Thursday, November 27, 2014

The Pictures of Thanksgiving

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Hallie, your biscuits are burning!  (Okay, kidding, but you were worrying about it...hope all is well with your dinner--and, dear Reds, with all of yours.)


My plan for today was simple. (First, we did not make the black cherry jello. Did you?)

Anyway,  I had figured all the Reds would be otherwise occupied, and possibly not interested in hanging out here. But, on the other hand, Thanksgiving is a holiday that's meant to be shared, and we Reds don't want to miss sharing it with each other. Especially since we are so endlessly thankful--for you, for our lives, for our families, and health, and...for everything.

So my first idea was to put up a photo which encompassed all of that. And here was what I first chose.
























The iconic Norman Rockwell's Freedom from Want. And I do love this painting, but thinking about it, it's not very--diverse. It doesn't look like the world, you know?

Then I saw this Rockwell. 

And I thought, okay. Better. We need to be thankful for this, too.
But there's more to it, these days, so how about his one? Freedom of Speech.

And yeah, we need  to be thankful for this, too. (So much for my one photo idea.)

But then I thought--lighten up, sister. So how about this? We're certainly thankful for laughter.


And of course we're thankful for music.


Obviously my "one photo" day did not work--But you know what? I wish I could post a photo of every single gorgeous one of you. And all of our families and friends. And that would be the true meaning of the holiday.

 Happy Thanksgiving from Jungle Red!


27 comments:

  1. Happy Thanksgiving.
    Thanks for the lovely thoughts and beautiful pictures. Have a wonderful holiday . . . .

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  2. Hank, thank you for these iconic pictures. Yes, what a wonderful land we live in - have, hope to keep safe for many more decades! The greatest country in the world.
    Thelma Straw in Manhattan

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  3. Love you, too!

    Keep us posted on your day...


    Our yard is covered in snow!

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  4. I hope it's beautiful and guests arrive safely. It's chilly here, but the oven will warm things up considerably. I wouldn't mind seeing snow on the mountains. Dinner will be a little later than usual this year. I didn't train the boys as well as I thought! It will be good though... sausage and sage stuffing and no marshmallows allowed!

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  5. No marshmallows here either, a dusting of snow, the bird in the oven, and a very short to-do list!

    A good book to look forward to--my very own copy of Edith's latest as Tace Baker--

    And much to be grateful for--a roof over my head for another year, a warm house, food on the table, and family and friends to share the day with--and to the Reds--for reminding me that perseverance and hard work can still lead to miracles! Bless you all here.

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  6. Happy Thanksgiving Jungle Red family--so grateful to call you all friends! and thankful for Hank, who always goes the extra mile:)

    xoxox

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  7. Happy Thanksgiving Red! I love my Reds family to the moon and back, and got a little teary seeing these pictures, Hank. You chose perfectly.

    It's been an emotional week for me, and today I intend to hold my mom, my Donald and my Harley close and say a soft, whispered, deeply felt Thank You for oh so much.

    Wishing you all peace and a lot of love.

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  8. Happy Thanksgiving! I've walked the dogs and I've got a couple hours before I start dealing with the turkey. I hope everyone has a lovely, relaxing, joyful day. In keeping with Hank's lightness, I'll share some funnies I've found online:

    Thanksgiving dinner is a unique experience. It's like an orgy that's rated G.

    The meal isn’t over when I’m full, the meal is over when I hate myself – Louis C.K.

    A new survey found that 80 percent of men claim they help cook Thanksgiving dinner. Which makes sense, when you hear they consider saying “that smells good” to be helping. – Jimmy Fallon

    Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not a coincidence. – Erma Bombeck

    (Go Cowboys)

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  9. Hank, I was so glad to see that you had popped in to say Happy Thanksgiving. I love all the Reds and have come to look forward to this blog as an integral part of my day. So, along with family and all the other usual things I'm thankful for, I'm thankful for you beautiful Reds and all the wonderful people who comment here. I'm off to fix the scalloped oysters now and start the Thanksgiving Day. I just had to have my Jungle Red fix first. Love to all of you.

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  10. Oh, so great to see you all! Of course, we'll check in from time to time--can't have this lovely day without you!

    Off to make the shaved Brussels sprouts salad!


    And RIP to the iconic PD James--we re certainly grateful for her...

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  11. Brilliant photos, Hank. Loved them all.
    A very happy Thanksgiving to all the Reds and to those who take the time to share their thoughts with us every day.

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  12. Happy Thanksgiving! (My biscuits are in the freezer, waiting to be baked.) My grandbaby is here and I have become Gummo! (always said with an exclamation point.) My cup overfloweth.

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  13. Happy Thanksgiving to you, too, Hank --and all the Jungle Red gang. Eat safely.

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  14. I am staggering a bit over the news of PD James's death, but all the more reason to be thankful for the books she gave us, for our wonderful community of writers and readers, and especially for my dear fellow REDS, who are the best writer's support group ever!!!

    Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!

    PS And thanks, Hank, for the wonderful photos! I'm off to watch more of the Macy's parade a cook cranberries!

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  15. Oh, you all make me cry. In the best of ways.

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  16. We're home together, after decades of Rod having to travel to cover either football or golf for ESPN.

    This is a broadcasting household. We were friends at a CBS affiliate in KY. We were thrown together as the only peers among the suits at an advertiser preview party, where WKRP's pilot was featured entertainment. On Monday, we just celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary.

    Happy Thanksgiving, Reds and friends.
    http://youtu.be/lf3mgmEdfwg

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  17. Lovely! Happy Thanksgiving, Reds and all. A snowy drive, a fun family gathering, seven children/3 dogs, and a snowy hike. All is wonderful today!

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  18. Happy Thanksgiving! . . . so true, can't show it all in one photo, or even one blog. BTW, I've finished one sock using yarn from a shop called Hanks . . . one to go and I'll have toasty warm toes. <3

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  19. Lovely! And so nice to hear from you all..

    good luck with the sock, STMary!

    xoxo

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  20. And the same to you, Hank and Reds! Almost through Truth Be Told but had to stop and put things together for family dinner.
    It'll be very different this year: husband at his parents to cook their dinner, family dinner at niece's new house instead of my parents (sold their house and moved to senior retirement community), Dad not present (died first of November). Life is change, isn't it? Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

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  21. Happy Thanksgiving to you all. Hank, loved the pictures. Laughed out loud and then showed Hubby the moppets one. Loved Cookie Monster bring a whole platter of cookies.

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  22. Love to both of you Pats!

    Yes, life is change. It's ..very touching. It reminds us to count our blessings every day, not just today.

    (And Pat D? Hope you love it..xooo)

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  23. So glad to see old Reds friends here today.

    I finally got the turkey stuffed and in the oven. Major chore with the girls no longer with us. The boys are great but really need a lot of prompting and explaining. I tried. What else can I say? Each has his own gift that doesn't include holiday dinner preparation. :-)

    Have a good day and weekend. Relax whenever you can. Enjoy the fresh air. Watch a classic movie. Read a good book. Mine are stacked up by the bed ready and waiting for me to collapse. Sooner than later I hope although I'll be sad when everyone has left for home. I'll make friends again with my characters who today will be Gemma and Duncan. <3

    xoxoxxx R

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  24. I thought of you, Hank. I proudly brought the 25 pound turkey to the Senior Center and got busy making a couple of gallons of gravy. I was mortified to hear that the turkey was not cooked -- after four hours in a cooking bag at 350! The directions on the bag said four hours was plenty of time. Oh, well. We got it cooked there. Happy Thanksgiving!

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  25. Happy Thanksgiving! Love all of you. After a tremendous meal and getting down some words, I am ready for dessert.

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