Cooking With Love

There are few things as beautiful and delicious as a meal made with love. With just a few days before America's number one eating holiday, Thanksgiving, I look forward to the wonderful time that will be spent around the table breaking bread with family and friends. It is a precious time that I hold dear.

I feel so fortunate to break bread on a regular basis with my new coworkers; we sit down as an entire team and enjoy a wonderful meal together. Everyone takes turns preparing the meal, as well as covering the cleaning duties. It's a brilliant tradition.

Last Friday the lovely greek mother of a coworker prepared the most delicious meal for everyone: moussaka. This joy-of-a-women began this labor of love the day before our lunch and made an enormous casserole dish that, along with a crisp greek salad and home-cured olives, left our stomachs full and our souls satisfied. "Thank you, Sofia. It was delightful!"

Got Wheels?

I am thankful each and every time I get in my car, it starts, and carries me where I need to go. This weekend I drove over 600 miles roundtrip to see my family and visit my nephew, Kaiden. Shortly after I set out on my trip Friday after work I hit a milestone: 200,000 miles...wow! I was in Novato listening to Adele. I hope this little car makes it to 300,000!

T.G.I.F.

Dear Friday, I am immensely thankful for you. Love, me

I Heart Warm

Tonight I am thankful for warm. Yes, just warm. I think in a different life I was a lizard that spent her day sunning on a rock, or a cat that slowly moved across the kitchen floor following the warm glow of the sunshine... Either way, I like warm. This has been highlighted today as we got a little rain shower and a cold, cold chill in the air. Are you a person who prefers summer or winter? While I appreciate winter and love the opportunity to get cozy, if I had to pick one of the 2 seasons, it'd be summer. Warm.

Comfort Food

Today I am thankful for comfort food. On those long days when you are tired, feeling under the weather, experiencing stormy weather, or just need a taste of home, the perfect remedy is often the simplest. In my case it's chicken soup; just like mom made it, just like grandma made it. Brian felt like he was coming down with something, the tell-tale tickle of a sore throat, and requested chicken soup. I made a big pot of this healing concoction which was good for not only last night's dinner, but tonight's supper as well.

A Month of Giving Thanks

To celebrate both the joy of giving thanks and the month of Thanksgiving I would like to spend each day in this lovely November sharing the things that I am thankful for. On this November 1st, I am thankful for my cat Dodo, more affectionately referred to as Widdle Meeshwan. We adopted him as a young adolescent when the neighbors left him behind as they moved across the country. We were not looking for an addition to the family, but he has made a permanent home in our hearts. xoxo

Non-Violent Revolution

This was a really inspiring interview that we watched last night with Brian Willson, a non-violent activist who has spent his life learning the costs of opposing the brutal actions of the United States government. Brian lost both legs during a peaceful sit-in that opposed the transportation of weapons to Central America:

"Today we spend the hour with a man who put his life on the line twice: once when he served in the Vietnam War and again when he came back. On September 1, 1987, Brian Willson took part in a nonviolent political action outside the Concord Naval Weapons Station in California. He sat down on the train tracks along with two other veterans to try to stop a U.S. government munitions train sending weapons to Central America during the time of the Contra wars. The train didn’t stop. Willson suffered 19 broken bones, a fractured skull and lost both of his legs."

A very eye-opening testimonial that comes at a time when peaceful demonstrations across the country are meeting brutal crackdowns by local police units. It leads one to question the "democracy" and "freedom" that the US espouses to stand for.