Happy Tuesday, dear readers! I hope that your day is going well and for those of you in the United States, I hope you get a short week so you can enjoy Thanksgiving with family and friends. In honor of giving thanks, I have some recipes to share and my usually annual list of things I’m thankful for this year. So let’s get into it.
One of the things I’m thankful for is Joy the Baker’s blog. Never let’s me down and has tons of yummy recipes like bonkers awesome candy bar cupcakes and persimmon prosciutto and Brie grilled cheese that would be wonderful for making with family and friends visiting. Seriously, if you are stumped about something new to make for the holidays this year, check out her blog.
After you get done drooling over all the lovely recipes, come on back and I’ll share a short list of things I’m most thankful for this year. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.
2013: 5 Things I’m Thankful For List
1. My husband. It has been a crazy, fast-paced, work and fun-filled year, but the thing I’m most thankful for is to be married to my best friend and partner this year. Here’s to many more wonderful years together.
2. My friends. Weddings are great excuses to get everyone together and have fun. I love my friends and totally wish I had a TARDIS so I could visit those who live across the country and on other continents more often. But even with distance, my friends make my life richer and keep me going. Plus, they do amazing things, like presenting original research at conferences, leading children’s story times, and doing plover rescue and research, that inspire me and make me feel like the world is a good caring place.
3. My work. I’m incredibly lucky, I think, to be working in a field where I truly feel like I can make a difference in the lives of students and in my profession through my research and publication. I love teaching, in all its formats, whether at the reference desk, in research consultations, in the classroom, or in a workshop, and that’s what keeps me going when there just seems to be way too much to do and not enough time to do it in.
4. Used bookstores that feel like an adventure. We recently went to Powell’s City of Books in Portland, which is amazing, and I’m definitely thankful for used bookstores where one can get lost in the stacks and find amazing things to read. I love libraries and bookstores and amazing used bookstores definitely make me feel like a kid in a candy store who must be stopped before buying up the entire store.
5. Great customer service. So I’ve had to be on the phone a lot over the last month with changing things due to being married now and I can honestly say that I appreciate great customer service even more now. It makes all the difference in the world and if I could, I would have everything route through a couple of companies that simply have amazing service. I’m so grateful when I can call in, get to talk to a person easily (without going through 10 levels of an automated phone tree; thank goodness for the trick of hitting 0), and the person is friendly and knowledgeable and able to help me, instead of having to call back numerous times. It makes me thankful to work in a library that truly values great, friendly, helpful service to our library patrons so we are not one of the places that makes me sad through bad customer service.
6. Bonus: I’m thankful for this buttermilk pie crust from Joy the Baker. Truly, best pie crust ever and will make you friends if you bring in pie using this recipe. Word.
Finally I leave you with this tutorial on how to make an edible apple swan. These would be fabulous for Thanksgiving Day tables.
Have a wonderful day and week. I’ll be back with a post for you to read post-Thanksgiving on Friday. Allons-y!