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Opera Company of Philadelphia "Hallelujah!" Random Act of Culture



A little video break to start off the Advent season.  (Similar to flash mob.)  This is a treat if you enjoy Handel's, "Messiah" plus the surprise and pleasure on the shoppers' faces. 

Macy's moved into the old John Wanamaker store, glad to see the old building is still being used.  Years ago, I bought a nice winter coat from Wanamaker's.   I miss Philly.

30 Thanks 30 Is At An End

Thank you for reading through these Thanks posts.  Thank you to my blog followers. 

Thanks for all the blessings of my life.  All of them.  Thanks.  I appreciate even when I forget to say, "Thanks very much."  

Hope Your Thanksgiving is A Happy One, and that being thankful or grateful is thought or given or acknowledged in any way, every day.

No Need to Panic

Reasons Not to Panic:

1)  Doctors' office called, but not about lab results.

2)  Went to store to buy a roast.  Since there was only one on the shelf and it wasn't very good, I asked the butcher for a choice of same roasts to pick a better one.  Butcher didn't have any of said roasts which were advertised and gave me a more expensive  roast for the price of the advertised one.

3)  Went to another store to return items.  Managed to not get hit by three cars all of which were going the wrong way and driving on both sides of my car.  Whew!  They even managed not to hit each other, too.

That's three things to be thankful for and not to panic about.

Name for the Bowl

Whether you are of the the marrying mindset or not, it's sweet to see people who care about each other and profess for all the world to see, that they love each other.  The royal marriage to be of Prince William and Kate Middleton will be a distraction from serious news and problems.

A few years ago when these two lovebirds had broken off their relationship, I used my small bit of knowledge about Kate to my advantage.  Her name won me a prize on a radio show.

If my camera was working, I'd take a photo to show you what I am talking about.  I answered the question correctly and won a BBC Radio Wales Early Birds Breakfast Cereal Bowl.

Congratulations to William and Kate.  Thanks also for my treasured bowl.

Fated to Win

Does fear, especially an irrational fear block a blessing?  For instance, wouldn't it be great to win a large amount of lottery money?  I'm talking many millions of dollars, pounds, euros, etc.

Being the practical person I usually am, I've pondered what I would do with such a gargantuan size bank account.  I already have charities selected to donate to.  I've decided I would splurge on fresh flowers whenever I wanted them, which would be often.  I was going to surprise family members with certain presents, etc.

The concept of managing such a large amount of money is overwhelming.  That's the fear I'm referring to.  I don't know the first thing about tax shelters, investment portfolios, living off interest and preserving principle, etc.  Finding accountants and lawyers to advise me, whom I could trust is another dilemma.  I think the fear of having all that money is keeping it from landing in my lap.

The odds of winning the lottery aren't great.  I'm thankful that this silly fear hasn't stopped me from purchasing a lottery ticket.  Besides, is it a blessing to win or simply a matter of fate?

Think Thanks

Making a conscious effort to be thankful has reinforced a universal truth.  It's an acknowledgement that my blessings haven't been earned through my efforts or requests.  It reminds me that thankfulness by me and you and everyone who is thankful, has opened us to receiving these blessings as the gifts they actually are.  It's a great big giveaway, freebie, sometimes unexpected hit the mark bonanza of wonder, specialities, and joy.

These thoughts are tempered  by knowing that it's not puppies and gumdrop land here.  Sweetness and light- not.  For where ever there is good, the shoe does drop, landing hard and sometimes making it difficult to walk on through the rest of the day.  Just saying.

Thanking God for an Ordinary Day

Thankful that the plumbing is fixed, the roof doesn't leak, the heat is still churning, the dog didn't get sick, the cable is not down, the stove is under warranty, the sun is in the sky, and the moon hasn't fallen out of its orbit ...  A wonderfully ordinary day here at home.  Thanks.

Silence

Thank you, God for quiet moments.

Something Warm This Way Comes

We've been having lovely unseasonable weather for about two weeks now.  Just a couple of weeks before that, we had our first snowfall and lots of frigid temperatures.
Last winter was our snowiest ever, a history maker. 

I don't know if the weather will settle down into sustained coldness before Thanksgiving, but I am thankful that  an unexpected warm spell came to our area.

What Would You Do?

Would you have risky and invasive medical testing if the outcome was not going to give you a definite answer?  Would you take that chance?  Would you  move cautiously or jump in feet first?

I'm thankful for new technologies, but wary of the rapid speed of doctors to disengage the human from the science of this new medicine that is available in our swiftly changing world.

Thanking in Absentia

My family gets smaller instead of larger.  Losses weigh heavily on my heart and increase my isolation. 

I thank God for my Mom and Dad, though no longer here, they remain with me each and every day.  They blessed me greatly in very many ways.

Gift Tags

My church has a "Giving Tree" which is an artificial Christmas tree hung with angel shaped tags.   Each tag is labelled with an age and sex of a child or adult.  The tags tell us what the item is that we should buy and wrap and then return these to the church.

On Sunday, I took two tags off the tree.  It's difficult to buy extra gifts what with all of my medical bills, but I decided to do this anyway.  I'll never meet the people I am buying gifts for, and I am sorry that they are in circumstances of need.

I am thankful for my blessings and hope to bless others with a prayer and a gift.    Do you do something similar in your churches?

Counting on Good Eyesight

The Senility Prayer:

Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway,
The good fortune to run into the ones I do,
and the eyesight to tell the difference.

Thankful for reading this on a forum and that we have a sense of humor against all odds.

The Cat Is Out Of The Bag

I read the following on a forum, "I really need your help, I was given a gorgeous leather bag for my birthday and when I went to get something out of it today I discovered to my horror that my cat had peed inside it..."

Cats are wonderful creatures, but today I am thankful for my dogs.

Upright at Lonely Attention

War Memorial near to Trawsfynydd, Gwynedd, Wales... "Thank You" to those who served everywhere and to all the sacrifices made by themselves, their families, and friends.  I remember. 




SH7035 : War Memorial by Keith Evans

War Memorial

  © Copyright Keith Evans and

licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Another Perspective

About two years ago, I happened to land on the most colorful and cheerful blog by Lucy, who writes "Attic24."  She doesn't know me or what her blog and the blogs of other people did for me back at that time.  It was a low point for me for various reasons and one dark and depressing day I saw the computer screen in front of me light up with spectacular colors and happy thoughts. 

During those moments, nearly every day I would go to read Lucy's blog and know that I would be refreshed and uplifted.  Now, I know this is too big a burden for a blog writer to have to write consistently and without moments of sadness, I'm not saying that.  I was able to feel connected to somewhere else when I looked at her photos and felt that out there, apart from my dark corner in the world, people are still plodding along and getting real joy out of ordinary things, people, places, and objects.

Because I found Lucy's blog, I would click on other links and find blogs which also gave me a bit of cheer.  I've tried recipes from other countries, watched videos, and went travelling throughout foreign and domestic lands.  It's wonderful.

Thankful to have found places of hope and happiness which sustain me.



A Penny A Day Would Be Nice

Lucky 13!  30 Thanks is at post 13.   I'm thankful that I am not superstitious. 

I have purposely walked under a ladder and it did not collapse onto me.  I accidentally broke a mirror and my good luck, nonexistent as it is, did not get any worse.  Black cats followed me on my neighborhood walks, so no bad luck there, either.

I previously would not pick up a penny if it was tails, but since the economy is what it is, I will pick it up if these things are all aligned: 

     If when I bend down, no one is close by to see my rearend!
     There isn't a car coming who wouldn't see me, so I don't get rearended!
     It's a clean enough penny, so I'm not grossed out.
     And last, but most important,  I know bending to pick it up will not dislocate my hip!!!
                                            

Where To Be, Here or There?

Did you ever wonder why you are alive at this time, in this day and age, and not in some past century?  What makes us pertinent at this time in the history of the world?

I used to enjoy reading factual history books, the kind that were big and heavy, with black and white illustrations or photos  Turning the pages carefully lifting the thin tissue-like page which covered the photos and smoothing it back down to protect it, I'd wonder how these pages had survived so very long.

I wonder how people have survived so very long as well.  There must be a reason.  Best not to dwell on it and to just live your life.  It will be as long as it's supposed to be.

I'm thankful that I get to enjoy electricity- cooling in the heat and humidity plus heating in the cold months.  It's all as easy as pie, at the press of a button, without finding fuel to harvest, carry, and maintain.  We have shops full of everything worth eating, and some not, nevertheless, we have everything at our fingertips, including instant publishing- right here and now.   

Please Don't Tell Me How I Feel

This 30 Days of Thanksgiving posting is giving me a workout.  Just got more bad health news yesterday.  I had to take some time to ruminate, which I did after having a mini meltdown.  Angry, frustrated, defeated, hopeless, just a few of those passing emotions.

Thankful that at the moment although the situation is not good, it may not get really terrible, and if it does, well, I'll have to cope.

This cliche that people have shared, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" is apt.  I could almost hate that phrase, but since I can't hate, learning to mute them will have to suffice.

Driving Down the Highway

Thankful that I have finally gotten back to driving after the surgery.  I hadn't driven for about 7 weeks.  I like to have my independence and driving gives me some.
Pedal to the Metal Once Again

Christmas Before Thanksgiving

November 3, the day after Election Day, I saw my first Christmas commercial on the tv, it was for Lottery Tickets, which I just do not associate with Christmas, not the true meaning of Christmas.

Ordinarily I would gripe about the start of the shopping season so early, but this year it doesn't bother me as much.  Don't know why that is.  Perhaps writing these posts makes me feel more charitable to those who are trying to make their quotas in business.  In this economic downturn I hope people don't overspend, but still make donations, and keep to the spirit of Christmas. 

Also, I am thankful that Black Friday sales are starting long before that day and so hoping that there won't be throngs of people and not enough cashiers in the shops during the busy weekends!  Keeps the parking lots and roadways a bit less stressful too, by spreading out the shopping days.

The Air is Mostly Muck-Free

Thankful that now that the election cycle is closed in the USA, that the despicable commercials are off the tv.  This batch of commercials for the elections was truly ugly, lowdown vindictive, and mostly full of lies.    Mailers for the elections are still coming through the post, but I always discarded them anyway, so didn't feel the assault on the senses as sharply as tv and radio commercials were designed to do.

A Word Describing Mother Angelica

Awesome.

When I first saw Mother Angelica on EWTN and listened to her talk about her faith and relationship with the Lord, I was intrigued by her easy relationship with Him.   One of her most used words was, "awesome."   I had never been exposed to someone who was so relaxed and happy in her relationship with the Lord. 

She said He was, "Awesome."  That got me to thinking that we hold Him at arms length when it would be better to be in His arms.

Mother Angelica made me feel it was okay to pray at ANY time, not just in church, or in a quiet and solitary room, but at any time.  So, on my very long drives into work I silently prayed about all kinds of things and the time was made a bit less stressful, but not stress--free, not by a long shot.  There were still lots of near crashes and lots of crazy drivers and long waits.

So, when I fall asleep praying it's due to Mother Angelica's awesome Christ relationship and the generous sharing of her faith with the world.

Adventure Girl

I'm thankful that I used to be adventurous and now have some happy memories to remind me of my courageous moments.  What frightened others didn't give me a second thought.  I'd like to dredge up some of that fearlessness as walking into the future can be on delicate and unproven paths.