Today, I’m thankful for… Bright light. Isn’t October beautiful? The air is crisp and good, and the sky can be so bright. This is a snapshot of the sky over my church last week. When the sky lights up like this, it is easy to get your eyes off your feet and feel thankful.
And I’m thankful for… Pie! Specifically, for Jean’s Apple Cheddar hand-pie recipe. I recently had the good fortune to be involved with the editorial board for the Artful Parent’s autumnal e-book – and that meant I got to roll up my sleeves for some recipe testing. I really fell for Jean’s hand pies; perfect little apple pies, easy pastry, gloriously individual. She suggests tucking a small square of cheddar cheese into each pie. The result is gorgeously melty and good. (The book is now available here – and it’s fantastic! Stuffed with great, simple, seasonal recipes and craft ideas. I love Jean’s beautiful approach to celebrating the seasons at home. We’ve been using it with our Sunday School, too. You can also sign up for the Artful Parent Newsletter and get ideas sent to you every week.)
I’m thankful for … gardens. Our friends Jane and Colin have an apple tree in theirs, and they’ve been sharing apples. Some people have been saying that this year has been an iffy one for apple trees, but theirs must be heavy with fruit, judging from the bags that they have been dropping off at our door! We have only a small space in front of our home where we grow lettuce and potatoes and herbs. Out back, there is a large and wild shared garden. That’s where I hang out laundry and look at the sky, and where the kids climb trees. We moved in last September, but didn’t find the key to the backyard space for a couple of months. So, it was only this month that we discovered the blackberry bushes. Abundant blackberry bushes! The rain was kind to berries, too. So baking galore: we’ve been making muffins and cakes and jam and apple sauce and crisps and, of course, pies.
I’m thankful for … community. For neighbours who happen to have buckets of kids and birthdays to celebrate. It was Hannah’s birthday recently, and her favourite pie is apple-blackberry . So we handpied, of course. I’m thankful for crowds in the living room, laughter and music, dolls’ houses and dress-up, and a great big teapot on the table.
I’m thankful, too, for community far away. For my family and the Spouse’s and for their church communities that we are connected with despite the distance. I’m grateful for a church that includes and nurtures community and faith in many places and times. Thanksgiving weekend always make me think about PYPS weekends away, so this Thanksgiving, I’m also remembering congregations in Quebec City, and Brockville, and Vankleek Hill and weekends up at Gracefield Camp and Retreat Centre and the Spouse would add a slew of BC names to that list if he was proofreading this blog post – maybe I’ll get those in the comments section. Maybe you can add some, too. I love that the church gave me a chance when I was younger to get to know communities in all sorts of places and to get to know, too, that I had a belonging there as part of the wider church. Being far from home doesn’t mean being disconnected.
I’m thankful for list making and remembering. Isn’t it good to have days like this to gather together and think of good things? Isn’t it good to balance the savoury and the sweet, to relish the scents of the season and the faces round the tables? The days are getting shorter and the cold may be coming, but the crispness in the air reminds us to gather up good things for the table and in our hearts and be thankful. Now we are are involved in remembering for today and storing up for tomorrow. Now we are busy with thanksgiving. Enjoy the days.
