the different ways in which needs can be satisfied...

"Besides the earth, man's principle resource is man himself. His intelligence enables him to discover the earth's productive potential and the many different ways in which needs can be satisfied." -- Pope John Paul II

in my dreams there is a banquet...and everybody i love, or ever have loved, or ever will love is there...and it is beautiful...and everyone is happy and there is enough food for each to have their fill...no one is hungry or in pain or sad...

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday...i love to get up early to bake the bread that has risen all night...and cook, and cook, and cook...pumpkin soup in tiny pumpkins i baked to the perfect golden glow...my turkey served with tiny ruffled shoes...homemade gravy and the inner parts turned into a feast for the animals...

this year is different...and i pray:

Lord, continue to fuel me with the desire to be productive...and understand the different ways in which needs can be satisfied...

pictorial essay...all photos taken this morning at sunrise...

for these i am thankful

natures' vignettes

a tiny feather in the sun

my great blue heron muse

a great splash photo

a chubby sanderling

a sunrise portrait session by the sea

rippled sand in the sun

surfers at dawn

pelicans flying low over waves

finding a perfect nautilus shell

a flock of sea gulls

colorful sea foam bubbles

haze over the ocean

watching a thanksgiving family photo session by the sea at sunrise

mostly i am thankful for the beautiful friendships i have found during the past 18 months...they have fueled my energy when i had none and filled my weary spirit with joy...you have given to me knowing that i had nothing to give in return... you know who you are and i hope you know how much i love you...and i say simply...

thanks

please read the post below about food banks and what they need this season...if you can help, please do...

Christmas Reflections and Traditions...

i have joined The Inspired Room's annual Friday Holiday Linkyyou can see other limky by clicking the link...
There is no ideal Christmas;
only the one Christmas you decide
to make as a reflection
of your values, desires, affections, traditions.
Bill McKibben*
This quote really touched something deep in me. I hate to admit it, but 2009 has been a very tough year and I have been feeling really down, disconnected, and not my joyful self...I do not like to whine too much, because I have a beautiful and full life...so when I contemplated the above quote, I realized that it is exactly what I believe and bring that makes a holiday joyful...not feeling sorry for myself...




St. Francis Preaching to the Birds - Giotto
So what am I going to do about my feelings of sadness...what I always do when I am too focused on self...turn outward and think of others:

Your Local Food Bank Needs You

This holiday season, consider the possibility of making your dinner a food drive; you can ask your guests to bring canned goods, in lieu of house gifts...Have a neighborhood food drive with your children - make a flyer and pass around this weekend and pick up Monday and deliver to the food bank...

Food banks are really suffering this year...because of the economy, many more people have had to call on thier local food bank for help...if you have any extra money or canned goods...stories like this abound this year...please help if you can...

Hoffman, 55, is one of the growing number of "nontraditional" food pantry clients across the country. They include more formerly independent senior citizens, more people who own houses and more people who used to call themselves "middle-class" — those who are not used to fretting over the price of milk.

"We're getting calls all the time from people who want to know how to get here," said Kristine Gibson, community outreach manager at the Stockton food pantry. "And when I ask where they live, they give an address of a nice neighborhood, one where you or I would want to live."

No matter what city you live in, and no matter what newspaper you read, you have probably seen a headline that says something like “Local Food Bank Donations Down,” or “Shelves Empty at the Food Bank.”

According to a recent thread on Chowhound, certain items are almost always a good bet:

Canned Chicken
Powdered Milk
Canned Tuna
Saltine Crackers
Soups
Juices
White Rice
Jarred or Canned Spaghetti Sauce
Grape Jelly
Canned Vegetables
Breakfast Cereals
Pork & Beans
Peanut Butter
Macaroni & Cheese
Baby food & formula
Pet food, for companion animals

And, of course, money donations are always welcome as well. To find the nearest food bank to you, check out Second Harvest’s Food Bank locator.

What they’ve got too much of? Kidney beans.

I will repeat my tradition a la St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis loved animals because they, too, were God's creatures. He extended special kindness to animals at Christmas. He urged farmers to provide their oxen and donkeys with extra rations of corn and hay "for the reverence of the Son of God, whom on such a night the Blessed Virgin did lay down in the stall between the ox and the donkey." At Christmastide, St. Francis scattered crumbs of bread under the trees, so the tiny creatures could feast and be happy. I am going to scatter bird seed around my tiny island on Christmas eve so that the birds, too, can celebrate...




Saint Francis' birds are fed on Christmas Eve 2007 - a new tradition launched
Read about other Christmas traditions here...

See my Hundred Dollar Holiday ideas and Hundred Dollar Holiday post....to learn more...

* Bill McKibben, author, Hundred Dollar Holiday: The Case For a More Joyful Christmassays, "The Christmas we now celebrate grew up at a time when Americans were mostly poor ... mostly working with their hands and backs. If we now feel burdened and unsatisfied by the piles of gifts and over consuming, it is not because Christmas has changed all that much. It's because we have." ...read article here...

off to the pawn shop...

enough said...

*artwork by Married to the Sea

the face of hunger today...

Americans who once might have donated food or money now find themselves in need and many of those who used to volunteer at a foodbanks are now standing in line for food at local pantries...hunger and food insecurity is on the rise for middle Americia...

America's food banks need a bailout

The struggle to feed America's nouveau needy*

quite a haul for someone who is hungry

The message is simple. Ever more Americans need food they can't afford. As tough economic times take their toll, increasing numbers of Americans are on tight budgets and, in some cases, facing outright hunger. As a result, they may be learning a lot more about food banks and soup kitchens than most of them ever wanted to know. -Nick Turse

is someone in your neighborhood hungry? i would venture if there is a for sale sign in the yard, especially if it has been there for some months...the people inside may be hungry, very hungry...and they may not have any idea where to go for help...

when formerly-employed people need to stretch beyond the bounds of pride and normalcy and ask for help...it can be humiliating, humbling, and painful...when you are hungry it hurts...when your children are hungry all pride quickly disappears...

your local food bank probably needs emergency food...

people without funds need:

1. food
2. deodorant...
3. toilet paper...
4. toothpaste
5. otc medicine (aspirin, tums, etc,)
6. soap and shampoo

from msn article 10 donations food banks need most

"Consider this," Ross Fraser of Feeding America wrote in an e-mail. "If you buy a can of tuna fish and donate it to a food bank, it will cost you a dollar and some change." However, a $1 donation to Feeding America provides "about 20 pounds of food and grocery products to someone at risk of hunger."

Other food banks rate their return on your dollar at anywhere from 5 to 15 pounds of food. They do it by buying in bulk, using volunteer labor and working with food brokers who notify them of deep discounts.

the foodstuffs needed are:

Proteins. Canned meats such as tuna, chicken or fish are high in protein and low in saturated fat. Peanut butter is rich in protein and high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated oils, the "good fats." These are among the most expensive foods -- too expensive for food banks to buy large quantities.

Soups and stews. They are filling, particularly the "chunky" soups, and contain liquid for hydration. In addition, soups can be filled with protein and vegetables.

Rice and pasta. "They're really staples," Nowak says. In addition, grain-based foods, such as pasta, are a good source of fiber and complex carbohydrates.

Cereal, including oatmeal. Breakfast cereals can be an additional source of protein, and most cereals today include a variety of vitamins and minerals.

Canned vegetables, including tomatoes and tomato sauce. Studies indicate that canned vegetables have about the same nutritional value as fresh vegetables.

Canned or dried beans and peas. A staple of diets as early as 6700 B.C., beans are a low-fat source of protein and fiber.

Canned fruits. Only a small amount of vitamin C is lost in the canning process, making these a healthy choice.

Fruit juice (canned, plastic or boxed). Make sure it's 100% juice.

Prepared box mixes such as macaroni and cheese or Hamburger Helper.

Shelf-stable milk. This includes dehydrated milk, canned evaporated milk and instant breakfasts.

*Article by Nick Turse