Thanksgiving 2025

A couple of years ago, I did a post listing the things in life that I'm thankful for. Here's a slightly updated version:

Thankful for:

• Family. (Many are friends, too!!! Yay!)
• Friends. (Some are like family!!! Yay!)
• Dogs. (Their very existence makes living worthwhile.)
• Health. (Iffy ankle aside, I'm kinda/sorta rockin' geezerhood, healthwise. So far, anyway. Update: had a few minor things in the last year, but knock on wood. And the ankle's fine. Shifting from 7 miles a day walking to 5 did seem to eliminate most of my joint pain. Alas, it did result in a 10 pound weight gain.)
• Medical care. (My doctor, dentist, and eye doctor are all in walking distance, and all still in their 40's. All are excellent. Bonus points for being young. My wonderful PCP decided to join a concierge practice, but I was able to transfer to another highly-recommended physician in the same place who I'll be seeing in January. And she sounds just fine. She's also younger than my "old" PCP. And I'd say my dentist and eye guys are now in their early 50's. I almost ask my eye guy when I saw him in September. Still likely young enough to see me out the door.)
  
• Home. (Sure, I'd like a rug under my dining room table, but I love the cool new lamp in the LR. Sometimes Wayfair does have just what you need.
  
  Or just what you want, anyway.) There is a new furniture addition. My sister Kath downsized and I got this gorgeous cherry breakfront. Forget Wayfair. Crate & Barrel, baby!
• My neighborhood. (Beacon Hill. Lucky me. The Boston Public Garden is my front yard.)
• My City. (Oh, oh, Boston, you're my home.)
• NYC. Chicago. (If I had to pick another city.
• My State. (Guess I'm pretty much a homer, but this is it for me.)
• Maine. Vermont. (Maybe. If push comes to shove.)
• My Country.  (Sadly, not always. Still beats many alternatives.) Yes, it still beats many alternatives. For instance, I wouldn't want to be in North Korea or Saudi Arabia. But the way this country is going... Thankful that, for now, we are still able to exercise our first amendment rights, but we know that the rancid malefactor in the White House is just lusting after operationalizing the Insurrection Act. 
• Ireland. (If I had to pick another country.)
• Galway. (If I had to pick a city in another country.)
• Old sweaters. (Some go back 30+ years.)
• New sweaters, too. (Are sweaters my hobby?)
• Comfy shoes. (And Bombas socks.)
• The baseball season being over. (How 'bout those Red Sox?)  Yes, the last couple of years, the Red Sox were god-awful, but they pulled their socks up this year and the season turned out to be fun. And I wasn't happy to see it end. 
• Truck day. Pitchers and catchers. (It'll be February before you know it.)
• Music. (Still crazy after all these years for folk, folk rock, Celtic.)
• Books. (Not the reader I was before I started obsessing on the news. Now 1-2 a month, vs. 1-2 or more a week. Still, where would I be without them?) This year, I'm on pace to have read over 100 books. So, two a week. A return to my norm. A combo of literary fiction, history, biography, mystery, police procedural, political and social issues, beach reads. The only requirement was well-written. If not, I slapped it shut fast. I also rediscovered the Boston Public Library, which I hadn't used regularly in quite a few years. Now if I pick up a book that isn't all that enjoyable, I can slap it shut without fretting about how much I paid for it. Anyway, I'll be doing a highlights post on my year in reading sometime in December. 
• Work. (Especially now that it's 99.99% 100% in the rearview mirror.)
• Volunteering at St. Francis House. (Gotta do something, and SFH is a great place to do that something.)
• Oranges. Cherries. McIntosh apples. Nectarines. Tangerines. Blueberries....(And nuts, too.)
• Pasta. (Especially the good kind from Italy that I buy in the North End.)
• Salad, and all the good things to throw in salads.
• Sesame chicken. Teddie's peanut butter. Scallops. Asparagus. Broccoli. Etc.
• Fried clams. (Other than the light and the baseball, I'm not wild about summer. But just about now I'm missing a summertime fried clam roll.)
• My Le Creuset Dutch oven. (If you only have one pot, this is the one to have.)
• Chocolate. (What's not to like?)
• How in god's name did I leave ice cream off my original list???
• Tea. (Barry's is best.) But I've added peppermint and ginger to my tea repertoire. Both soothing. And who couldn't do with a bit of soothing these days?
• Prosecco. (Alcohol of choice, for those occasions that call for alcohol, which I must say occur nowhere near as often as they used to.)
• Sense of humor. (Where would I be without it?)
• Public transportation and Uber. (Love being car-free.)
• Other stuff...

Not quite sure who(m) or what I'm thankful to exactly, but plenty to be thankful for. 

Happy Thanksgiving, 2025!