Thankful

I spent my eleventh Thanksgiving (twelfth if you count the time I was in Holland) away from home.  As usual, I did a mini Thanskgiving meal with turkey breasts and a bit of sauce.  This year though I'm very lucky to have been invited to a Friends-giving by my US expat friend.  I'm making cornbread dressing for the first time in my life.  This was one of my grandma's favorite things to make if my memory serves well.  Also making a pumpkin pie and contributing some cranberry sauce that I had in my cupboard.  The hostess searched high and low for fried onions to make green bean casserole.  These are now available in France.  The brand is called Kuhn and she found it in the "foreign" section of the store next to the Mexican and Chinese food!

So like so many other Americans at this time of year I'm trying to remember what I have in my life and what I am thankful for.

Friends and family!  I'm glad to have a support group of friends in France that make the distance from my US family a bit more bearable.  My little girl, of course!  My hubby (despite my gripes...) who does have his good side.  My family in the US who has listened to all my sufferings with such patience and been there for me through it all.

My cutie pie doing her poser smile!

Fall colors that never fail to move me.  I may get a bit down in the fall but the changing colors are still magical to me no matter how many times I see them.  

Can't help it, such gorgeous colors on cobblestones (and cigarette butts).

I could snap a million pictures like this and it would never be enough. 

Things I'm looking forward to like...going home for Christmas!  I think that's been part of the secret of not being too down this fall- the prospect of my upcoming US trip.  It sure helps beat the blues a bit.

Great colleagues and a job that keeps me in contact with people.  I may not be totally doing what I set out to (that is, lab stuff).  And maybe I'll get more in gear for looking for those type of jobs when I get back from my trip.  But in the meantime I'm thankful to have a better workload (thus better pay) and, as always, the best coworkers in the WORLD!  Sure makes getting up in the morning easier. 

So I'll end with a quote I should remember more often: "Stop your complaining/leave me defenseless/gonna love this life!"   (Virtual points to the first who finds the author...