Thanksgiving

KN, p. 249 “Happy Thanksgiving to All!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

We love to celebrate Thanksgiving in North America. We travel for hours by train, bus, car, and plane to spend the day with relatives and old friends. We jam the phone lines and cell towers with calls and texts to people we won’t get to see face-to-face that day.

 

For some, Thanksgiving is a time to eat out and avoid the challenge of roasting the bird. For others, it’s the highlight of cooking for the year – who can forget Uncle Ernie’s smoked meats (plus a turkey) feast for twenty-six relatives and twelve of the vets from the VFW? It was an honor to chat with the retired men and women that gave so much to keep us free, but were far away from family that day. That was an event to keep in the memory book forever.

 

This year, Sheila busted her knee while working in the garden, and she’s not ready to stand long enough to get the cooking done for a big meal like this. Could I help? Sure, and I always do the prep work and some of the side dishes. BUT, she’s feeling housebound and we’re going to a friend’s house for the day.  We’ll take some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, along with sweet potato pie as our contribution. Good food, great friendships that go way back…what more could we ask?

 

Despite some difficulties with getting the (hurricane related) roof replaced and painting done earlier this year, plus Sheila’s tough injury, we still have lots to say thanks for:

  • Family
  • Friends
  • Enough food to eat
  • Enough money to pay the bills
  • A NEW, sound roof over our heads
  • Heat
  • Potable water
  • The freedoms we enjoy
  • The fabulous Kerrian’s Notebook community that now stretches to four continents and keeps growing. We are so grateful to have been able to share the stories with you during the past eight years and hope to share more in the future.

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

 

*Photos and recipes by Patti Phillips

 

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KN, p. 205 “Thanksgiving Is the BEST Holiday!”

 

What could be better than family and friends gathering together around a table heaped high with scrumptious, mouth-watering food? I can’t think of much. We’ve been more than fortunate over the years. We’ve been blessed.

We’ve got a roof over our heads, heat in the house, and always great chow, but we are well aware that not everyone is as fortunate. We came up with a list of what to do to make this Thanksgiving more comfortable for those living in challenging situations in our town.

  • Spend some time helping in the community during the Thanksgiving weekend.
  • Help at a soup kitchen this weekend or next.
  • Ask if the soup kitchen personnel would be willing to hand out a book along with the food (we provide the books).
  • Donate clean, warm jackets to a local shelter.
  • Visit an older friend or relative living in a Senior Center. Write a letter for them and/or read to them.
  • Arrange to have the church choir (or talented friends) sing to the residents at the local nursing home.
  • Donate books to a shelter.
  • Run an errand (or two) for a neighborhood shut-in.
  • Plan a visit to the hospital to see a sick friend, drop off a greeting card, call them.
  • Call a friend that lives alone and is unable to travel to see their family. 5 minutes of our time is all it takes to make someone smile.

 

Hug the family, be thankful for the blessings you enjoy, and have a great Thanksgiving!

 

 

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KN, p. 91 “Happy Thanksgiving from the Kerrians!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s easy to be thankful when life is going well. If there is plenty of love to warm your heart, your wallet has enough in it to pay the bills on time, everyone in the family is healthy on the same day, your home is warm and dry…then that’s a happy life to the average guy or gal.

Not everyone has an easy time of it. Some families go through a divorce, a spouse passes away, a family member loses a job, the bank wants to foreclose just at the time when you need a sound roof to sleep under more than ever – maybe a lengthy illness puts a strain on the pocketbook.

Recent hurricanes have left hundreds of people homeless. Wildfires and tornadoes across the country this past year ripped many families’ lives apart.

Sheila and I have friends who’ve lived through both extremes – one year all smiles and parties and new bikes – the next year a disaster because his company closed the local plant, a good-paying job was lost and all the savings went into caring for a really sick daughter who had Lymes Disease. They came close to losing the house, but the banker had other foreclosures ahead of theirs. They got lucky.

What was amazing to everyone who watched them go through the tough time, was that the family was still thankful. Yes, they were struggling, but if you asked them about their great attitude, they said that they had each other, they had caring friends who supported them with occasional dinners, they had help with the house repairs, had been incredibly fortunate up until the rough patch of a year, and they had their faith.

That’s kinda humbling. They never seemed bitter about a bum deal with the job, they were always hopeful about the daughter (she pulled through) and they clung to each other rather than fighting about what could not be controlled with their finances.

So, here’s what Sheila and I are thankful for:

1.     We have each other and that will never change.

2.     We have friends that would help if we asked and we would do the same for them.

3.     We have a solid house with enough space for family dinners and football parties.

4.     We have enough cash in our pockets to pay the bills on time and a little left over so that we can go out to dinner or even take a vacation.

5.     We can each have fun without the other – I play golf and Sheila plays tennis, but it’s great to know that at the end of the day, the other one will listen to the ‘war stories,’ share the best/funniest moments, but also be there for the lousy times.

6.     I am seriously thankful that Sheila is a great cook.  Seriously.

7.     We are really thankful that there are so many people who read Kerrian’s Notebook and like it. And come back to read it again and again. Ya make us smile, K.N. friends old and new, near and far, with your comments on the site and your great emails.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! In case you didn’t guess, we’re having pie for dessert. There’s going to be a big crowd, so Sheila made my favorite chocolate cheesecake and that white sweet potato pie I love. A slice of each would be a very good way to finish the dinner. Along with a strong cup of coffee, of course.

Drop by if you get a chance. There’s some sweet tea (or coffee) waiting for you. If you get lucky, there might even be some pie.   🙂

 

*Photos and recipes by Patti Phillips

 

 

 

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