This Perfectly Imperfect Life

There are 25 minutes left of November 2011 and on this last 30 Days Of Thanksgiving post, I'm thankful for all of you who have shared this journey of appreciation with me this month! I'll continue to appreciate my blessings in the coming days as Christmas and the New Year are upon us and throughout the year; I hope you will too! Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

(Amaryllis 'Apple Blossom'). Click on pic for larger view.

I am thankful to have finally found a regular decaf tea that I like! (Twinings Classics Irish Breakfast Tea). It hasn't been an easy search, I think I've been through 4 or 5 already. Perfect for this rainy day!

Late November roses. (Knockout Rosa 'Radrazz' pictured, taken today in my garden).

Today I am thankful for November blooms in my garden and for someone in the neighborhood shooting off very pretty fireworks earlier this evening that I got to watch from our front porch! (I do so love fireworks!)

This long holiday weekend with my husband and that we have one more day of it together tomorrow. I hope you're enjoying your weekend too! Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

I took this photo in 2009 from the first overlook going up Sunrise Mountain in Stokes State Forrest. It's one of my favorite places and within a ten minute drive of our weekend home up there. We didn't get to see the foliage from this spot last year as I was recovering from my second kidney surgery in the Fall and we didn't get up to our northern home much for the duration of my recovery. We tried to get up there earlier this Fall only to find the road closed because much of it was destroyed during Hurricane Irene at the end of this August and it's closed indefinitely. Heartbreaking. (We have more long-term damage from that hurricane up north compared with the damages we had on the coast - so many roads and bridges were destroyed up there and remain un-fixed because funding hasn't been made available yet to fix them).

Better than Black Friday by a long shot is today's Small Business Saturday! Directly support your local economy & community (and therefore your State as a whole) by shopping your local small businesses (and restaurants) today and every day! (I've gotten so that I don't shop outside of town without first making sure I Can't get what I need in town year 'round and I definitely live in 'small town' America (whether we're at home on the coast Or in the mountains) so it's not impossible to do! Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

And 'round the fire we sat, our hearts were full, our bellies fat... :o) Today I'm thankful for my husband letting me sleep in, for the quiet beauty of the country, for our tiny lakeside home in the mountains and for our sweet neighbors. (Apologies for no photos with this post but they wouldn't upload, service is pretty spotty up here). Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

I am thankful for the quiet day spent at home, for feeling good all day, for a yummy evening spent with Hubbs & Mom, for talking with my father.in.law on the phone and for so many things in general! I hope you've all had a lovely day! (Pictured above is tonight's deserts and Ceasar kitty in his turkey coma).

Take a moment to appreciate your blessings today and remember those serving our Country abroad.

I am thankful, not for anything specific; I'm feeling very appreciative & content at the moment. There no place more cozy than our home on the Eve of a Holiday in my book and that always makes me feel good. I hope you're enjoying your Thanksgiving Eve too! Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Today I made my first ever from scratch apple cranberry pie! I honestly thought it was more difficult than it is to make an apple pie but now that I know better, I see many a homemade one in our future. I peeled & sliced 5 baking apples (the supermarket had Red Roma so that's what I used) and I mixed them in a large bowl with 1.5 cups of fresh cranberries, 3/4cup sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp of salt and tossed all of that together until the apples & cranberries were well coated and sticky. Then I added 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and mixed well again. I lined a 10" pie dish with a Pillsbury crust (because I prefer them to my own!) then poured the filling into the pie pan then put 2 pats of butter on top of the filling. I then placed the other Pillsbury crust on top and closed the edge around the pie dish. I beat an egg and brushed it on the top crust then cut 3 large slits in the crust. I placed it on a cookie sheet & baked it at 425* for...

My furry creatures like Miss Boo here who made me laugh with her determined intent to snuggle on the scarf I was knitting earlier this evening!

From a longtime dear friend's email this afternoon: "It is not happy people who are thankful, it is thankful people who are happy." -Anonymous Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Home. I had what may be the last of my tests at the heart center this afternoon and as soon as I walked in the front door, I couldn't have been happier to be home! Such a relief and comfort. (Badly pictured is our spare room - earlier this evening I put up the pink Christmas lights I picked up specifically for this, my creative space, just don't tell my husband I did lol!)

We were able to replace our dead printer for little cost thanks to lucking into that great sale at the bull's eye this morning! (It's a more expensive printer than we had but thanks to the sale cost half of what our original one did when that was on sale 5 years ago!) Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Time spent with my husband, enjoying each others company outside this afternoon and camped out on the couch this evening. Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Books. Despite this recent & lengthy reading slump I've been in, I love books, have since I was a very little girl and I believe I always will. Favorite reads over the year have brought much joy. Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Roses that bloom in the morning and Morning Glories that bloom in the late afternoon as the sun sets! Two very bright spots during this dark, raw, wet Autumn day.

Today I'm thankful for my husband who always is with me through days like today! To make a long story short, I spent the better part of the day at a local Heart Center having tests to determine what exactly is going on and causing the 'events' I've been having recently. I go back Monday for an additional test, then have an appointment to go over all the test results with the cardiologist and depending on those results, I may need an additional & final test before a course of action is decided on. (Medications, etc). Until then I have to wear an 'event monitor' aka heart monitor. It's been a tad unsettling to say the least! In the same follow-up with my rheumologist in which I found out my kidney function/levels are "perfect" (Thank God!) and I can resume my iv medication as of December 1st (YAY!) he told me it was time to see a cardiologist because he'd been able to rule out possible causes of the 'events' I've been having &...

Yesterday I was thankful for the simple pleasure of a favorite magazine arriving in the mail & cheering up the day. Today I'm thankful for late blooming roses like my 'Mardi Gras' floribunda which are readying to bloom again, likely for the last time this year! What a happy sight this was this morning!

Today I'm thankful for the Incredible beauty of sunsets like the one I saw this evening on our ride home! (None of the pics I took do it justice but this was the best of the bunch, our pickup doesn't provide the smoothest ride!) I think it was the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen in my life and that is by no means an exaggeration! I've never seen anything quite like it that I recall. I feel blessed to have experienced it.

I'm thankful for not getting that migraine that started coming on this afternoon, finding some trinkets that made me smile at the Christmas Bazaar, seeing a dear friend while I there who always makes me smile & laugh, and for hope.

Today I'm thankful for our Veterans (especially my husband, grandfather, uncle, father.in.law and brother.in.law) and being able to spend the day honoring them. Thank You to All of our Veterans and Active Duty Service Members for your Courage, Service and Sacrifices for our Country on this Veterans Day and Every Day! Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Today I'm thankful for my Marine (my husband), my Mom, Dr. A (my rheumologist) and foggy mornings. I'd like to wish The United States Marine Corps a Happy 236th Birthday today! Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

I'm thankful I have a husband who calls me on his way home from work to tell me to go out in the back yard so I can see the huge moon coming up over the hill :o)

Last night's full Moon. (Click on pics for larger view).

Today I am thankful I have the right to Vote and the ability to exercise that right! It's Election Day in many municipalities around the USA, get out there and Vote! Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Today I'm thankful for the beauty of Autumn days like today that stop me in my tracks & make me appreciate that I'm alive to witness it. Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Today I'm thankful for our Veterans! Especially the one I'm married to :o) And for the beautiful Autumn day we had today for the Annual Veterans Day Parade and for being a part of it for the third year in a row. Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Today I'm thankful for seeing a bird splashing in the bird bath this afternoon, Hubbs making dinner, cold meds, good tv show marathons and taking pictures. Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Today I'm thankful for love, laughter, friends and having our power restored within 2 hours after the transformer blew this afternoon! Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Today I'm thankful for the flowers in my garden, a beautiful Autumn day, getting out on a beautiful Autumn day & being able to order out for dinner on a night when neither of us had the energy to cook! Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Thanks to our amazing & creative #gardenchat guru Brenda Haas , #gardenwalk has come to The #gardenchat Blog for #gardenwalk Thursday Picks ! All you have to do is include the #gardenwalk & #gardenchat hashtags in with your tweets of the pictures you share on Twitter of your garden and on Thursdays each week and you may be the highlight on the #gardenchat stream as well as The #gardenchat Blog for the day! I want to extend my sincerest thanks to Brenda for this idea and for inviting #gardenwalk to be a part of The #gardenchat Blog ! To visit our #gardenwalk Thursday Pick page on The #gardenchat Blog , click here or visit the Blog and click on the #gardenwalk Thursday Pick page tab at the top right of the homepage. You can also visit the GardenWalk page on Diggin' Around by clicking here , or just click on the tab which appears under the header at the top of my blog. You can see my guest post over the The #gardenchat Blog by clicking here . I'll see you on Twitt...

Today I am thankful for hot tea with honey in a favorite mug, my knitting basket filled with pretty yarn, leftovers for lunch, books from the library, a warm & snuggly bed and a silly husband who makes me laugh. Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

This is one of the many spectacular views from the hills in the neighborhood of where we live here on the coast. (Click on pic for larger view). Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Goodbye October & Halloween, I miss you desperately already and will until we meet again. Though I'm unhappy to see you November, I welcome you all the same. What helps to ease my sadness over my favorite time of year coming to an end is that today means it's time once again for 30 Days Of Thanksgiving in November! What is this 30 Days Of Thanksgiving you ask? Every day this month share what you're thankful for (on your blog or by commenting on my posts). Big & small - appreciate your Blessings! You may surprise yourself with how much you have to be thankful for and you'll find like I did that you'll begin to take time to appreciate your Blessings more often throughout the rest of the year! Tonight I'm thankful that my Mom feels better today (she has a bad cold), for getting a few things accomplished for organizations I care about (bookclub & American Legion) and for being able to help Hubbs with a couple of things (all despite my arthritis flarin...