Tag: Month of Thanksgiving


There's more than one way to be grateful

There's more than one way to be grateful

If you haven’t already seen this video of pastor Joe Nelms giving thanks in prayer before a NASCAR race in Nashville, you’re in for a treat. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J74y88YuSJ8] I grew up Catholic and have heard a whole lot of prayers and invocations in my life — but have never heard such impassioned thanks raised up to God for the power and…

Month of Thanksgiving leftovers: thanking Miss Penny

Month of Thanksgiving leftovers: thanking Miss Penny

Margaret Yang recently won one of two Month of Thanksgiving contests here on Newvine Growing by expressing her gratitude for her daughter’s bus driver. Because Margaret won the “Who are you thankful for?” contest, I sent flowers to her house so she could give them to Miss Penny, the bus driver. Margaret sent two follow-up notes on what happened when…

I am thankful for: things that could have been worse

I am thankful for: things that could have been worse

I woke up just in time to hear a doctor telling my parents how I was lucky my nose had shattered because otherwise the bone would have driven up into my brain and killed me. It was hard to feel especially lucky at that moment. I had broadsided another driver who hadn’t looked to see I was approaching doing about…

Why be thankful anyway?

Why be thankful anyway?

Maybe some of you spent a little time going around the table at Thanksgiving dinner sharing something you’re thankful for? While the holiday is mostly about gorging on food and/or spending time with loved ones, there is this sweet notion of a holiday about counting our blessings and giving thanks. I’ve taken that a step further with Month of Thanksgiving,…

I am grateful for: small businesses

I am grateful for: small businesses

  John and I walked home late Thanksgiving night, trying to walk off a few of the thousands of calories we’d ingested with friends, and our path took us past a big shopping center down the street where crowds were lining up for Black Friday sales.   I’ve never felt compelled to get up in the middle of the night…

Margaret is grateful for: her daughter's bus driver

Margaret is grateful for: her daughter's bus driver

Today’s Month of Thanksgiving post is the winner of the “Who are you grateful for?” contest. It was difficult choosing just one winner, but here are some reasons I chose Margaret Yang‘s ode to her daughter’s bus driver: Many people wrote about their family, and I’m delighted to see so many people holding up the love of their parents, siblings,…

I am grateful for: Bugs Bunny

I am grateful for: Bugs Bunny

When I was a kid, Saturday mornings meant cartoons and cartoons meant Bugs Bunny. Looney Tunes anchored Saturday viewing, with a whole wonderful cast of characters including Daffy Duck, Roadrunner, Foghorn Leghorn, Marvin the Martian … but the star was Bugs. Bugs taught me about pop culture, including gangster movies and hillbilly music, and of course, about opera. It was…

I am grateful for: excellent contest entries

I am grateful for: excellent contest entries

As part of the Month of Thanksgiving, I’m running two — TWO! — contests: what are you grateful for? who are you grateful for? Readers have submitted some excellent entries already but I’m greedy. I want more more more! The deadline is Saturday, so take a few minutes to share who or what makes your life better by going to…

I am grateful for: air travel

I am grateful for: air travel

I have a couple of trips planned for the rest of the year that involve air travel. I don’t mean to sound all Beverly Hillbillies marveling over the cement pond, but it’s pretty miraculous that I’m going to wake up in the cool November autumn of New York and by that very afternoon, I will be dangling my toes in…

I am grateful for: my iPad

I am grateful for: my iPad

When I pull out my iPad in public, it’s interesting how consistently I get the question, “Do you love it?”
Not “Does it live up to the hype?” or “Do you like it?” Almost without exception, “Do you love it?”
And without hesitation, my answer is yes.

I am grateful for: a few of my favorite things

I am grateful for: a few of my favorite things

Yesterday I asked you to tell me what you’re grateful for — you could win PRIZES! To get you thinking, here’s a sampling of some posts I’ve written in the past about things I’m grateful for: kitchen gadgets including our mandoline, automatic coffee maker and the SodaStream seltzer maker farmers markets New Orleans Jazz Fest And if you’d like a…

What are you grateful for? Contest #2

What are you grateful for? Contest #2

  A week ago, I asked who you’re grateful for and some of the great responses that came in ranged from “my husband” to “my daughter’s bus driver.”   There’s still time to enter that contest – and now let’s add another to the mix. Besides the people you’re grateful for, what inanimate objects are you grateful for? What things…

I am grateful for: changing seasons

I am grateful for: changing seasons

Typically I love summer. I love going to the beach and eating at outdoor cafes and wearing little sundresses. This summer was rough on me, though. It was so stinkin’ hot for so long that I felt like I was melting. But even if this summer hadn’t served up week after week of sweltering heat, there’s something cozy about fall’s…

I am grateful for: home cooking

I am grateful for: home cooking

In New York, it’s not uncommon to meet people who don’t cook. At all. They proudly talk about using their fridge only for beverages and maybe leftovers, and keeping shoes or sweaters in their ovens. I’m thankful not to be among them. As much as I do love going out for a good meal, I take serious pleasure in the…

I'm grateful for: people I've never met

I'm grateful for: people I've never met

A guest post from the ever-fabulous Lara Zielin:   I probably spend too much time online and, if my increasingly strobe-light-like brain is any indication, it might not be doing me as much good as I think. But I will say one thing about the experience: being online, and utilizing social media tools in particular, has connected me to some…