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Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Thanksgiving 2012






During this season of Thanksgiving, may we put aside all matters except the counting of our bountiful blessings!

This Thanksgiving 2012, what are you most thankful for?

Below the fold, you can read my responses to that question.

1. Salvation provided by a loving God, Who has also given us His Word by Which our lives may be guided in every respect.

2. Mr. AOW, still severely physically compromised because of a brain hemorrhage in 2009 but mentally whole and, of course, the love of my life.

3. Cameo, Mysti, and Amber.

4. Mom (1916-1987) and Dad (1911-1998).

5. My friends, real-world and cyber.

6. The beauty of nature and art.

7. Much of modern technology, which enables us to live quite the life-of-ease, provides medical advances, and allows us easy access to the many resources of the Information Age.

Seven is the number of completion, so I'll stop now even though I could go on.

35 comments:

  1. And a happy thanksgiving to you as well. I am thankful for this wonderful land, and grateful for the blessings given to us by God.

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  2. A blessed and peaceful Thanksgiving wish to you and the Mr. AOW.

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  3. Mr. AOW and I are looking forward to tomorrow's Thanksgiving feast at our neighbors' house, where we have celebrated ever since 1988, a year after Mom, the best cook ever, passed away.

    Then, on Friday, out we go to a homeschool mom's HUGE Thanksgiving party. This lady is from China and puts on a unique spread -- a mix of authentic Chinese food and traditional American cuisine.

    I'm always thankful when I don't have to do the cooking!

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  4. Ah, AOW. I am always grateful for the same thing. My life has bessed in so many ways. I have been able to vist much of the world and see wonderous things and to meet so many interesting people. My only regret is there is still so much of America I never took the chance to enjoy. I counted up once that I have known 32 capital cities of different countries. And sadly, I never visited Washington D.C. How dumb is that. We often think there will be time to do things later and it doesn't always work out that way. You and Mr. AOW have a great Thanks Giving. I always miss my country most o those important holidays.

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  5. I thank God for the many blessing he had given to me and my family.

    Happy Thanksgiving all!

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  6. "During this season of Thanksgiving, may we put aside all matters except the counting of our bountiful blessings!"

    That really should emd with a question mark.

    You and I may, and I hope we do. We could use a break.

    Tomorrow will again see a roast turkey and all the trimmings on my table, and I'm always thankful that I learned how to cook. :-)


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  7. "During this season of Thanksgiving, may we put aside all matters except the counting of our bountiful blessings!"

    That really should emd with a question mark.

    You and I may, and I hope we do. We could use a break.

    Tomorrow will again see a roast turkey and all the trimmings on my table, and I'm always thankful that I learned how to cook. :-)


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  8. You can thank my server for that double post. No turkey for them!

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  9. Black Carnivorous Sheep,
    "During this season of Thanksgiving, may we put aside all matters except the counting of our bountiful blessings!"

    That really should emd with a question mark.


    Nope. I'm using jussive (as exhortation). I added the exclamation point for emphasis.

    I'm the Grammar Police. **wink**

    PS: I started studying Latin when I was 10 years old. The grammar principles stuck with me.

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  10. BTW, jussive is a bit archaic as compared to the days of King James English. For that matter, I myself am a bit archaic.

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  11. I hope you and the Mr. have a wonderful Thanksgiving, AOW!

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  12. What a nice post!
    Happy Thanksgiving indeed to you and your Mr. AOW.

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  13. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  14. Happy Thanksgiving, Mr. & Mrs. AOW.

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  15. Im glad you chose to post the Rutter version, AOW,

    I thought about it, and also thought about Siegfried Karg-Elert's magnificent organ fantasy on Nun Danket, alle Gott (Now thank we all our God) or Diane Bish performing Virgil Fox's organ transcription of one of Bach's settings of the tune.

    Finally I opted for the Choral Cantata, itself, magnificently interpreted and conducted by Nicolas Harnoncourt. Bach exhibits more exuberant energy in this twelve-minute outburst of joy and wonder than any rocket ship that ever made it to the moon and beyond.

    A second Thanksgiving Sonnet appears tomorrow at 3:30 AM illustrated by Norman Rockwell. The Cantata is scheduled for 1:00 PM.

    There may be more later, if inspiration strikes.

    We don't commemorate major holy days with half-hearted efforts at FreeThinke's blog.;-)

    Come, share the abundant wealth we have for the taking both here at Always on Watch and there at FreeThinke's blog.

    HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

    ~ FT

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  16. The Copland really is a work of true genius. Always fresh, new, vigorous, profoundly sweet with great sense of respect for the grandeur and nobility found in Nature.

    How a Jewish Communist homosexual from Brooklyn could so closely identify with and poignantly evoke the spirit of America's vast awe-inspiring wilderness and the questing, pioneering spirit that made America great, I'll never know, but he really did it.

    Copland's music does not define the American Spirit, as some have said, instead it's the other way 'round, and yet we must not forget that Aaron Copland WAS a Jewish Communist, a homosexual, and a physically repulsive looking individual whose personal feelings and opinions were diametrically opposed to just about everything most of us hold dear.

    As I keep saying, life is a never-ending series of paradoxes -- a mystery to be lived -- not a problem to be solved.

    ~ FT

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  17. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  18. Happy Thanksgiving, dear friend.
    I hope you have a wonderful feast today.
    I love the hymn you posted; thanks for beautiful music!
    So many things to be thankful for; our corner of the blogosphere, which has so many wonderful people in it, is one of them
    xxx Z

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  19. Today, we're going to have warmer-than-usual weather. Downright hot for the month of November in Northern Virginia!

    Mr. AOW will ride his scooter down to our neighbors' house so that I don't have to push a wheelchair. My back cannot take that kind of strain any longer!

    These past several months of therapy have yielded results such that Mr. AOW can go up a few steps on his own! Just that one skill opens up opportunities that he couldn't take advantage of last Thanksgiving.

    Stairs are the bane of many physically-handicapped folks! I do wish that more private home had ramps so that the scooter and/or wheelchair doesn't have to be lifted up so as to gain access to a building.,

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  20. You and Mr. AOW have a great day, ya hear? Thanks for the beautiful music!

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  21. May you and Mr. AoW enjoy a blessed Thanksgiving, and be given many opportunities, if only reasons, to dance.

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  22. Have a WONDERFUL and BLESSED Thanksgiving, AOW and Mr. AOW!

    I'm thankful that I have a forgiving and loving Father through his Son, Jesus Christ. And, I'm thankful that I live under the Stars and Stripes of America... anyway.

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  23. Have a blessed and beautiful Thanksgiving Day, my friend.

    I am thankful for so many things, my precious Savior, my bibles, my boys, my family, my job and my awesome boss....

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  24. So many things to be thankful for.

    I am glad the God exists. I know that sounds strange, but without him there would be nothing, no me, no you, no world.

    I am thankful for my wonderful hubby. It is truly a blessing to find, and keep, my soulmate.

    Debbie
    Right Truth
    http://www.righttruth.typepad.com

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  25. For the first time since 2008, Mr. AOW walked up the steps into our neighbors' house and over to the dinner chair to sit at the table "like a regular person," as Mr. AOW put it.

    A good day all around!

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  26. Ooh-Rah, Mr. AOW! I know what those first steps feel like. You gotta just KEEP WALKING!

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  27. Wishing you the best this Thanksgiving.

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  28. I am thankful that I live in the greatest country on earth and I am at thankful that God is still in control irrespective of who wins elections or rattle their sabers around the globe. Like Marien4ever said, my salvation comes from a forgiving and loving Father through His son Jesus Christ and for that I am especially thankful. Happy Thanksgiving to you and Mr. AOW

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  29. Right Wing Theocrat!

    You still making blog rounds!

    Thanks so much for stopping by.

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  30. Dear, AOW, what a wonderful Thanksgiving Gift to Mr. AOW and you!

    When I read "for the first time since 2008 he walked up the steps and sat down to eat 'like a regular person'" tears filled my eyes.

    That may sound strange, but I understand what the two of you have been going through very well, and know this is a great triumph.

    Love, courage, determination, perseverance -- along with trust in God -- can "fix" just about anything. Maybe not exactly the "fix" we would like best, but more the strength and compassion needed to make the best of even the most difficult challenges.

    God bless both of you, and may you continue to build on this turn for the better, despite whatever roadblocks Obamacare may throw in your path.

    In the final analysis it is never a "system" that saves us but rather the care and dedication loving individuals put into whatever opportunities are available to them.

    Despite the fragility and waywardness that seems built into human nature, I believe that God created our peculiar species as an act of Love, and means for us to survive and to succeed in our striving and stumbling efforts to know and understand Him.

    All the best,

    FreeThinke

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  31. I hope you all find your way over to my place, and experience J.S. Bach dancing a JIG in CHURCH -- it's an incredibly joyful and exhilarating wonder to behold and will be available all day today -- and beyond -- for anyone who stops by to enjoy.

    A "transformative" twelve minute experience, if ever there was one. The Holy Ghost is vibrantly alive and active in every note Johann Sebastian ever penned.

    ~ FT

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  32. FT,
    Thank you so much for that moving comment. I appreciate it.

    I put on an optimistic face most of the time. But, yes, it's been difficult here for the past three years. It continues to be difficult, of course, but NOTHING as awful as what we were going through three years ago, when I pried Mr. AOW loose from the nursing home against all sorts of objections. Thank God that our family doctor was willing to sign that release order and give home care and independence a try.

    whatever roadblocks Obamacare may throw in your path

    I do credit Mr. AOW's recent dramatic improvement to the therapy that he has been getting since August. I am certain that the Lord guided me in my decision to use this particular program, a program new to this region. This program also accepts Medicare; without Medicare, we could not have afforded this therapy. PT and OT are so expensive! About $4000/month for 2x a week sessions of both PT and OT!

    The neurologist -- a new one that accepts Medicare coverage -- sent Mr. AOW to therapy as a matter of form. She didn't hold out much hope for improvement. She is surprised and delighted that this therapy has made such a difference!

    ObamaCare cuts off Mr. AOW's therapy on January 1, 2013. The cessation of therapy at this point won't consign him to a nursing home; but I cannot say the same for a lot of other people. The cutbacks in stroke therapy will end up putting millions of folks on the government dole even worse than Medicare-covered therapy is. In other words, the so-called savings will have terrible consequences for the taxpayers in about two years, which is the point that most run out of private funds and end up on Medicaid!

    I'm sad to say that most, be they conservatives or liberals, don't have a clue as to the tsunami that is bearing down on us as the Boomers age and become ailing.

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