A beautiful, clear night after finally, a sunny day. As the sun was going down a bit ago, I could see Venus and Jupiter over the horizon and the crescent moon. Was a nice sight over the mountains with the orange glow of the setting sun.

I took a picture from my front porch and had to adjust the brightness a bit. I should have adjusted the F-stop but didn't think of that. But I share with you the photo. Sadly, the planets and the moon aren't really visible in the photo but you get the idea.

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a great holiday and find the time to reflect on things you can be thankful for on this day. Despite the challenges we all face, we live in the best country and have wonderful opportunities.

I'm thankful that I'm able to get together with family today and that my dear sisters are doing all the cooking. We are going to our stepdad's home for dinner. The home where my mother cooked us many Thanksgiving dinners. Her presence will be felt there. The kitchen is still as it was when she was there - we even still have all the spices she bought and more. My grandmother, Mim, lived just up the road, as well as my Aunt Ellen. They would come for dinner too. We will remember them today too. They are all missed. My Aunt Eva is still living a couple of streets over but she's not one to come for dinner. She likes to watch her sports and have a bean sandwich on Thanksgiving Day. I get over to see her whenever I can.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Went to see The Gibson Brothers perform in Peru NY on Saturday night with David and our friends Tom and Sheila. What a great concert! The Gibson Brothers grew up not far from where I live and Eric Gibson taught English in our school district. Now they are full time musicians and bringing their bluegrass all over the country.

To the left is the art from their latest release. It was inspired by Lyon Mountain - a place famous for iron ore mining and town baseball. You can check them out at http://www.gibsonbrothers.com/

They mentioned that they are performing in Ellenburg on Dec 7 with their sister and in January '09 they perform in Chazy. Catch up with them for a good time.

I was wishing that they had performed at a Dance Hall instead of school auditorium on Saturday night. People need to move to that great music! Too bad Severance's Dance Hall in Harkness, NY is no more. Anyone remember that? I've been to some wonderful contra dances at the Ausable Valley Grange Hall in Keeseville - I can't do contra dance because of my dizziness but I go when I can to hear the music and watch the joy on the face of those who dance. That Grange Hall would not be big enough to host the Gibson Brothers audience but it's a wonderful space. Roy Hurd will perform there on Sunday, Dec. 7 - there will be a silent auction and bake sale too! Doors open at 1:30 pm - concert is 2 pm till 5 pm. $8 admission - kids under 12 admitted free.

I'm still hearing that people are reading but having trouble leaving comments - only 1 trailblazer has left a comment and that was a while back.

If you want to leave a comment (and I hope you will). Yes it's pathetic but I'd like to see some audience participation!

click on 0 comments (or whatever number appears before the word comment - hopefully it will change to 1 2 3 or even 4 one day). Up will come a box to type your comment. You do have to sign in via your google identity or get a blogger account/identity (it's free and easy) to leave a comment. But that is it.

Some people (I won't mention any names) have clicked on the envelope (email) icon and sent me a message but that is meant to send a link to the blob if you want someone else to read it. It doesn't get published as a comment.

Now that I've totally confused you - GOOD LUCK and get commenting!

I wanted you to know about the National Day of Listening. As someone who has recorded my own StoryCorps interview, I can tell you that it is a powerful experience. Mary Jane from North Country Life Flight interviewed me about my brain aneurysm experience and all that followed. She did a an excellent job and I have enjoyed listening to it with family and friends, sharing tears and hugs. Our interview is now archived at the Library of Congress. I'm so grateful to StoryCorps and to MJ for that experience.

Now, StoryCorps is asking the whole country to set aside one hour on Friday, November 28th, to record a conversation with a friend or loved one, and I wanted to encourage you to participate. You can read more at http://www.nationaldayoflistening.org and download the do it yourself guide and even watch a video about the project.

As we head into the holiday season, so many of us are on the lookout for the right gift for the important people in our lives. Sitting down and recording a Do-It-Yourself interview with someone whose story you'd like to hear—whether that's your grandpa, your partner, your best friend from childhood, or the guy you get your Thanksgiving turkey from each year—is the best gift you can give. It's free, but it will outlast that holiday sweater you had your eye on—and it will still make you feel warm and fuzzy. So this year, before you rush out the door on the day after Thanksgiving, take an hour and listen.

I purchased an Olympus digital voice recorder to do interviews and have gotten a couple done. I hope to do more. It's not the quality of the StoryCorps interview but I figured out how to transfer my home interviews to CD and they sound quite good.

Since my brain aneursym explosion in May 2005, I've tried to fill at least part of each day with activities that seem meaningful. My volunteer work with North Country Life Flight fits that nicely but there are also the more subtle things and connections that happen each day. I pretty much feel that I'm living on borrowed time. I survived a fatal illness and am so lucky to be alive and functioning as well as I am. I try to overlook the dizziness and head pain/pressure that I live with and keeping busy caring about others is a great way to do it. The memory challenges I try to see as amusing although it is frustrating at times. I always say I'm never bored as everything is new to me. I can work for hours on project and have no memory of doing it. It's strange.
I've changed since that day in May. I was always pretty quiet, not one to talk much. It's different now and luckily I'm blessed with many friends and family members who take the time to hear me out. This blog fits in with that need to communicate. Every morning I start the day with a call to my daughter, then my sisters, then my soon to be 93 year old stepdad. He and I usually chat anywhere from 40-60 minutes - he does most of the talking. I used to call him several times a week but now I check in with him daily to make sure he's OK since he lives alone and is 75 miles away from me. I firmly believe that people need contact with others to thrive so he's part of my mission. When my Mom was dying of cancer I promised her I would look out for him and I've tried along with my sisters to do just that. He took great care of her throughout her illnesses and I hope I get to be a ripe old age as well and have someone who can help me "thrive."
I'm blessed with a great group of friends as well. From childhood friends I've reconnected with recently, former co-workers (we get together at least monthly for a meal), the friends who I credit with saving me at North Country Life Flight where I now volunteer, and other friends like Tom and Sheila who we will be getting together with tonight for an evening of music to celebrate Tom and David's birthday and all the rest I'm very blessed.
Last evening I enjoyed a meal out with ten of my former PBS co-workers at the Sawtdee Thai Restaurant in Plattsburgh. They have wonderful food, very fresh vegetables dishes with choices of chicken, beef, pork or tofu. We asked for separate checks and the pleasant and capable waitstaff would bring out our dishes announcing 'Diane's Cashew Chicken." We get together at least monthly, either at a restaurant or someone will offer to host a gathering at their home. It's always a nice get together filled with interesting conversation about current events, culture and of course good memories from our days of working at the PBS station. The times we had.... We have even brought some photos lately. I brought the photo album The Hawk put together for me on my 10th anniversary party at PBS. We greatly enjoyed looking through that and last night Kathy brought photos from her collection, last month The Hawk brought some too. So it's like family.
I even got a bonus hug last night from my blob muse (does that make sense?) Alyson M who was having supper with her hubby and came over to say hi. She and I will hopefully get together soon for our favorite Greek food. We worked together at a place she wrote a short story about. Her story reminded me of why I'm happy not to be working there any longer. But we had good moments there with some good people and got to study human behavior in some kind of scary and challenged by life people as well. That's a whole other story for another day.
Time for some meaningful house cleaning and I need to write a pen and paper letter to my mother in law (from my previous marriage) in California. I also need to write to my cousin Darwin in Texas. He sent several boxes of gifts to me to distribute to nursing home residents. I took one box to the nursing home in Tupper Lake, where he and I were born (the nursing home is the hospital we were born in - at least I know I was born there and I'm pretty sure he was as well). He sent two more packages this week and I will bring them over soon as well. It's so nice of him to take the time and expense of making a difference for those who might be forgotten at the holidays. I'm told that many residents get no visitors so these gifts may mean the world to them. This is meaningful.

Today we have our first snow of the year. Other places in the Adirondacks, not far from us, have already had a foot or more. I'm not fond of snow anymore, I can't ski or skate given my balance issues so I'll just put on my yak trax and keep on walking my dog the best I can.

Here's Coco with her walking stick! My husband David built the stone wall on one of his summer vacations. Coco loves the snow and likes to lay on her side and slide down hills. We have just a dusting today so not enough for her to do that yet. She had to amuse herself with tree branches on our walk today. She gets me outside on days like this when I normally would probably just stay inside where it's warm and cozy.

Also, here's a view of the mountains across from us. Well they are there, you just can't see them given the snow and clouds, but trust me Poko Moonshine is over there. I like that our view changes with the weather.