The Joy of Thanksgiving

 This year, we celebrated Thanksgiving on the day - Monday, October 9. We do the whole nine yards - roast turkey with stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, two veg., pumpkin pie. We start with bubbly for the toast and have other wine with dinner.

Our friend of many years comes and brings lots of festive cheer. Sometimes there is five of us. This year there was just four and we have had as many as eight in other years - just spreading the joy.

I now have to make sure that all the leftovers are eaten up. Our friend takes a lot home with her and during the week, I have turkey sandwiches for lunch, eat cold turkey with warm gravy and "bubble & squeak" for dinner(s). I also make turkey a la king, turkey curry and turkey soup. Ymmmm.

But it's not all about the eating. It's also about being thankful and I am so very thankful for all the riches I have - home, health, children, friends, activities, hope and most of all love!!

The joy and the thankfulness continued throughout the week with -

1. My son giving me his old phone - an I-Phone 6s. I had an old I-phone 6. I couldn't even load an Uber app on it. He flipped out the sim card from my phone and put it into his old phone. He then transferred all my data including my music to what has now become my new phone. (We'll just forget about the fact that I thought he hadn't finished and proceeded to switch the sim cards back again.) He fixed it all - again without getting angry with me and we were up and running!!

 
2. The postal sub-station on Mt. Pleasant having some old I-Phone covers so I could get a new RED cover and a new protective skin to tidy up his rather worn out interface. What was even more Joyful was the fact that the wonderful person in the sub-station put the cover and the protective skin on for me, after cleaning up my phone. It looks BRAND NEW!!

3. My trekking up to Vaughan (OK I drove) to the Decathlon store to buy some more gear. I needed a small day pack that would fit into my backpack. I also needed a better travel belt for wallet, passport, phone etc. I also wanted to suss out their merino clothing. I got some of what I needed and will return what doesn't work, mainly the merino hat - OK I have a big head, but really I can't imagine heads small enough to wear this tourniquet - and the man's (there were no women's) large long sleeved sweater - just plain awkward.

4. My deciding to do my 10kms walk on Friday because it was going to rain on Saturday. Again the cafe´at the Brickworks was open for coffee and a scone. In fact, my friend called me while I was on my way home. We talked for 5kms. It was almost like being on a Camino. The walk just gets easier and easier. 

5. My finding out that there will be a Camino meeting Nov 4 at a church in the Beaches. I will be there.

6. My making contact with a new travel agent. My former travel agent is now just doing Tahiti. However, he was kind enough to connect me with someone who will get me travel and medical insurance. She is based in New Brunswick, and had planned to do a Camino in April of 2020. I referred her to a book I had read - The Gathering Place. The author, Mary Colville, walked in the Fall of 2020. 

7. My exchanges with various Camino walkers online. Several in their late 70s and early 80s who are walking and carrying their backpacks with them. In fact, it was only the walkers in their 90s that were having their packs, sadly, sent on. These, of course, are the true pilgrims. Anyone younger having their packs sent on are just tourists. In fact, one woman said, "I have always carried my backpack. The day I can't, is the day I will stop walking the Camino."

My Joy for the Joy Jar this week has to be my new, refurbished I-Phone for FREE and all the thankfulness of Thanksgiving

Have an awesome week!!