This Perfectly Imperfect Life

Our mantle. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  Today I am thankful for so many blessings, so full of gratitude, love, and joy!  Wishing you a day filled with the same!

Well here I've been posting my 30 Days of Thanksgiving daily to my Instagram and forgot to post them here. Silly Chick! So to catch up, I'm going to share November 1st through yesterday here now, but for those who don't know, I've not only been doing the 30 Days of Thanksgiving posts for a number of years now, but I also have an attitude of gratitude on a daily basis, I just don't always share it daily like I do in November.  November 1 I am thankful for our little bit of Heaven on earth in the mountains. More than words can tell you! The beauty, quiet and solitude does both of us much good. Our dock became a part of my morning routine (last week while we were at the camper on vaca) and I look forward to many more mornings out here in the future!  November 2 I am thankful for The Marine (aka the Hubbs). That man, right there in the corner of this photo. Who strongly prefers not having his photo taken, which is why I have to sneak one from time...

To those celebrating today, and a Happy Chanukah as well!  Many blessings to appreciate today and you all are included!  I started baking on Tuesday because we were getting a nor'easter through last evening and with an electric stove/oven, I wanted to be sure I had pumpkin pie for today. (Priorities!) Thankfully all went well and the storm passed without incident. Botched up the top crust for my apple cranberry pie yesterday so I made a messy lattice top instead. T'ain't pretty and that's okay - from what I sampled it's delicious! This morning I awoke later than I expected (been so tired lately, fatigue crash - bah!) and despite seasoning the turkey yesterday, in trying to get it in the oven this morning I managed I miss the beginning of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and therefore missed my *favorite* part of the parade: Tom Turkey! Ack! (But a sweet friend sent me a photo of him as it aired where she lives and the parade will re-air at 2p s...

I hope all who celebrated yesterday had a lovely day! The day after Thanksgiving, since I stopped working because of my health, has meant a cozy day at home filled with snacking on leftovers and watching Christmas decorating shows all day, a favorite, favorite guilty pleasure that I enjoyed so much! (And one I didn't admit to anyone until I told my bff G in 2008 lol!)  Hold it. No, I do not shop on this day. I refuse for many reasons, but mainly because I worked too many years in retail & therefore too many Black Friday's and I relish the fact that I no longer have to leave our home on this day unless I absolutely have to!  Anyhow, back to the topic at hand! Since that home and gardening network (that rarely airs anything to do with gardening anymore) stopped airing its' Christmas decorating show marathon on this day a few years back, I've had to find a new day after Turkey Day ritual to replace it with. Let me tell y'all, it hasn't been easy and I...

Today I am thankful for this. Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

I am thankful that as quickly as Nature can show its' wrath, it can show you a surprising bit of beauty it left behind untouched. Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

I am getting a late start on my 30 Days Of Thanksgiving posts thanks to a Hurricane named Sandy so it's time to play a little bit of catching up.  This has become an annual tradition for me here on Diggin' Around that I look forward to each year and it's ever so much more meaningful this year after seeing the utter & heartbreaking devastation locally & state-wide because of Sandy.  I invite you, regardless of your location, affected by Sandy or not, to spend this month appreciating your blessings, whatever they are, big and small, with me daily. November 6th - I'm thankful for the right to Vote which so many around the world don't have and thankful Hubbs & I have made a point of going to vote together since we've been a couple.   I used to look forward to voting when I was younger, was even excited to do so. As I get older, it weighs on me more & more. But, I gladly & with appreciation exercise my right to vote (in every election from local...

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

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...

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®

While my niece and three of her best friends have yet to sleep since they got up yesterday because they left their homes after Thanksgiving dinner to go line up outside some box store and shopped all day, I relished in not leaving our house until this evening to go to a friends home for a birthday celebration. Having worked on Black Friday for many , many years, no bargain can top my delight in not having to leave the house today, unless I want to. My annual day after Turkey Day tradition of watching Christmas decorating shows all day long on HGTV didn't go as planned - they didn't start the marathon until noon. I was quite disappointed. Then I got the urge to re-arrange more furniture. So I spent a good chunk of the afternoon taking everything off/out of the entertainment center (purging said items) and cleaning it. Hubbs didn't expect me to do that today and his reaction when he got home was, "Well, I guess I have to move it this weekend, huh?" Heh heh! (...