Well, today is very exciting for me….I decided to put up my first video, Maiden Voyage, at both websites!! Now I officially will have to keep my hair combed (ha!)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all my countrymen and women….this is the one special American holiday where we look at what unites us, instead of what keeps us foolishly apart. This is the special feast where we celebrate being Americans….and try to remember what the Pilgrims sacrificed to help settle our country. I have been to Plymouth Plantation, and let me tell you, in Winter, which is when I went so I could see it at its “worst”, it is extremely cold and damp, with the winds blowing off the sea…it is absoloutely bone-chilling cold. But the spirit of the Pilgrims, where the first Thanksgiving took place, is what we celebrate on this day….the determination and will to create a good life amidst hardship, and the remembrance to give thanks, always, to our Creator, family and friends.

Time is flying by so fast….next week is Thanksgiving…I can’t believe it! And the stores are already putting on their Holiday shimmer, which I love. It would be so wonderful if everyone could just let themselves enjoy the spirit of the Christmas Season, and not get hung up on what some think is “politically correct” with regard to decorations and such. 85% of the population of the United States is Christian….celebrating the birth of someone who was born a Jew. And for those among us who are atheists, I’m sorry, but you are out-numbered by those who have Faith. Maybe those who have Faith are “on” to something??

I am very saddened and upset by the rioting in France….and now, the hotel suicide bombings in Jordan. Hate only begets Hate….it creates Fear, and Fear is only a temporary “fix.”

I can’t believe how hectic life gets sometimes…especially when one has an elderly, fragile parent, and pets, and work, and a house to keep clean, etc. Then one turns on the t.v. news, and realizes how lucky they really are, amidst the floods, earthquakes, fires, hurricanes, bird flu, etc. There is ALWAYS something to be thankful for, no matter what. The key is to look outside of oneself.

Well, I just finished the mastering of “Crossroads”…alleluia!! Each CD feels like a baby is being born……it takes just as much time, if not more! In celebration of it being finished, I went out and ate some delicious fish and chips…one must make these moments of finished tasks a festive occasion:)

Well, little did I know when I posted yesterday regarding stress, that I would wake this morning to the terrible news that London was being terrorized by bombs….my heart goes out to the people and the place where I once lived for four seasons, when I was eighteen years old. God Bless those who died today, and those who are wounded….may the Souls of the departed find peace in His Kingdom, and may the wounded heal as soon as possible. God Bless Great Britain.

The heat wave across the country has been unbelievable…we are certainly feeling it in Massachusetts also! Thank God for basements, where no matter how hot it gets, it stays cool down there!!!

Over the past two weeks I have been trying to reach an old friend…she lives in a major city, and with all that is going on in the world these days I really wanted to connect. Lo and behold, today she phoned me, out of the blue!! Said she had been away for awhile. I was so happy to hear that she’s okay, and that her family is fine too. Old friends and family are especially sacred these days.

The past few weeks for me have been very stressful…a family member was discovered to have a physical problem that needed attention, and there were various other things that needed to be taken care of. I think it’s really important to remember that Life will always have stressful times…it doesn’t ever go in a straight line…from happy to happy…it goes up, and it goes down, and back up again. The vital thing to remember is that it is HOW we learn to handle stress that matters…since it will always be lurking around, we have to have our own little ways to cope with it. That is the key…the strength of our coping mechanism.