…of Thanksgiving Monday…

For the fruit of all creation; for the gifts to every nation;                                                            For the plowing, sowing, reaping; silent growth while we are sleeping,                                   Future needs in earth’s safe keeping; Thanks be!

In the just reward of labour, in the help we give our neighbour,                                                In our worldwide task of caring; for the hungry and despairing,                                                   In the harvest we are sharing, Thy will be done!

For the harvests of the Spirit, for the good we all inherit,                                                          For the wonders that astound us; for the truths that still confound us,                                     Most of all that love has found us, Thanks be!    

-adapt F. Pratt Green  

Cheers to a Fine October Monday that sings–giving thanks!

 

…of bogs, ‘sophistication’, & pecan pumpkin squares…

…”Cranberry harvest in full swing in Richmond fields”…”If high-end shopping is any barometer of sophistication, Vancouver has arrived”…”Three Pecan Pumpkin squares might even be more delicious than pie”…

Cranberry farming —“a pretty sight from a distance, but a strenuous task for workers who wade in”, they say. BC’s 6,500 acres of cranberry bogs puts our province 4th in company Ocean Spray’s North American production!”

Sophistication —“high-end shopping” ????…if you say so!

Pecan pumpkin squares —“similar to pumpkin butter tarts, sweet, spicy & look attractive!”

As Canadians gear up for a long Thanksgiving holiday weekend, in-these-here-parts of British Columbia, we’re expecting a deluge of wet weather & stormy seas.

If you’re eligible to vote on October 19th’s Canada election, take note that today is the first day of advance polls. Perhaps you could take advantage of that and get out and vote and avoid the crowds!

Cheers to a fine festive Friday & weekend that smiles—‘Oktoberfest’ & sings—thanks be!

Happy Thanksgiving all !!!

….of Emily & gratitude…

Fun to note that London UK’s Dulwich Picture Gallery will mount an Emily Carr exhibition of works curated as –“From The Forest to the Sea” that will run Nov 1-March 8th.

“The exhibition will trace a dramatic trajectory from darkness to light, by one of Canada’s most beloved and esteemed artists, virtually unknown outside Canada.”

Much of the exhibition will come from Victoria’s Royal BC Museum and a one day symposium by Emily Carr scholars will take place Oct 31st, before the official opening.

Cheers to BC artworks among the Rembrandts & the Rubens!

#TGIF smiles the beginning of Canada’s Thanksgiving Long Weekend.

A chance for many to take pause in busy lives & together with family & friends give thanks for life’s abundance.

How often do we take for granted the little things that perhaps most deserve our gratitude?

Cheers to a grateful heart today, this weekend & always!!

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. –Melody Beattie

…highlights…

A good question in one of the mainstream media newspapers today is “what makes a headline a headline?”….

Rather than trying to answer it, I will say that many of this morning’s headlines could certainly leave one with a very discouraging outlook on life….

On a lighter note, one article asks how did we ever manage before smartphones and outlines 10 apps we didin’t know we needed:……

RunPee: gives you a list of opportune times to run and pee (or grab a snack) during a movie. “Never miss a  pivotal scene or one-line zinger again”

..the other 9 are equally ridiculous…..

Apparently fans of hit shows “Are you being served?” and “Downton Abbey” could be mesmerized soon by a new BBC series “Paradise” -seduction in the city they say, that will remind us of how revolutinary grand department stores were in the 70’s……

In Canada, it seems, it’s been Eaton’s, Woodward’s, Simpson’s & Sears and the grand fizzle…..might there be some sort of revival?!….

Headlines….smartphone apps…department stores….

What will be the feature item in your pre-Canadian thanksgiving Thursday??…

Cheers to the highlight of your day!

Thanks be.

 

…Friday riddle…

Canadian Thanksgiving weekend is upon us,  a good time to reflect upon what we are thankful for in this great hamlet of the world we call our country.

I am a Canadian icon.  Some say I am one of British Columbia’s most popular places to visit.

Visitors sail away with colourful pictures to show their friends that even the most shy guy Sydney would feel at home singing in the shower about.  Panoramas might include Burrard Inlet, Stanley Park, and the North Shore Mountains.

On authority, it is said I have been  a beacon in Vancouver’s port since 1986.

Poets might say, in this time and space I am undoubtedly……

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