A Thankful Thanksgiving

We had company from two locations this Thanksgiving weekend.  Mike's brother and wife drove the winding route from their Alberta home, overnighting near beautiful Banff to break up the trip.  We were shocked to discover we hadn't seen them since 2005 so we were really thankful they'd braved the Rocky Mountain highways to visit us.  Mike's Dad was also visiting from Saltspring Island for the week.  He turned 94 in March so we were particularly thankful for the opportunity to be together this year.

Things we are most grateful for this Thanksgiving are:

Family visits

The beautiful Kelowna waterfront

Sunday was the BMO Okanagan Marathon   Kelowna has a lot of great amateur sporting events through the year; hockey and soccer tournaments, skating and gymnastic meets, Seniors games, BC games, marathons, triathalons, and hill climbs. We also have music and arts festivals and many other events that rely heavily on volunteers to make things work.  Today I say a big thank you to all those enthusiastic Volunteers.

Vibrant and lush gardens in October

My Mom's rolling pin that I'm sure made the pastry turn out so well!

A creative sister-in-law who made a beautiful centrepiece and a lovely table runner.

Helpful dinner guests who set the table, chopped and peeled veggies, 

mixed drinks, carved the turkey and raved about the meal.

Sweet little Annie who got on well with her cat and dogger cousins.

Abundance!

Warm pumpkin pie with whipped cream

I'm also grateful for friends and family that couldn't be with us this weekend. My father-in-law raised his glass towards the end of the meal, and though I can't remember his exact words, he made a toast to our next visit, a time when we will see each other again.  I toast you all with the same thought, with gratitude and optimism for the day we will meet in the future, perhaps for the first time.