listen to Country... I crank it up and begin to feel all kinds of out of sorts with my city environs. What is a woman like me doing in a city when what I yearn for is the bright blue skies, crisp air, wind, and openness of the prairie? In all of my acquired worldly urbanness, I wonder if I still have the right to even identify myself with the plating of my car (Yep, still Wyo).

By the time I get to my educated, white-collar environs to work with very earnest and very sophisticated graduate students, I really feel like heading back to Small Town USA, putting on work clothes, finding my dog, and heading out to fix something (what I might fix is more an idea than a plausible reality). I guess that there are a lot of great things about a lot of great places, but at the end of the day, I really do hope that in all honesty and with recognition that I may be labeled as a city-slicker or a poser I can go out with my boots on...

Diagnosis: Bit of homesickness and a little too much Country
Treatment: Put those boots back on and hope that you can take the girl out of the Honky Tonk but You Can't Take the Honky Tonk out of the Girl

Quote of the day

My favorite thing is to go where I've never been.
Diane Arbus, US photographer (1923 - 1971)

Hot tamales!

I experimented with something new last weekend while visiting friends in Michigan... For the first time in my life, I not only ate a plate full of tamales, but I also made them -- from scratch. It was done with good spirit and in the right company, and they turned out just scrumptious (I ate until I could no longer move). What a feat for a handful of gringas!









This experiment begs to be repeated -- yummy!