What do you give thanks for?

This is Thanksgiving weekend in Canada. Many families gather to enjoy the bounties of the harvest and to give thanks for our many blessings.

I was in a coffee shop yesterday and the staff had put out a sheet of paper and pen encouraging customers to answer the questions, "What do you give thanks for?". Customers had written things like, "My health", "My Children", "Having good friends", "Enough food to eat". As I looked at the list, I recognized the significance of Thanksgiving. We often take the simple things for granted when we have them.

My mind jumped to those living in other places in the world who face all kinds of adversity. For many of these people having the simple things is not only a blessing - it is a miracle.

I am so blessed. If I were to start listing all of my blessings I would be sitting here for days.

So I will pose the same question to you that I read in the coffee shop, "What do you give thanks for?"

The Island that makes you slow down

So I am still feeling the effects of a restful holiday with my daughter. We stayed at a little place called Indigo Farm. It is a working bio farm and very rustic. If you are looking for high end accommodation this is not the place for you. It is clean and private, with lots of space to lie around and do nothing, which we did a lot of. We did puzzles, played cards, hung out with the family cat - Meeka (and occasionally Marbles and Marmalade would pop by), cooked delicious meals with produce and eggs (which we collected ourselves) from the farm, fish from the dock, fresh lamb from Sunset farm (Salt Spring is famous for their lamb) and ate gallons of ice cream from Glad’s.

We went on outings that took us to every part of the Island – Vesuvius Bay, Fulford Harbour, Ganges, Long Harbour, Musgrave Landing, Beaver Point, Fernwood, Walker’s Hook Mt Maxwell, Ruckle, where we found interesting beaches, parks, lakes, artists’ studios, beautiful landscapes and cute little cafes stuck in quiet secluded corners.

We went where the wind took us. No plans. No pressure. The only outing we had planned was to visit the ‘Market’ on the Saturday. The Market is a famous event on Salt Spring, which is held every Saturday during the summer. It is a gathering of artists and artisans from all over the Island and the stuff they bring is amazing!

We got there early because we definitely wanted to get our pick of the bread from the bread lady (Linda) as she tends to sell out early. Oh my! What a spread. Baskets of savoury and sweet breads all fresh baked in her enormous brick oven. The cookies and sweets from Two Sisters were a treat and there was a French baker, who made traditional French pastries and other baked goods that instigated a second and third visit to her stand. Gosh I am drooling just thinking about it all.

On our last day we went horseback riding with Moray, from Island Carriage Tours and Guided Trail Rides. She took us up past the old Mowat campground and up to the hilltop into an open meadow where we enjoyed amazing views of Ganges Harbour.

The vacation was short, but felt long. The opportunity to relax and spend interrupted time with Arden was fabulous. It reminds me that we often let too many distractions interfere with the things that are really important. So I am still feeling the effects of a restful holiday with my daughter. We stayed at a little place called Indigo Farm. It is a working bio farm and very rustic. If you are looking for high end accommodation this is not the place for you. It is clean and private, with lots of space to lie around and do nothing, which we did a lot of. We did puzzles, played cards, hung out with the family cat - Meeka (and occasionally Marbles and Marmalade would pop by), cooked delicious meals with produce and eggs (which we collected ourselves) from the farm, fish from the dock, fresh lamb from Sunset farm (Salt Spring is famous for their lamb) and ate gallons of ice cream from Glad’s.

We went on outings that took us to every part of the Island – Vesuvius Bay, Fulford Harbour, Ganges, Long Harbour, Musgrave Landing, Beaver Point, Fernwood, Walker’s Hook Mt Maxwell, Ruckle, where we found interesting beaches, parks, lakes, artists’ studios, beautiful landscapes and cute little cafes stuck in quiet secluded corners.

We went where the wind took us. No plans. No pressure. The only outing we had planned was to visit the ‘Market’ on the Saturday. The Market is a famous event on Salt Spring, which is held every Saturday during the summer. It is a gathering of artists and artisans from all over the Island and the stuff they bring is amazing!

We got there early because we definitely wanted to get our pick of the bread from the bread lady (Linda) as she tends to sell out early. Oh my! What a spread. Baskets of savoury and sweet breads all fresh baked in her enormous brick oven. The cookies and sweets from Two Sisters were a treat and there was a French baker, who made traditional French pastries and other baked goods that instigated a second and third visit to her stand. Gosh I am drooling just thinking about it all.

On our last day we went horseback riding with Moray, from Island Carriage Tours and Guided Trail Rides. She took us up past the old Mowat campground and up to the hilltop into an open meadow where we enjoyed amazing views of Ganges Harbour.

The vacation was short, but felt long. The opportunity to relax and spend interrupted time with Arden was fabulous. It reminds me that we often let too many distractions interfere with the things that are really important.

I ate

Hola.

Teníamos una maravillosa noche (translation: We had a wonderful night)

Yes - we went. I ate. I ate some more. I have decided that I want to be Mexican.

I ate four Tostadas. Delicioso.

Mi hija todavía baila en la escuela (translation: My daughter is still dancing at the school).

I really hope I did not actually say "my daughter is a boot" or "My school is dancing on my daughter"!

I think I better start refining my Spanish.

Noche buena.

Culture

Tomorrow is 'Culture Day' at my daughter's school. This is an opportunity for the school to gather and to share each of our cultural heritages with each other. We have been asked to wear our tradition dress and to bring a food dish from our country of origin.

This poses a very interesting dilemma for us because frankly - where do you begin. We are Canadian, so my daughter, with her parents collective lineage, is a little of everything (including First Nations).

We decided to look at which nation represents the highest percentage of our blood lines. Although not certain we agreed it is probably British (which given the family is from the North of England they are likely descended from Vikings).

So now here is the challenge: do we dress up as Cockney flower girls, British Bankers in bowlers, Yorkshire sheep farmers or Royalty?

Food is easy, because my Yorkshire Grandma made dinner every Sunday when I was child: well done roast beef, over cooked vegetables, sitting in a pool of greasy gravy, with Yorkshire puddings.

Hmmmmm - maybe we should stay home?

Did you miss me?

Sorry about the lapse in posts. It has been a crazy busy week between family, work and volunteering.

We have a Health and Wellness program at work. The whole idea is to try to achieve life balance daily. Every day you are supposed to do things to earn Wellness points (to a total of 3 per day). So for example how I might earn my 3 points in a day might include:

1. Car pool and save the environment
2. Laugh my freak'n head off and build endorphins
3. Eat so many vegetables I create my own personal methane plant (I guess that might counter the environment saving)

Each month we also have a 'Bonus' project. This month is volunteering. Each participant is asked to give 4 hours of their time during the month of April. I earned my total hours required in the first 4 hours of April. I was making and cutting our Car Wash tickets (all 600) for a school fundraiser.

Can't wait to get soaked :)

Need a car wash?