Thanksgiving 2014

…or Happy Canadian Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving centrepiece And for what am I thankful this year? For family and extended family, and friends and loving pets. I am thankful to be living in a country which values freedom and individuality, kindness and humour. Where we love time spent outside and fresh air and good food. I am thankful that there are enough people who don’t take those things for granted and who are committed to the preservation of nature and culture. And I am especially thankful that I got my lost camera back!! This is the last picture I took with my Canon:

Windmill blades arrive in Liverpool.

Windmill blades arrive in Liverpool.

This is the last picture on the camera:

Across and down the Mersey River.

Across and down the Mersey River.

I didn’t take it. If you look closely you can see the spill-over falls. This picture was taken as far down-river from the falls as we are up-river from it. It was taken by the lovely and honest lady who was trying out the camera to see if it still worked. She said she found it on the side of the road as she was pulling out from the parking lot where she was looking at the windmill blades. At first glance she thought it was a crow but then saw it for what it was and retrieved it. She wasn’t sure how to find the owner; she recognized the photos as being local and checked the newspaper for a lost camera ad. She let it be for the time until days later when she was walking into the supermarket and saw a little drawing of a camera on the bulletin board and sent me one of the most exciting texts I ever got: “I think I have your camera” (I was in Cape Cod at the time and three of us at the dinner table got texts almost simultaneously, one good news, one exciting news and the other a totally random thing that said “you are nine minutes from home”). Turns out I didn’t leave the Canon on the park bench, but on the bonnet of the car where it stayed for a few seconds after we drove away. Guess we were preoccupied and didn’t see it go flying off. And wonders never cease, not a nick or a scratch on it. I am so grateful to the couple who never considered keeping it for themselves. I rewarded them with a Tim’s card and a sock monkey. I would reward Saint Anthony too if I was certain he was in on it. I think alms for the poor is the appropriate reward in his case. And to prove the camera still functions:

Sammie is thankful for a warm hearth.

Sammie is thankful for a warm hearth.

Travel and Thanksgiving preparations took precedence over boatbuilding and blogging in recent weeks but I hope to catch up soon.  Please stay tuned. © Judy Parsons 2014

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