Saturdays in the Garden - The Gratitude Edition

OUTSIDE

The first seed catalog came!  It has caused bubbly excited thoughts of garden planning to begin.  Before I know it, this first catalog will be joined by many friends and full-fledged garden sketching and head scratching will break out.  Sigh.... Life is good.

LIFE

Here in the U.S. we just celebrated Thanksgiving and despite its dubious beginnings and that it has morphed into a shove your face full of food day, it is still one of the better holidays we yanks have come up with.  It's a day for giving thanks.  How awesome is that.

I have much for which to be incredibly grateful.  In fact,  it blows my mind when I think of all the good fortune my life has been graced by so in order to save my mind I'm going to concentrate on some of the smaller, everyday things I am thankful for.  Well mostly.

Dexys Midnight Runners' Come on Eileen    Out of nowhere this song popped into my head yesterday and instead of being annoying, it made me feel uncontrollably and unaccountably joyful.  At one point I was belting it out while washing dishes.  Thanks DMR.  Too Ra Loo Ra Too Ra Loo Rye Aye.  Also, I owned this album and the whole thing is brilliant.  Seriously. It is. I mean it. 
Honest. Think I'll need to put that on the wishlist at iTunes.  Lord knows where my vinyl is. 




Hard Cider

This is this week's brand and to be honest it's not a favorite.  It's an Irish Cider.  I'm not sure what makes it an Irish cider, besides, you know, being made in Ireland, but this one is dry, with only a mild apple taste and is reminiscent of a light beer.  I think I like ciders that are crisper and a tad sweeter.  Regardless, I am still thankful for whoever first thought of fermenting apples into a tasty beverage.



 Science

For the past few weeks I have been listening to Richard Dawkin's The Selfish Gene and constantly find myself feeling awed by the simultaneous simplicity and complexity of...well...life and also that with our human brains we a have the ability contemplate all this amazing stuff.  Biology is way cool, folks and I cannot tell you how incredibly fortunate I feel to be able to put biologist under my occupation.  Sure, I'm nowhere near the caliber of a Richard Dawkins but the fact that I get to dabble even along the fringes, in my corner of the garden if you will, is a constant reason for gratitude. 


My Mamaw's Coconut Custard Pie Recipe

It's so, so good.  There were several moments while I was cooking it that I thought it wasn't going to set and my heart was possibly breaking and then it did and the angels sang and it tastes amazing.  Way to go Mamaw.






BOOKS AND BLOGGING

While I haven't finished any of the books I have been working on over the last couple-three weeks, I have spent a lot of quality time with a few of them and am getting close.  More importantly I have been in the mood to read and have been enjoying them as well as looking forward to finishing them and getting into some of the books on deck.  I think making my Winter TBR (see below) and evaluating where I was at with my 2014 challenges was motivating.

I also signed up for something cool for the holiday season which I am excited about.  LeeSwammes Blog and Stiletto Storytime are hosting a Book Bloggers Holiday Card Exchange which looks simple and fun!  Who wouldn't love getting a bookish holiday card from a random book lover??

This past week on the blog:

SUNDAY:  Sundays through the Stargate - SG1 Season 3.  This is part of a series of posts I'm doing about one of my favorite Sci Fi TV shows while I rewatch.
TUESDAY: Top Ten Tuesday - Winter TBR.
THURSDAY: Review of the nonfiction Brain on Fire by Susanna Cahalan.  I thought the book had some impact and pretty powerful messages but wasn't super thrilled with the reading experience.  It is worth checking out.
FRIDAY: Review of The Pursuit of Mary Bennet by Pamela Mingle. This is a Pride and Prejudice follow up that seeks to illuminate Mary's story.  It's not bad but it does take the occasional turn  into the downright weird.

Next week on the blog:

SUNDAY:  Sundays through the Stargate - SG1 Season 4.  Season four is where the 'ship between Sam and Jack really heats up so if you want to read a grown woman having a mild spaz out about two fictional character's love lives, check it out. 
TUESDAY:  The Top Ten Tuesday topic this week is the books we are most looking forward to in 2015.  I will probably tweak this one because it is incredibly similar to some recent and future topics.  I'm thinking I might do the ten books I'd like to read from my 100 Books Project in 2015.
WEDNESDAY:  Review of Perilous Seas by Dave Duncan - Book 3 of A Man of His Word series.
THURSDAY: Review of Emperor and Clown by Dave Duncan - Book 4 of A Man of His Word series.  

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.

Melody Beattie