Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving




Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  
It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.  
It can turn a meal into a feast, 
a house into a home, 
a stranger into a friend.  
Gratitude makes sense of our past, 
brings peace for today 
and creates a vision for tomorrow. 

Melody Beattie



79 comments:

  1. Wonderful quote....Happy Thanksgiving you to Willow!

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  2. That Melodie...she knew what the heck she was talking about...
    Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, Willow

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  3. Perfection!! Happy Thanskgiving to you and yours Willow!

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  4. Beautiful sentiment, along with the glimpse out your kitchen window.

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  5. Thank you for this beautiful quote on Thanksgiving Eve. And a very Happy Thanksgiving to You and Yours!

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  6. Lovely photo and wonderful quote, Willow. Happy Thanksgiving!

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  7. A wonderful picture and equally wonderful words... Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. I imagine you are cooking up some fabulous dishes.

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  8. Lovely photo, lovely thought. Wishing you a happy Thanksgiving!

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  9. Happy Thanksgiving willow, and oh, those leaves!

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  10. The photo of a ginkgo in golden splendour is perfect with this most meaningful quote about gratitude. 'Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life...' Happy Thanksgiving.

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  11. So right!

    Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours my dear . . . Arija

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  12. Such wonderful thoughts, Willow, as this year rapidly draws to a close. Blessed Thanksgiving wishes to you and your family as we gather tomorrow to remember what is most important in our lives.

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  13. wonderful...i am grateful to have you as a friend...

    you are a treasure in my life...

    blogworld...how would i have ever known what great, true friends i would make....like YOU !!!!

    sending thanksgiving love to you, willow

    kary
    xxx

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  14. Always good to read Melody Beattie. Love the picture!

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  15. Wishing you and the entire clan at Willow Manor a most Happy Thanksgiving!
    Catherine

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  16. Beautiful, Tess. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family!

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  17. Enjoy your day, Tess. I know that you will be cooking some gourmet feast for everyone. And, beware of the storm headed your way. It was a big one here and now we are having really cold days and nights. But, the warmth of food, friends and family will keep it all at bay. Happy Day to you!

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  18. willow -- Absolutely beautiful shot through the window! And, the poem is great too. -- barbara

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  19. Oh, what mellow yellow through the window panes...such loveliness in the quote and picture, Willow. Thank you for it and hope you have a fabulous and relaxing (as much as possible!) Thanksgiving.

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  20. I wrote a little something too- Happy
    Thanksgiving !

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  21. Absolutely gorgeous photo,,,love your windows!

    A very Happy day for you and yours, Willow!

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  22. Last take of the 'Autumn Leaves Down by the Window' Beautiful! Happy Thanksgiving to you.

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  23. Willow,

    Beattie forgets here that, also, Thanksgiving gives us a template for any meal, for any day?

    (There's a poem in that stretch, no?)

    TFool

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  24. indeed it does.

    Happy Thanksgiving, Willow...

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  25. I should read that every day. Remembering to have gratitude changes your life completely. Just started a gratitude book - didn't like my own attitude of late...!! Happy Thanksgiving!

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  26. Perfect quote! Happy Thanksgiving, Willow!

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  27. A beautiful Thanksgiving to you and your family!

    Rick

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  28. Happy Thanksgiving. Your photo is perfect.

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  29. Happy Thanksgiving, Willow,
    to you and your loved ones!

    Thank you this quote,
    and for always being out there,
    unearthing and creating food for the soul,
    affectionately,
    Merisi

    P.S.: Looks as if you have the same kind of tree outside your window as I do, only mine has lost most of its golden leaves already.

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  30. Happy Thanksgiving my good friend.

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  31. smiles. hope you have a wonderful thanksgiving...

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  32. have a wonderful day filled with loved ones and good feasting

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  33. Happy Thanksgiving to all at Willow Manor! Love, Cat

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  34. Thank you Willow. I am grateful to you and for you. Your talent and dedication flow through your words. Have a great Thanksgiving.

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  35. Happy and blessed Thanksgiving, dear Willow!

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  36. A perfect quotation from which we can all take note.

    A very Happy Thanksgiving to you and those close to you as you celebrate this day.

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  37. Yes, Ms. Beattie knows whereof she writes. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, Willow!

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  38. Love this quote! Happy Thanksgiving blessings to you and your family!

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  39. Beautiful words...and true ones.

    Happy Thanksgiving Willow!

    Love,

    ♥ Robin ♥

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  40. That's wonderful, and I do love the photo! Happy Thanksgiving Day!

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  41. The picture, my God, the picture!
    A willow moment out a willow window,
    captured, cropped, and kissed by
    the mistress of the manor
    just for us, the foolish ones,
    the ragged ones, wandering in
    your yard, looking into your portals,
    blessing and being blessed.

    Yes, the quote is lovely, bang on,
    but more importantly, you bring
    us by the dozens into the warmth
    of the manor, of your heart, and
    set up folding chairs, and card
    tables, with food and grog for all!
    And we, of course, reciprocate,
    bring Mr. W, and kids, and grand
    kids along today, tonight, and
    drop by our places, share our
    feasts, as you have shared with
    us--for what would be the
    holidays without family first,
    and friends bringing up the
    haunches?

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  42. The photo is jaw dropping , Willow.

    Happy Thanksgiving to you .

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  43. Hope you are having a Happy Thanksgiving ~

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  44. Happy thanksgiving, may it be full of family and love and wonderment.

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  45. Simple words that pack a powerful punch. Enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving with all your precious ones dear Willow.
    Love Millie x

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  46. willow i'm grateful for the presence of you. happy days at the manor!!! steven

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  47. Happy Thanksgiving, Willow!

    PS--I love melody beattie

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  48. Hope your day was a great one
    Happy thanksgiving

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  49. Happy Thanksgiving, Willow. Hope it is a grand one!

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  50. A most fabulous photograph! Love the gold, jar and darkness. (quote is inspiring too)
    Hope you're having a lovely feasting at the Manor :)
    ~Brenda

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  51. Lovely photo, and true words..

    Been catching up, and really enjoyed the post about 'merrythoughts' and of course, that beautiful deer!!

    Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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  52. Happy Thanksgiving to all at the manor! Gorgeous view from your window.

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  53. Love the picture. Thanks for the reminder. One of my favorite Melody Beattie quotes and one I know to be true. Not just on Thanksgiving. Love and Happy Holidays.

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  54. Thank you, dear ones. Thanksgiving at the manor was the best. Hope you and yours had a lovely day as well. Today (Friday) is a day full of leftovers and love.

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  55. Happy Thanksgiving Willlow! I hope it was wonderful.

    Love the quote and the photo. The leaves outside your window are beyond lovely.

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  56. Truly blessed this year..my wishes for all..
    Lovely, as always!

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  57. wise words, Happy Thanksgiving Willow.

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  58. How odd. I left you a happy thanksgiving comment wed. nite and now it is gone! Well, that's alright..I'll leave it again. Hope you are enjoying the leftovers today! love to you guys from us guys! :) xo

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  59. Happy Thanksgiving Willow!

    GORGEOUS tree outside your window.

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  60. Beautiful words. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

    CJ xx

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  61. Happy Thanksgiving to you. Such beautiful words.

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  62. “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”

    Willow you are a free spirit and I love your blog!

    Love & THANX

    Agneta, the swedish one ;)

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  63. “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”

    Willow you are a free spirit and I love your blog!

    Love & THANX

    Agneta, the swedish one ;)

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  64. Fitting words, lovely image (what's in the jar?)and thank you, Willow. You bring to my mind the words of a Lightfoot song...you're as cool as the breeze in the last days of April; you're as fine as fine can be. And so you are.

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  65. I like your new look and the poetry. Hope you and your family had a joyous and bountiful Thanksgiving. I'll bet its getting cold in your neck of the woods. Pappy

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  66. I love the poetry on your site!

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  67. I am so familiar with Melody Beattie since I have been working on my recovery in a codependency program. We have her cards that we use daily. We each pick a card and read it to each other to start our day. I hope your Thanksgiving was fulfilling in more ways than food. Hugs.

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  68. I love Melody Beattie - especially her The Lessons Of Love, about the tragic death of her twelve year old son, and how she made her way through the grief. Beautiful quote - beautiful site. Cant believe it has taken me so long to get here!

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  69. The view from your window ~ a perfect Thanksgiving gift ~ for all of us.

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  70. What a wise quote. I need to write it down and post it where I can remind myself of it daily.

    Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

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  71. I'm a bit late, Willow, but Happy Thanksgiving.
    Love that quote, it's inspirational.

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  72. Just because we know 'stopping to smell the roses' promotes dopamines, that in turn raise one's reisitance to diseaase and therefore enhances one's chances of survival (of the fittest), does not render anything in our amazing world, inluding people, less beautiful. But thank you Tess and Melodie for this 'literary rose' reminder.

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  73. I absolutely LOVE this, Willow! That photo is stunning, by the way.

    xo
    Sarah
    theweatheredword.blogspot.com

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  74. A gogeous photo, to boot. nice angel. Gratitude is a great word this thanksgivng season.

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Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)