Thanksgiving Blessings

Today is Thanksgiving, which is my favorite holiday. My family didn't celebrate (Canadian) Thanksgiving growing up, so it was a new experience to me 3 years ago. E and I had been together for almost a year, and just pulling up to his parents' house gave me total butterflies - I knew I was in for something special! From that moment on, I was hooked; from the amazing food, like Toodle's Noodles and corn pudding, to the time spent with family, laughing and sharing, making memories and watching the children in our family grow, and preparing for new ones to arrive.

To me, Thanksgiving is a blessing, and enough in itself to be thankful for.

I do have plenty more to be thankful for, because I am truly blessed.

I'm thankful for my amazing husband, E - I could try to explain everything he means to me, or try to describe what exactly makes him so wonderfully special, but to try to qualify all that he is would literally take forever, and other than Gd himself, who has the time? In the last year, we've gone through plenty, including immigration, buying our first home, getting married (oy!), among other things. Every day, I look at him, and my heart swells that much more with love, pride and appreciation for him.

I'm grateful for the gift of homeownership - not only do we have a beautiful, historic home where we can be with our loved ones, but we have the security of having a roof over our heads, in a time when so many others do not. In the coming year, I'm hoping to work with Habitat for Humanity in order to help others gain the same security and pride.

I'm thankful for having my eyes to see, my ears to hear and my mobility. There are so many days that I feel down, or that everything seems to be going wrong, that I fail to remember that the movements and abilities that I take for granted are ones that others struggle to accomplish every day.

I'm grateful to be able to write, even if it's just a blog, and that others can choose to read (or not) freely. Censorship can be found all over the world, and I'm glad to have the freedoms to not be afraid to speak.

There is so much more to be thankful for, but I'll stop here.

For Thanksgiving dinner this year, I brought pumpkin cookies (big hit, as always) and, for something different, a cranberry-walnut compound butter. I was a little nervous, but it went over smashingly - my mother-in-law called it a new family tradition, and requested that I bring it every year! I didn't have a change to take any photos, but take my word for it - it's well worth a try!

Cranberry Butter
courtesy of Fun Foods on a Budget!
yields 1 1/3 cups

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 tbsp. brown sugar (I used Splenda Brown)
• 2 tbsp. honey
• 1 cup chopped fresh cranberries
• 2 tbsp. chopped walnuts

1. In a small mixing bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, and honey until fluffy, about 5 minutes.
2. Add cranberries and walnuts; beat 5 minutes longer or until butter turns nice and pink (it will, I promise!).
3. Transfer to a sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap; roll into a log, and twist at the ends.
4. Refrigerate until chilled.
   
5. Unwrap and slice or place on a butter dish.