"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.

It turns what we have into enough, and more.
It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order,
confusion to clarity.
It can turn a meal into a feast,
a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace
for today and creates a vision for tomorrow."
- Melody Beattie

Happy Thanksgiving!
{flickr photo by Ming chai}

In a few days we shall be meeting our potential rescue dog.
We are sooooo excited to meet her!
Also nervous, hopeful and eager;
she seems like a total sweetheart.
Will she say "woof, woof" "arf, arf" or "ruuuuff"?
Or will she have a southern bark?
If it all works out well we shall be ordering this
jonathon adler dog dish--a perfect match
as I hope we all are!

My dearest Captain R,
Communication has been sparse but
my heart feels you are navigating rough waters.
Know I am on bended knee praying for you to have
continued faith and strength.

May a light house illuminate your course.
May knowledge fill your mind.
I believe in you with all my heart and
am awaiting your safe return to our shores on Wednesday.
I have missed you fiercely.
All my love,
Your first mate
{photo one by flickr Adam and Debbie Purser of Classic Sailing;
photo two by flickr MumbleyJoe}

"The hand that gives, gathers."
English Proverb
{flickr photo by G!L}

Who will have the best runway collection
of these three,

Althea, Irinia or Carol Hannah?
We'll know tonight--good luck to the all female finale!
{photos from lifetime.com}

"Happiness is itself a kind of gratitude."
~Joseph W. Krutch
{flickr photo by designldg}

For Mr R and our youngest daughter, J,

whom are training for the Mardi Gras marathon in February.

{etsy item}

I went to a dinner group this evening where the theme was "corn".

The reason for the theme was this: On this date in

"1620 The first corn (maize) was supposedly discovered (by European settlers) by some Pilgrims led by Myles Standish, while exploring the area near Provincetown, Massachusetts. They named the spot Corn Hill." source: foodreference.com

I was asked to please bring a salad; with corn. Hmmm....all the sweet corn has been harvested, although we yet have field upon field of feeder corn, so I was a little stumped. My wonderful sistah emailed me an Ina Garten recipe but after teaching school all day felt it would require too much energy; it is only Monday, after all. I remembered this recipe from the June Real Simple magazine. Such a simple recipe; crisp, clean and delicious!

Corn Salad with Feta and Walnuts

Ingredients

• 1 cup walnuts
• 4 cups fresh corn kernels (from 4 ears), raw or cooked
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1/2 cup crumbled Feta (2 ounces)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400° F. Spread the walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until fragrant, 6 to 8 minutes. Let cool and roughly chop.
2. In a large bowl, combine the corn, jalapeños, lime juice, oil, walnuts, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Sprinkle with the Feta before serving.

Serves 6Hands-On Time: 10mTotal Time: 15m

I am grateful for corn! Enjoy.

Once you have built a "boat" one step at a time,
one day at a time, even moment to moment,
it must then be sailed,
taken out of the harbor and put to the test.
Adjustments and tweaks are part of the process.
So glad, mate, you have this opportunity;
may you have smooth sailing!
I love you, faithful ship builder.
*mwah*
{flickr photo by s@ilor}

"Every person's life is a fairy tale
written by God's fingers."
-Hans Christian Anderson
{flickr photo}

urban legend website

To update, the story of Cookie and Coco is supposedly a hoax, an urban legend, whatever you want to label it.

Believe me...or not?

Confirm it on snopes.com, "a web site that is the best-known resource for validating and debunking urban legends, Internet rumors, e-mail forwards, and other such stories of uncertain or questionable origin in American popular culture." source: wikipedia

Locate the search area, type "Cookie and Coca dogs" and be directed to this page where you can click on the title written in red and read many an entry.

Perhaps this was a real situation in the beginning {that dear reader is for you to decide} but appears to have become a hoax in that someone continues to circulate the heart tugging e-mail while changing the location of the dogs to match your area.

According to the Snopes website, this has been disseminated in California, our state and as far as Canada, Australia and India.

Our lesson? If it sounds too good to be true it probably is and if you receive a photo of two great looking dogs like these check it out on Snopes.com!

Beware!

Okay friends...we seemed to have allowed ourselves to get drawn into a scam that pulls on ones heart strings (what pulls harder than children and animals?!) and I am laying it out here to hopefully help you avoid the same pitfall.

A little background...we have lost all three of our adored, four legged, furry family members the past few years and it has taken me some time to consider opening my heart again.

When we received the following e-mail we were very excited and responded quickly as to the urgent situation of the family moving overseas and desperately needing to place their pups. We totally understand. Accordingly, we looked at each other, felt our hearts melt and responded immediately, detailing our pet background/history; even including referrals and phone numbers.

I know you see the warning lights flashing here as you already know it was a scam so you are faaaaar ahead of us.

We do not know the person who sent us the email, with her personal note, but know many of the people the email was sent to so it didn't appear this just came out of thin air. She had received the e-mail and passed it along, trying to help.

Hang on to your leashes as we walk through our experience....the original email:



"Please let Katherine know if you can help her out or know of someone who might be interested in two beautiful labs.

Lisa"


Seeking Home for 2 Gorgeous labs, trained (our state listed here)

Hopefully you know someone that knows someone that knows someone who wants two gorgeous trained labs!Even if you cant take them, please pass this around! Contact: Katherine at: Cookie and Coco Even if you cant take them, please pass this around! Contact: Katherine at: We are moving overseas in just 2 weeks. Unfortunately, I have still not been able to find a good home for Cookie and Coco . We're not able to take our beloved doggies with us and I've been desperately trying to find a home for both of them 'together'. They were raised together and pine without each other. The Lab rescue have already said that they would probably separate them, so this is my last resort. Recently I tried to take Coco out in my car alone and she TOTALLY refused to even get into the car without Cookie.....!!!! She absolutely pulled back on her haunches until Cookie was by her side. Both doggies are in great health, have been spayed and have ID chips implanted under their skin. Cookie turned 3 December 10th and Coco turned 3 April 1st. Cookie is my mellow-yellow. She just loves her tummy rubbed and lots of attention.. Coco is adorably funny and lives for her "ball." She also loves the water. Both doggies are loyal and love to walk. They have been raised with my 3 kids running around all over the place, and have survived Sammy's constant hugging and love of 'dress-up', so they are fantastic family dogs. This is by far one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make, but under the circumstances I have no choice. Please, please forward these pictures to all your friends. I want to find a great home for these fabulous doggies. They are just adorable and it's heartbreaking to let them go. In a perfect world, I hope that we could find someone local so that we can still keep in touch and visit them. I pray that someone, somewhere can help us keep Cookie and Coco together, and love them just as much as we do. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Thank you." I thought it quite strange we hadn't received a reply of any sort regarding our interest, placement of the dogs, etc. in the last seven days; therefore, I sent this e-mail late last night to the originator of the e-mail we received, Lisa, and the additional twenty two recipients: "Hello all, I received this e-mail and immediately responded with our keen interest in opening our hearts and home for the pups. I included referrals, phone numbers, etc as we were VERY interested in the two beautiful labs. We did not hear back a whimper, bark or woof...not a word that the pups had been placed. We thought Cookie and Cocoa were adorable. Does anyone have knowledge if they found a home? (Was this real? Were we too hasty in sharing so much information as we felt the urgent need for placement as the family was moving overseas?) Thank you! Mari" Here are the replies I received, copied directly from my e-mail: Response # 1 at 6:25 this morning: "Linda told me the dogs found a home together. Have a super day!" -C Response # 2 at 8:45 this morning: "I apologize, I don't know if this was a real message or not. I had heard after the fact that it may have been a hoax. Again, I apologize." - L Response # 3 at 8:56 this morning: "I also offered to foster the dogs in October and never heard anything back. I emailed the person who initially forwarded it to my group and was told it was a scam." -K Late this afternoon I was at a gathering and mentioned this experience. One of them responded, "That went around our school last year!" Feel free to throw milk bones our way with notes written on them confirming our naiveness and haste; I can take it because you are right. To end this walk through dog-doo, we shall now verve off onto a much more positive pathway where hope seems to be beckoning us. We are very much looking forward to meeting a potential canine for our family in the next few weeks. Woof!

"A wise old owl sat on an oak;
The more he saw the less he spoke;
The less he spoke the more he heard;
Why aren't we like that wise, old bird?"

"I am part of all that I have met."
-Lord Tennyson, English poet
{flickr photo}

I hope you have a soft blanket or throw in which to wrap
yourself and your tootsies so you can snuggle

with your honey and stay warm.
It will be a crisp 29 degrees here tonight.
You can bet your bottom dollar our windows will be open!

Cashmere blanket and pom pom throw from

Calypso St. Barth.

"In solitude
we give passionate attention to our lives,
to our memories,
to the details around us."
-Virginia Woolf, English Novelist
{flickr photo}

"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues,
but the parent of all others."
-Cicero, Ancient Roman Statesman and Philosopher
{flickr photo}

Welcome November...
month of gratitude, continued harvest and thanksgiving,
welcome!

{flickr photo by redstamp.com}