Thanksgiving 2016 and Ten Things of Thankful

A beautiful center piece made by my Mother In Law.

Last weekend was our Canadian Thanksgiving and I’ve been meaning to write a post about it all week. Since this is for Ten Things of Thankful I thought today would be a great time to post this.

We had a great turnout for our Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday October 9^th, which is my first Thankful.  The holiday itself is was on Monday but we always have the dinner on Sunday. This way everyone can recuperate before returning to work on Tuesday.

There were ten of us sitting around the dinner table; my three sons, two of their girlfriends, my mother in law, my sister in law Christy, her boyfriend from Arizona, my husband, and myself.  Dinner turned out perfect and everyone contributed to the meal. Thankful , (#2).

So ecstatic and thankful (#3) that Christy, my sister in law has met the man of her dreams, John Mark Green. He is one of the sweetest and nicest men I’ve ever met. He’s a keeper and I’m so thankful that he makes Christy so happy. (#4) Welcome to the family John!

Christy & John Thanksgiving 2016

All three of my sons have wonderful girlfriends, which makes me so happy. (#5) Family dinners are such a treat when everyone is here to enjoy each other’s company and the food too of course. 

Had my 38^th pemetrexed chemo treatment this past Friday and thankful that I’m alive to say that I’m still in remission. (#6) Christy has become my new chemo buddy, which means she comes and sits with me through the appointments once a month, (#7).

Autumn or Fall is my favorite season and this year is one of the most beautiful ones we’ve had in quite a few years. The weather has been unseasonably warmer for which I’m thankful, (#8).

I’ll be driving to Florida with my mother in law this upcoming Friday and I’m looking so forward to the trip, (#9).

For my number 10 thankful ……., Waking up every day to enjoy another day of life.

One more ..... Thanks to +Lizzi Lewis for the years she's put into this blog hop over at . Considerings

Loving the Spring Weather - TToT

Last week I told you that I had a huge job to accomplish, which was raking and bagging leaves along with picking up all the doggie delights.  Sunday morning I got dressed and headed out front to attack some leaves. I managed to get as far as raking the curb alongside the road. All of a sudden fatigue hit (chemo side effect) and I knew I had to stop. (Slept on and off for two days) Al and Matt took over and the front of my house looks wonderful. I've been working on the backyard this week and now that I’m feeling much better I should be done in another few days. Thankful that hubby and son were there to help and take over last Sunday. Normally they’d have been at work.

I've been playing “Clash of Clans” on my iPhone now for a few months and it’s amazing how addictive the game is. It’s so nice to have something that makes me relax and forget about everything else for a few minutes throughout the day numerous times. Does anyone else play this game?

The temperature has been in double digits for most of the week and I’m loving it! Today it’s going up to 14C or 57F, perfect day to be outside. I’m not one that likes it too hot. My son came over yesterday in shorts and I said to him it’s not 20 yet, go home and get some pants on. He looked at me like what the hell are you talking about Mom. When they were all little boys I wouldn't let them wear shorts until the temperature hit 20.

Had to take Maggie to the vet as her ear was bothering her. She’s always been prone to ear infections and sure enough she had a bad one. Bruce used to lick her ears all the time and he probably saved me many trips to the vet. I've been flushing her ear and applying drops once a day for a week now and she’s feeling so much better. Yesterday I got her outside chasing a ball, something she hasn't done for quite a while.

Made Maggie her favorite dog cookies today and while they were baking she got to clean out the peanut butter jar.

Mom needs to trim my paws

Have you ever had vanilla tea? Tetley makes one that is sooooo good! Al and I, a couple of hours after dinner each night will have a cup of tea, and this vanilla one is one of our favorites.

Planning a getaway weekend with Al …. He wants to go south and I want to go north. Figures!

Looking forward to June when my mother in law returns for a few months. I always enjoy her company.

Loving life and happy to be alive!

If you'd like to join in on the TToT please go to one of the following link ups and join us.

Your hosts

A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Amycake and the Dude, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal, I Want Backsies, The Meaning of Me, Thankful Me, Uncharted, The Wakefield Doctrine

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TToT - Been Gone Too Long

It’s been awhile since I've posted anything for TToT. Let’s just say it’s been a hard long winter. Al is finally just starting to get back to work after his fall and bone breaking experience. I'm thankful that he is doing much better these days.

I've missed posting with you guys and hopefully I’ll be able to keep up in the future.

This past Thursday I had my second CAT scan since remission and this scan came back clear again! My oncologist also told me that my lymph nodes are showing no sign of cancer in my neck area. All is good even though I am still having chemo as a preventative measure every 3-4 weeks.

The weather is finally starting to warm up and I’m able to get out more walking with Maggie which is really nice. I think she is enjoying all the extra attention she’s gotten since Bruce died in December.

I was thinking the other day that a year ago I was in a deep depression due to the steroids I have to take with my chemo. Then +Charli Mills started a 99 word flash fiction challenge each week. I recall seeing the first one and this broke me out of my slump. I’ll be forever thankful to her for encouraging me to keep on writing.

Seeing so many people breaking up and marriages ending lately has made me feel so sad for these couples. I’m so thankful that I've always had such a good relationship with Al and I feel so fortunate.

I know I've not made it to ten yet but I'm going to stop here for now as I have a huge back yard to start spring cleaning on. Wish me luck as there’s so much dog do do out there J

If you'd like to join in on the TToT please go to one of the following link ups and join us.

Your hosts

A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Amycake and the Dude, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal, I Want Backsies, The Meaning of Me, Thankful Me, Uncharted, The Wakefield Doctrine

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Year in Review TToT

I’ve looked back at all my TToT’s for 2014 and have come up with a list for the last TToT for this year. April and May are missing as I was missing in action back then so to speak.

I would have to say that the best month for me was December although our road trip to Eastern Canada was pretty darn awesome too.

December 2014 Remission

November 2014 Miracles do happen

October 2014 Feeling like wonder woman

September 2014 On the road to Eastern Canada

August 2014 For My Husband

July 2014 the Things We Take For Granted

June 2014 Coming out of Depression

March 2014 Random Stuff

February 2014 I’m an Addict to TToT

January 2014 Not So Thankful

What are you thankful for this year? Link up to any one of the following hosts and join a great bunch of bloggers.

Your hosts

A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Amycake and the Dude, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal, I Want Backsies, The Meaning of Me, Rewritten, Thankful Me, The Wakefield Doctrine

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Remission Rocks

I saw my regular oncologist, Dr. Anglin, this week and it was the first time I've seen him since my CAT scan back in October. He said to me the sweetest words I've heard in a long time. "Congratulations you are now in remission". 

Even though I was told by his colleague that the scan came back showing that the tumors had disappeared from my lungs they never said the word remission to me. For me this is the best early Christmas present ever!

Considering that a little over a year ago I was told that I had stage IV lung cancer, which was inoperable, in both lungs, and statistically had one to five years to live, with no chance ever of remission, I'm doing damned good!

I will still be continuing on with chemo treatments as there could be cells hanging around that do not show up on any scans. This is fine with me and we will continue on until my body can no longer take the treatments. 

This to me is worth not ten things of thankful but a million, zillion, trillion.

What are you thankful for this week? Link up by following any one of the hosts.

Our hosts are:

A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Amycake and the Dude, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal, I Want Backsies, The Meaning of Me, Rewritten, Thankful Me, The Wakefield Doctrine

Join the Ten Things of Thankful Facebook Group

 Have a fantastic weekend all!!!!

So Much to Be Thankful For This Week

#1. Took Al to the fracture clinic this week and they told him he could start putting pressure on his injured leg and ankle. YEAH! So now he is walking around on crutches and doing quite well. 

#2. His mood has changed drastically and now that he knows the bones have healed he is looking forward to returning to work. 

#3. It will be a little while before he does but I'm looking forward to having my nice quiet days back. 

#4. Started baking on Dec. 1st, and so far have shortbread cookies made. Lots of baking coming up in the for the next few weeks.

#5. I used to like red wine and then it started giving me huge headaches. My sister in law told me about Naked Grape wine and how their red is unoaked. I'm back to loving red red wine again. Not one single headache. Apparently there is tannin in the oak barrels, which can cause headaches for some people. Because this wine is unoaked meaning it is not sitting in an oak barrel, no headaches. 

 #6. Because I've started baking and sampling what I eat, I'm thankful that I like salads so much.  I'm going to need to start living off salads once the Christmas season is over. 

#7. Years ago I bought a tray from Ikea. For the past couple of months this tray has been a godsend to me. Walking up the stairs with three meals a day would have been so much harder without it.

#8. Thank you to my son Matt who this past week siliconed the bathtub for me, went out and bought mouse traps and set them, and is doing a fantastic job of keeping our company going.

#9. Bacon was on sale last week and I bought six pounds of it. Last night I made potato bacon soup.

#10. I was going through a drawer the other day and happened upon Crusty the Clown, and Lisa. Thankful I'm still able to have some fun with these toys. 

What are you thankful for this week? Type it up and link up to any of the following hosts. It's fun, you get to meet some awesome people, and it's not as hard as you think to come up with 10 things for TToT.

A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Amycake and the Dude, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal, I Want Backsies, Mother of Imperfection, Rewritten, Thankful Me, The Wakefield Doctrine

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Worst Meatloaf Ever

The other night I gave hubby the option of what he'd like for dinner. Big, Big mistake on my part. There are not too many things when it comes to food that I don't like, but meatloaf is one of them. I gave him the choice of hamburgers or meatloaf. He of course chose meatloaf because he loves meatloaf. 

Not having my regular ingredients on hand I improvised using canned tomato soup, tossed in a handful of chopped onion, an egg, some corn, breadcrumbs, spices and frozen corn. While it was cooking it smelled like it was going to taste pretty good, or as good as a meatloaf possibly could.

I brought Al's dinner up to him and waited for him to taste it before going back downstairs to grab mine. How is it I asked. It's good, it's okay, but you did something different to it. I took it to mean he wasn't that crazy about it. 

After eating mine (like I said I hate meatloaf no matter how I make it) I thought about throwing the rest out but covered it and put it in the fridge. The next dayAl asks if there was any left because he wanted it for lunch. He liked it afterall. For this I am thankful.

My son got creative when he dish
his up.

These two were hoping that they'd get the meatloaf :)

Bruce

Maggie Magz

I'm thankful for all the people that I've met through this blog hop. 

Last week at this time I felt dreadful but am happy that this has been a much better week.

Since becoming ill this blog hop has made such a world of difference to me. It gives me a chance to sit and think about all the things I'm thankful for each week, even though there are some weeks I don't participate. I've had people say to me how do you come up with five things let alone ten, I can barely come up with one thing to be thankful for each week. Some weeks sure it's hard but for the most part I find it easy.

Thankful that the Leafs aren't in last place so far this year :) 

Today is my 27th Wedding Anniversary and I'm so thankful that I can happily say that I am still in love with the fantastic, loving man that I married. I love him more today than I did that day. Happy Anniversary Al!

Even though the weather for today is quite cold out would you look at the temperature on Sunday! Woo Hoo high of 8c. Might get outside and go for a walk. 

For many years I had a hard time getting into the spirit of Christmas. Last year it came to me in December and this year in October. I'm thankful that I'm no longer that Bah Humbug person I once was.

Each year on our anniversary it has become a tradition for Al and I to cook a surf and turf dinner. This year since he's incapacitated I'll be doing all the cooking. I'm just thankful that I bought a few lobsters and stashed them in the freezer a few months back. I was able to find a small shrimp ring on sale at Walmart the other day along with a few steaks. PEI muscles will be on the menu as well. Looking forward to a great dinner tonight. Hey at least it's not meatloaf.

We've been watching Downton Abbey this week and we absolutely love it. Last week we watched all the episodes possible of Mr. Selfridge.  Thankful for Netflix.

If you'd like to participate in TToT, Ten Things of Thankful, please follow anyone of the following hosts links and join in. 

A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Amycake and the Dude, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal, I Want Backsies, Mother of Imperfection, Rewritten, Thankful Me, The Wakefield Doctrine

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Oh My Pie! Ten Things of Thankful

Oh my apple pie

Delightfully tart and sweet 

Pass me the ice cream

My son's girlfriend Meghan surprised us this week with a freshly baked apple pie. How could I not be thankful for this. She purchased several pies for an Apple Fundraiser. "Proceeds to Maintenance of Banquet Hall & Roller Skating Place", Orillia & District Agricultural Society.

Brussels Sprouts 

I never gave much thought as to how Brussels grew. This summer I was at my local farmers market and found a stock of brussels. Intrigued I had to buy them. The picture here are some that I found in my local market, and I had to cut the stalk in half to be able to fit it into my fridge. Always thankful for fresh vegetables.

No my entire post is not going to be about food, at least not this week :)

My son Matthew was driving to a job the other day and the tire on his truck popped off the rim. Not sure if you can see it in this picture but ...... Thankful he was able to control the truck (he was on the hwy and probably going slightly over the speed limit) and pull it safely onto the shoulder. Why is it in my hallway? No idea, my guys bring in the strangest things at times.

Sadly most of the leaves have fallen from my tree but I'm thankful that I could see the beauty of them for part of the fall season. 

We've been getting a few dustings here and there but this is the first of the heavier snowfalls this season. Not at all thankful that the snow has arrived but I'm thankful that I have sons that may shovel for us.  Right guys?

AC/DC is coming out with a new album called "Rock or Bust" on December 2nd. Here is one of the songs off the new album called "Play Ball"

Al is starting to feel a bit better after his fall and is looking forward to going to have the leg and ankle x-rayed on November 26th. 

Not sure what it is this week with tires and cars but my son Garth broke down last night and I thought I was going to have to go and get him at 10 pm. Thankfully he was able to leave his car parked at an arena and stay at his girlfriends sisters house.

I don't watch a lot of TV but I do look forward to "The Walking Dead". For some odd reason I've not made it through one episode this year without falling asleep five minutes into the show. It isn't like it's on that late, unless you think 9 is late. Thankful that we have a PVR box and hubby records all of the shows for me.

The following video was taken a couple of years ago but thought I'd share it here with all you dog and or snow lovers. Always thankful for my furry family members.

Just a note this was in January of 2013 and the temperature was -23C or  -9.4F.

If you'd like to join in on TToT, please click on any of the following hosts to join in on the fun. You'll meet some wonderful people along the way, and find that you too can easily find at least 10 things to be thankful for each week.

A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Amycake and the Dude, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal, I Want Backsies, Mother of Imperfection, Rewritten, Thankful Me, The Wakefield Doctrine

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Ten Things of Thankful and Still Dancing

I'm still doing the happy dance since last weeks post. I thought this week I'd share some of my favorite pictures I took when we went on vacation to New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island back in September. 

Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia

Saint John, New Brunswick

Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia

Selfie of me and my honey

Nova Scotia

Algonquin Park, Ontario

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island

If you'd like to join in on TToT, please click on any of the following hosts to join in on the fun. You'll meet some wonderful people along the way, and find that you too can easily find at least 10 things to be thankful for each week.

 Your hosts

A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Amycake and the Dude, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal,I Want Backsies, Mother of Imperfection, Rewritten, Thankful Me, The Wakefield Doctrine

Join the Ten Things of Thankful Facebook Group