I have lived in Las Vegas for 20 years, but it is only the last couple of years that I have learned to see the beauty of the Mojave desert as I have been photographing families and couples in the desert. I am thankful that I can see the beauty around me now, where at first glance (eighteen years’ worth of glances!) it does not look pretty.
I am thankful for the creosote bush. This bush is green in spring and changes to orange in the fall. The seed pods glow in the sunlight and I love them in photos.
This past week I learned that the creosote bush is the main thing that we smell as part of the petrichor after the rain in the desert. This made me love it even more!
Happy Thanksgiving!
What are you thankful for today?
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Today I am thankful that an old friend’s husband was found safe. JL has memory problems and took the car yesterday morning…he didn’t come home. They just said he was found. Their daughter Jamie is in the hospital with Covid-19. She is not doing well. Please add her to your prayers.
I am also thankful that 2020 will soon end. It has been a hard year, hasn’t it?
Your photos are so pretty, Brandy!
Today I’m thankful that my Mother had a wonderful birthday on the 25th in spite of no visitors and friends – delicious food, beautiful flowers and lots and lots of phone calls made her day.
I am also grateful that we can spend a whole day together in rest and relaxation today on Thanksgiving Day.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Lea
I wanted to make Rice Krispie Squares, which I haven’t made in decades, but couldn’t find marshmallows at the store. The cashier gave me directions but the large bottom shelf was empty. I leaned over very far to double-check, and found one bag at the very, very back. And for that I am thankful. It is a small thing, but sometimes that is all you need.
I’m having a difficult time accepting that I’m not knee deep in treatment right now. Will probably be so through Christmas now. But I am beyond thankful that I have my family with me and plenty of good food to eat. I am also really thankful there is a cure that I qualify for even if it is delayed in getting started. And I am thankful that I could sit at the table today. It has been too difficult for quite some time; today was the first day I could. I am also thankful for the ability to communicate with distant family and friends. What a gift from when I was young. I treasured the letters we wrote and the calls we made (they were costly), but do so appreciate the access we have in today’s world! Happy Thanksgiving all!
Trish
Happy Thanksgiving Trish. I hope you can continue your treatment soon.
Trish, I also hope you can continue treatment in the very near future!
Trish,
Since Christmas is first and foremost a matter of the spirit and soul, and since you are able to sit up, could you not perhaps celebrate Christmas a bit early to avoid the next round? thoughts and prayers to you.
Happy Thanksgiving, Trish.
I am thankful for a lovely walk outside despite the rain.
Happy Thankgiving to those in the US.
We live in the Sonoran desert (Phoenix) and so have creosote everywhere too! And it has also taken me years of glances to appreciate the beauty of the desert ;). Now I smile almost non-stop when I go for a walk just loving where I live. I am thankful I can see well to see the desert and smell the air after the rains come.
I am also thankful I bought a large turkey (just my husband and I at home), we just finished thanksgiving dinner, he cut off the turkey slices to freeze, and now I have two crock pots cooking with the carcass to make broth for soup (he had to chop it into pieces to fit). How lucky I am to to have this turkey for many more meals and at least eight meals of turkey, vegetable and noodle soup for the freezer! I read someone’s comment on this blog about getting Amish noodles from Indiana, so I bought some…this next batch of soup will be my first time trying them out😄.
How lucky you are to have a husband who helps debone the turkey!!
I thankful a garage nearby was able to get and put brakes on our car while I waited.
I am thankful we enjoyed working together to make a Thanksgiving meal that we can continue to enjoy for a few days and that the extra turkey that we bought was cooked and cut up ready to freeze. I am also thankful for messaging with extended family and friends and finding they are doing well.
Every Wed. i’m thankful it’s the beginning of my four day ‘weekend’. I love my little job, but let’s face it, it’s still a job. As always, i’m also very thankful for zoom and face-time. This year would have been even more difficult without those options.
I love the pictures of the bushes, Brandy! The stems are interesting with the stripes.
I’m thankful today for my husband and son, my mother & mother in law and good friends to share the day with. I’m grateful for the ability to batch cook and the easy day we had today. We are tired sure but I was able to put a lively meal on the the table and still enjoy the few people that joined us. So much to be thankful for in this season we are all in. Love and blessings to all!! Happy Thanksgiving!!
I am thankful I got to do a Zoom meeting with my family (all 22 of us). It was so much fun to laugh together even though we are all far apart. My 93 year old mom (who was on our zoom) just found out she is positive for COVID 19. So far she has mild symptoms. Please pray it stays that way. We are 1800 miles apart.
Brandy,
I love your photos of the creosote plant. It must also be very beautiful when after a rain, the many plants of a desert suddenly bloom all at once. In such years, it must be a wonder to see the many butterflies. When California has such a year, we in Alberta get Painted Lady butterflies that have migrated north.
I was going to wash two pillows but put them on the floor instead. I put off getting them into the washing machine until the next day. In the middle of the night, I blacked out and had a soft landing on the pillows.
I am very grateful the pillows were still there.
I waited till the next day to go to the hospital. The day before I had not heard the doorbell when my friend
rang the bell several times and I did not get her emails so the next day she called the police to do a wellness check. I was on the phone with the bank when the doorbell rang. I almost didn’t answer it. I put the bank on hold (how gratifying is that after all the times the bank puts us on hold?) and saw it was the police. I said that ironically when my friend made her delivery, I was fine but later, in the night, I had passed out. I am thankful that my friend cared enough to do a wellness check.
I am very grateful for the emergency room doctors and nurses and cleaning staff. The waiting room I was sent to only had two people in it, including me. Most people are staying away from hospitals due to covid. I am thankful that my gp previously told me if I needed to go to go and not be afraid of getting covid. Also the ems paramedics told me that there are two entirely separate areas for covid patients and non covid patients coming in. Because allergy symptoms overlap with covid symptoms, I had to go into an isolation room. I pray that I did not come into contact with anyone carrying covid.
I am really grateful for the lovely smart woman doctor I had. She ruled out a heart attack (since women don’t always have the same symptoms as men) and did a ct scan to rule out any urgent need for surgery. She now has referred me to a specialist.
I had to take a taxi home. The driver wore a mask and there are now plexigass barriers between the front and back seats. The moment I was home I stripped and had a long shower…
I am okay and in much less pain. This could be called the 30 year old diagnosis. I have been sent to the same specialists several times over the years but since I had to wait to get the appointments, I was always tested when I was symptom free and the tests showed nothing.
So I am grateful for so many things. I slept in this morning as I arrived home late at night ( I am thankful that I put my porch light on at noon in case it was dark by the time I returned home and as a result I could see my way up the driveway in the dark).
When I woke up, I checked the email address for the book and found a reply about the grant we were supposed
to hear about at the end of December. We received a major grant for printing the book. It should be enough but we are having the printing quote redone because the original quote was for a shorter book.
This grant was really our only and last hope for funding. Needless to say, I am really thankful for it.
I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!
I am so grateful for this blog which shares so many beautiful things with us.
I’m grateful for Kansas sunrises and sunsets. I’m also grateful for Kansas City Lights. We had fun looking at the lights there this evening. We stayed in the car, but it was beautiful.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I am thankful that I could spend Thanksgiving with my parents and siblings! We ate wonderful food and also enjoyed stories and laughter. It was a good boost to my soul.
Today I am thankful for the sweet things in life; whether it be a frosted sugar cookie, a hug and kiss from child, a gorgeous sunset, beautiful music, holding hands. If I don’t take the moment to be grateful it passes me by. I think these sweet little moments help me realize all that I am blessed with.
I am thankful that I met my husband on Nov. 26, 1967. It was the Sunday after Thanksgiving and we went on a double date together…but he wasn’t my date! Not that time, anyway! We were engaged the first week of January and married March 15, 1968. When you know, you know!
Like you, I’ve learned to love the unique, delicate beauty of the creosote bush.
I am from Pennsylvania originally and my family there are rightfully proud of the lush green springs and summers and glorious fall foliage. I LOVE visiting. But, I’ve learned that the desert (and coastal desert) have a depth of color and beauty all their own, and I find I’m glad to be home, too.