Wednesday, November 24, 2010

20 minutes ... tick tok ...

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American friends and bloggy friends ... enjoy your meal, your company, your day off and your black friday, celebrate with great gusto!!!

Here in Canada we have already celebrated our Thanksgiving, it falls in October for us ... each year I have a great many things that I am thankful for ... especially life, health, family & friends.

Today, on the eve of the American Thanksgiving I am thankful for 20 minutes ... you got it ... 20 minutes!


gotta love first responders and all of their shiny equipment

This morning I went downtown to meet up with some gal pals to do lunch and shopping at a German Christmas Market .... I was looking forward to seeing pretty German glass ornaments ... taking in the aromas and tastes of Gingerbread, Sausage and Mulled wine ... and starting the festive season off with a bang ...
Where there is smoke .... (there was a fireball but i wasn't able to photo it)

first responders on hand for blocks ... my two friends hanging out across the street

Oh it did start with a bang ... 20 minutes before the gates opened a propane tank blew ... hurling flames into the sky, billowing smoke every where ... surrounding  us ....  quickly the sounds of alarms and fires engines, police cars, ambulances rang through the air .... lights flashing, roadblocks being set up ... so here I am ... with my friends, on the street .... all of us so thankful for 20 minutes ... if it had happened any later and happy shoppers where filling the area who knows what devastation there might have been.  And always thankful for first responders ... the men & women who have dedicated their lives to the safety and wellbeing of the rest of us.

We decide to head for cover and warm up with a tasty coffee .... Mona Lisa came out to play!


and throwing caution to the wind, we decided that a decadent chocolate fondue was in order ....


MLM is loving her individual Mink chocolate

Thank you ... to whoever is taking note ... out in the cosmos... thank you for the 20 minutes ... I feel positively blessed.

Izzy & Sue and that wad of tinfoil looking sculpture

Me & Izzy!!!

This post is brought to you by Extreme Gratitude and dear sweet Jenny Matlock and her fabulous Alphabe-Thursday meme.  Check it out for other "thankful" entries.

26 comments:

Teresa said...

Certainly does sound like something to be thankful for. Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful last month and you continue to find reasons to be grateful throughout the year.

Judie said...

Hahaha! Jo, thank you for commenting on my post! We have family in Canada, so I already knew that you have had your thanksgiving celebration.

Mona Lisa looks splendid, as usual!

Kathy said...

I heard about the explosion on my News 1130 email this morning but never thought you'd be there. In fact I thought Izzy might still be on her cruise. I'm sooooo glad that you guys are all safe! Hugs!

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

So glad everyone was safe Jo! That could ahev been a disaster!

I blogged about the Elmer package I received last Saturday in my "pink Sentinel" post --hope you got a chance to see it!

Thanks for the holiday wishes --enjoy your weeeknd!

Betty said...

You are so right...that is something to be thankful for. We take our safety and well being for granted most of the time. That chocolate fondue looked wonderful. Wish I could get that here.

Anonymous said...

couldn't agree more...first responders
something to be thankful for
glad you and your friends are ok
however, i do think Mona Lisa is
awfully close to that fondue
that could be tragic...

here's hoping your next shopping
day out with the girls is not so
eXciting

~victoria~

Sue said...

Oh Jo, the crew were talking about it on the flight today...I am so very grateful that you are all safe.
I am just thinking that we may have to be careful hanging out around Ms. Izzy .. she is a little accident prone these days...through no fault of her own :-( SRSLY..so glad you, Sue, Izzy and dat monkey are safe.

paige said...

Well, you can never celebrate being thankful enough, I say. Of all of the people celebrating with me this year (and there are several) there are six countries represented - I'm the only American. AND I'm cooking all the food. I'm thankful they indulge me. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mary said...

I'm thankful for First Responders too! Glad no one was injured. Celebrating with Chocolate Fondue is always a good idea :-)

Unknown said...

Wow, talk about having something to be thankful for! I'm glad that no one got hurt and that you and your friends still enjoyed your day :) Happy Thanksgiving!

~✽Mumsy✽~ said...

So glad you're safe from that explosion, and looks like you did have fun with the girls and Mona Lisa..

Well, since you already celebrated Thanksgiving, I wish you a wonderful weekend..

Cheryl said...

I'm grateful for those 20 minutes and first responders too.

Looks like Mona Lisa is pretty darn thankful too.

Gattina said...

OMG, what an adventure ! I think you will remember this Christmas market day ! I suppose it will last for a while ! I think mulled wine was much more needed than chocolate, lol !

Coralie Cederna Johnson said...

Wishing you a wonderful week filled with love and friendship!
Enjoy!!!
Coralie

Izzy said...

I'm thankful for those 20 minutes too! glad we managed to spend some gal pal time together despite the "explosive" start to our visit.
Hugs

Birgit said...

Hmm, maybe we will once have the chance to meet and explore a real German Christmas market -- the one in Munich that is! :) That would be so cool!

Anyway, I am glad that you are safe and sound, but the explosive start must have been a bit of a scare. Actually, here in Germany, it would have been a scare for sure. For days we have had terrorist warnings now -- the Christmas markets could be targets.

Anyway, I am grateful that there are people like you out there who help me think that the world is a good place after all.

Greetings from Munich,
Birgit

Pondside said...

I'm in Ottawa this week, but I heard about that explosion. Thank heavens for that 20 minutes - a huge reason for Thanks!
....how are you doing with the snow? Everyone in Ottawa has a snide comment about our west coast inability to deal with winter. I tell them that we deal with it by just waiting for it to rain and wash all the white stuff away!

Unknown said...

I am so glad that there weren't people shopping when the blast went off.

The chocolate fondue looks wonderful. Glad you were able to still gather with friends and have a treat.

Lynn Stevens said...

OMG Jo so Thankful for those 20 minutes! How scary!!! My nephew is a firefighter , He puts his life on the line evrey day. I'm so proud of him!
It does look like your day with your friends turned out well.
Big hugs!! Lynn

Francisca said...

Oh yeah, close calls are a good thing to be thankful for. That chocolate fondue looks like an awesome way to celebrate!

Anonymous said...

Wow that was scary and go with the chocolate fondue, looks delicious.
I'm really enojying my 1st Thanksgiving thanks to Jenny Matlock

Rocky Mountain Woman said...

Oh my, I'm happy no one was hurt..

Chocolate fondue was a good idea, nothing like chocolate to make you feel better.

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

what a close call..
blessings fly your way,
Happy Saturday.

awards/treats 4 u

Jenny said...

I lost my ability to concentrate right after the chocolate fondue pictures so I had to go back and read again!

What a close call! I'm so glad this ended well. A forever memory kind of day, for certain!

Thanks for linking to Alphabe-Thursdays Thankful week!

I am thankful for you. And your lovely sharing!

A+

PERMANENT POSIES said...

Wow! I am thankful for those 20 minutes too. Nothing like a little chocolate fondue to ease the tension. You look so cute in front of the odd sculpture that I would hug you too. Happy Thanksgiving....a little late for you...ha.

laterg8r said...

definitely something to be thankful for :D