Happy Thanksgiving

I haven't actually ranked all of the holidays, but Thanksgiving, for me, ranks high among them. Mainly because it is a simple holiday.

It is celebrated simply by sitting down with your friends and/or family,  consuming a ridiculous amount of turkey and stuffing, and feeling thankful for all the good things in your life (which often includes the friends and family you're eating the food with).

Thats it.

There are no religious, or nationalistic overtones, and no one feels the need or social pressure to buy gifts, beg for candy, or send "greeting cards".  Its just pure unadulterated thanksgiving. Even folks that do not have a tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving can easily get behind the idea.

If I was a sentimental man, the beauty in it's simplicity would bring tears to my eyes.  Since I am not such a sentimentalist, I choose to celebrate with this Ron Swanson meme:

It sometimes surprises my American friends that Canada also has Thanksgiving, and its celebrated pretty much exactly the same way as in the United States:  Friends, family, and a  ridiculous amount of food.  The only difference is it tend to include less football afterwards, and it happens in October. Otherwise, pretty much the same deal.

Since we now live in the United States, my family and I celebrate Thanksgiving with them (it is only polite, and lets face it, southerners can cook up a fantastically delicious turkey).

So for all my friends out there in blog land, regardless of your faith*, nationality, traditional backgrounds, or hockey fan status, I wish each and every one of you a very happy Thanksgiving.

Now, please pass the stuffing.


* Unless you are a Nihilist, in which case the most appropriate thing I can say is "meh"

Happy Thanksgiving!

It is the little moments that matter most.

Adventures In Arboreal Litter Diving

This morning I took Zeke out on a pre-Thanksgiving dinner walk to a local park to build up an appetite.   Along the way we ran into piles, and piles (and piles!) of leaves along the sidewalk.

What toddler can resist the allure of a big pile of leaves?  Certainly not mine!

Our half hour walk ended up being over an hour, but with hillarious consequences.

Here are some pics that capture the fun of this mornings adventure. We'll start with Zeke wading into the first big pile.  Note the flower he has in his hand, that was given to him by a neighbour to give his mom.  Amazingly the flower (mostly) survived!

 Find the Zeke!

 

Reasons To Give Thanks

It is Thanksgiving in the United States, and since I live here I am celebrating it today with my american friends and family.   It is important at times like this to reflect on the things that one is thankful for.  Since I am a blogger, I chose to do this reflection online - something you can feel thankful for (hopefully:)

The question is what strategy should I use for this post?. I have many options.

I could go sappy, and say I am very thankful for my lovely and completely awesome wife, Debbie, who I am insanely in love with. I am also thankful for my two awesome kids, Zeke and Abigail.  They can be trying at times, but when it comes down to it, they are awesome little folks, and they make be laugh every day.  I am very proud to be their father.

Or may go professional and say that I am thankful that I have a job at one of the most amazing companies around.  My job doesn't always feel glamourous, but in aggregate we have literally changed the world, and for the better.  Insanely proud to be a Googler.

Perhaps I'll go hobbyist and say I am thankful that I have stumbled across an amazing hobby like geocaching, that has taken me on more adventures, and more places, that I every would have gone on my own.  I am also thankful that I fell into photography so I have another avenue to stretch my artistic muscle.

I could go there, but I think I'll go a different direction.

The thing I am most thankful for this year is that Canada saved the twinkie.  Thank you Canada!  Once again, you prove you rock, and in the most unexpected ways.

Thanksgiving

It is Thanksgiving in America today.  Proving once again that Canada is ahead of the US (we celebrated ours last month, y'all).  In the spirit of the holiday these are some of the things I am thankful for, in no particular order:

• Zeke... my cute little offspring.  He's awesome, especially for being a micro me.
• My wife Debbie - she is the best thing that happened to me - I include in that list my hackintosh, and cake.
• Cake!  Even though its a lie, it is a delicious lie.
• That my wife and I was able to attend the Great Big Sea concert in Charlotte NC this year- getting to see Canadian music up close and personal again was a real treat for this expat.
• Seeing Petra live - a childhood dream come true.
• Cows, and the ability to cook them.
• Being able to live near the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Life is  always better when you are near mountains.
• Working for Google.  An amazing company that may actually care about the people that use its services more than it does about making money.  Plus we have a car that drives itself, and you don't, so neener neener.
• Tilley hats
• Leathermans
• Bailey the wonder puppy
• Battery powered sawz-alls
• Billion dollar military satellites and the ability to use them to find tupperware in the woods.
• The opportunity to have travelled to 13 countries so far, many of them with my wonderful wife.
• That my wife has found new friends, and new hobbies, in our new home, and isn't hating me for dragging her to another country and away from her family.
• Yo-yos.  They are still fun.
• Eggnog... cause eggnog is awesome.
• Turkey in bacon form.
• Turkey not in bacon form.
• bacon