A Thanksgiving Day Dance Feast

I have not had you out of your chair from behind the computer and dancing for a while, but I'm going to make up for that today. I know today is the day many of you will be dining on turkey and all the trimmings. Like me, you will probably eat a few extra calories that you wouldn't ordinarily consume. No need to worry, though. If you dance along to this blog post, you will burn off those extra calories in no time.

I have prepared a complete Thanksgiving dinner day dance feast for you. Before we get started on the feast, though, first we must give thanks. It is much easier to dance if there is music in the air, so let's say thank you for the music.



Now, how about a bit of turkey?



And, just in case you don't know how to do the turkey trot, here are some youngsters who will show you how.



Pass the mashed potatoes, please.



May I offer you a Yam?



And what would Thanksgiving be without dancing carrots?



Might as well finish up with some pie. Would you like apple, peaches, or pumpkin?



Or maybe you prefer sweet potato pie?



Happy Thanksgiving to all my dancing partners! Thanks for putting my name on your dance card. I hope you have so many blessings to count that it makes you feel like dancing.

Count Your Blessings--Thanksgiving Week Continues

Bing Crosby starts us off today to remind us to count our blessings.



This next song is one I can remember singing in church on Sunday morning as a child. This one is sung by The Statesmen.




While you are counting your blessings, listen to Johnny Cash sing a Thanksgiving Prayer on an episode of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.



Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

Music Monday: A Week of Giving Thanks

This being the week of Thanksgiving, I wanted to start off today keeping the attitude of gratitude in the forefront. With that in mind, here are "Thankful" by Josh Groban and "Gratitude" by Nichole Nordeman.



Thankful (lyrics)

Somedays we forget
To look around us
Somedays we can't see
The joy that surrounds us
So caught up inside ourselves
We take when we should give.

So for tonight we pray for
What we know can be.
And on this day we hope for
What we still can't see.
It's up to us to be the change
And even though we all can still do more
There's so much to be thankful for.

Look beyond ourselves
There's so much sorrow
It's way too late to say
I'll cry tomorrow
Each of us must find our truth
It's so long overdue

So for tonight we pray for
What we know can be
And every day we hope for
What we still can't see
It's up to us to be the change
And even though we all can still do more
There's so much to be thankful for.

Even with our differences
There is a place we're all connected
Each of us can find each other's light

So for tonight we pray for
What we know can be
And on this day we hope for
What we still can't see
It's up to us to be the change
And even though this world needs so much more

There's so much to be thankful for




Gratitude (lyrics)

Send some rain, would You send some rain?
'Cause the earth is dry and needs to drink again
And the sun is high and we are sinking in the shade
Would You send a cloud, thunder long and loud?
Let the sky grow black and send some mercy down
Surely You can see that we are thirsty and afraid
But maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case . . .

(Chorus)

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to thirst for You
How to bless the very sun that warms our face
If You never send us rain

Daily bread, give us daily bread
Bless our bodies, keep our children fed
Fill our cups, then fill them up again tonight
Wrap us up and warm us through
Tucked away beneath our sturdy roofs
Let us slumber safe from danger's view this time
Or maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case . . .

(Chorus)

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
A lesson learned to hunger after You
That a starry sky offers a better view if no roof is overhead And if we never taste that bread

Oh, the differences that often are between
What we want and what we really need

So grant us peace, Jesus, grant us peace
Move our hearts to hear a single beat
Between alibis and enemies tonight
Or maybe not, not today
Peace might be another world away
And if that's the case . . .

(Chorus)

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to trust in You
That we are blessed beyond what we could ever dream
In abundance or in need
And if You never grant us peace

But Jesus, would You please . . .

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are strictly for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted.

Give Peas a Chance!!

Eric of the blog, Speedcat Hollydale Page, has tagged me with a meme on his overflow blog, 0007 Undercover TAGMEMAWARD CAT, to post about sugar snap peas.

Yes, you heard me correctly.

He wants me to blog about sugar snap peas both here and on my other blog. And yes, Speedy is crazy, but so am I, apparently, because I am accepting his challenge. He was tagged by Olga the Traveling Bra who is also crazy.

Here is a bit of bizarre animation to start things off.



Well, what can I say after that? I guess my thought is this, we could all have "peas" if we would quit fighting long enough to learn how to share. Good idea, don't you think? :)

* * * * * * * * * *

When I was just a little baby, my nightgown used to drag behind me on the ground when I crawled around on the floor. Because of that, my grandmother used to call me her little swee' pea after the character in the Popeye cartoons. She called me that for as long as I can remember and even after I was grown . So the next "peas" video is for my Grandma.

* * * * * * * *

Finally, I know you all come here because you like to dance. So here is an old, old song sung by Tennessee Ernie Ford that will get you moving if you are so inclined.

If you would like to join in and blog about Sugar Snap Peas, well then I say "Bless your pea-pickin' heart!"

And whether or not you choose to pick up this tag, I would also like to say, "May 'peas' be with you my friends."

Meet Max

Max, the toy poodle, having heard that Charley the Lizard was on my blog, is now demanding equal time. So I put together a montage of Max pictures for you to see. Before you watch it, let me tell you just a little bit about Max.

Max is actually my older son's dog, but because he has spent the most time with me, he has sort of attached himself to me. He is very protective of me and will growl at anyone (even my husband and sons) who comes close to me if he is also nearby. He will stop growling if I tell him everything is OK, but he is ever vigilant.

He barks if the phone rings more than twice and no one is answering it or if the timer on the stove goes off. He likes to let us know that these things are making noise, I suppose.

Every day that the mail is delivered, he sees it as his duty to sit on the back of our couch, look out the picture window, and bark at the mailman the entire time he is in our yard. As soon as the mailman leaves and goes into the neighbor's yard, Max stops barking and settles back down.

We have had Max close to nine years now. Actually, we are lucky that he is even still with us. When he was just a very small puppy, my younger son who was about four years old at the time and didn't realize what might happen, let Max outside of the house without being on a leash. Max got into the road and was hit by a pickup truck. To make a long story short, after some micro-surgery to place a pin in his hip, and quite a bit of recovery time when he had to wear a cone on his head and he was quite unhappy, Max finally healed. He now lives a normal life with the exception of sometimes favoring his back left leg where his hip was broken. It bothers him, especially, when he first gets up from sleeping for a while.

He is a sweet and loving dog and is always at my side when I am at home. When I go away from the house and then return, he does a happy dance to greet me. First he spins around in a circle (a picture of his spin move is in the montage). Then he races as fast as he can from one end of the house to the other and back again. Then he will go and get either his blue ball or his rubber hot dog and bring it to me to let me know he's glad I'm home and that he wants to play with me.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Max also wanted dancing dogs to appear here since Charley was represented by dancing lizards. So I found some dancing dog videos. Max, of course, prefers the first video because it stars a poodle. Enjoy!



While the poodle was doing a natural happy doggy dance, here is a dog that has been specifically trained to dance with his owner.