Beacon's Backyard Kitchen Cooks and Serves Thanksgiving Brunch To Community In Need

This is a story of the hot meals - often with gluten free options - that are prepared by the rotating volunteer crew at Beacon’s Backyard Kitchen, an upstart of The Yard Beacon, after a soup kitchen closed on Main Street in January 2025. Since then, they have served over 6,000 meals to anyone in need.

THat little sign you see on the side of Fishkill Ave. is for Beacon’s Backyard Kitchen, who prepare free hot and delicious meals for those in need every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6:30-8:30am weekly.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth

Thursday was their Thanksgiving Brunch, open to any and all who need it. Beacon’s Backyard Kitchen is open every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 6:30-8:30am each week at 12 Hanna Lane. When SNAP ended, the volunteer crew was there, with Chef Lewis cooking, and volunteers serving. Made possible by ongoing donations from all sources.

When they first opened, it was fair to wonder how the people in need would get to them. Since Beacon’s Backyard location is off the beaten path on Fishkill Avenue, which is a heavily trafficked road.

This day, however, ALBB saw that the people - many who are elderly - do come no matter what. By foot or wheelchair or wheeling walker, they come, assisting each other all the way down Rte. 52, and then down the long driveway of The Yard. If coming from the other direction, which is connected to Main Street by the Fishkill Creek, one can avoid the vehicular traffic above. But several elderly people come from the top.

Below is a photo series of the road journey to Beacon’s Backyard Kitchen at 12 Hanna Lane:

For the Thanksgiving Meal, the crew pulled out all the stops. The location switched buildings, from the one-story dark gray building to the Big Tent, warmed by powerful heaters and decorated in twinkling lights hanging brightly above rustic wooden family-style tables topped with pumpkins and condiments.

Normally, Beacon’s Backyard Kitchen serves out of this building on the property. But for Thanksgiving Brunch, they switched to the big white fancy tent with heaters.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth

Offering to help a guest with their rolling walker may be futile, as they are just fine thank you very much, but appreciate the gesture with a smile. If they don’t know where the meal moved to, one guest stakes it out ahead of the group, and then retreats to get the others, motivating them to stand up again to keep moving to the final destination of the tables for the warm meal, this time served from fancy catering dishes.

Donate any time to Beacon’s Backyard Kitchen to keep this weekly program going. Opportunities to support also arise when they have fundraising event nights.

VIDEOS: The Pre-Planning, Unboxing, and Bike Delivery of Thanksgiving Meals from Carter's and ALBB

This project was joyous to participate in. Read about how Carter’s initiated their free Turkey Meal Giveaway after learning about the SNAP crisis. While people who signed up to receive these meals described this time period one of the roughest in their lives, this small moment of providing them with the foundation for a Thanksgiving Meal meant a lot. This video series covers the pre-planning that Carter’s owner and chef Jon Lombardi undertook for the distribution, the unboxing of what he hunted and gathered, and the bike delivery from the Beacon Bicycle Coalition.

Tuesday was Turkey Distribution Day at Carter’s Restaurant. On Monday, Katie met up with Chef Jon and his Carter’s Crew to unbox the food he purchased for this Thanksgiving Meal. In coordinating this, we learned so many things. Mainly, that many people cannot travel and live with disabilities. People had 2 and 3 jobs and were also caring for aging parents and children (adult children and young children) at home. They were tired. They could not get out, so the bike deliveries were crucial.

We also learned that feeding people is Jon’s love language, yes, but we learned that it’s also in his DNA that he help people by feeding them. Jon is a quiet but generous person. This is the largest project he and ALBB have worked on together. This was an incredible experience. Learning everyone’s stories. We are so glad to have reached you.

Thank you so much to those who donated at the end to help reach people.

In this video, Jon tells us how to cook a 22lb turkey (lots of butter), not to sneak the bird in during the pre-heat, and his genealogy of feeding those in need.

The Carter’s Thanksgiving Meal Distribution was so organically expansive. ALBB readers reached out to see how they could assist. One such reader, Kelly Holiday volunteered herself and the Beacon Bicycle Coalition to deliver meals by bike to those who needed them.

Delivery accounted for roughly half of our signups. People were either disabled, had newborns at home, worked more than one job, or just could not get out. While the forecast called for rain, ALBB had faith in the cyclists (Yvonne Caruthers, Meg, Mark and August) that they enjoyed the ingenuity of securing and protecting the meals from the elements. They offered car driving as backup should it begin pouring. But they made their deliveries before the rain came!

Special thanks also to car driver Sam Lashlee who made deliveries to Poughkeepsie and Beacon just over the I-84 bridge possible.

VIDEO: New Yorkers Hosting A Thanksgiving Feast Inside A Subway Train

Complex published a video of a group of New Yorkers who set up a Thanksgiving meal on a subway train and enjoyed themselves, fixing anyone a plate. Said Dupree Christopher in the Comments: “we doing this for nyc. every year. we just wanted to bring some hope love and celebration to our friends and our new friends. thanks complex”

You can even get a sweatshirt for it! Proceeds fundraise for food for next year’s Thanksgiving on The Train.

Turkey On Every Table 2025 - Interview With Group Leaders For This Collaborative Distribution

The Thanksgiving Meal bag that went with the turkey for “Turkey on Every Table.”
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth

This year's request for turkey meals for the annual Turkey on Every Table initiative grew by 330%, said Reuben Simmons to A Little Beacon Blog. "Last year, we had 90 signups. This year, we had 395 signups." There were four distribution points and organizations involved in the city-wide effort, including I Am Beacon, Fareground, Key Food, Salem Tabernacle and Knights of Columbus #446. This year, LaStar Gorton, incoming Councilmember for Ward 1, also participated in the distribution.

Kenya Gadsden holding a donated turkey before she services people in the line to receive the meals. Kenya wore her I Am Beacon sweatshirt this day, but wears several other sweatshirts:
- member of the Beacon Board of Education
- Councilwoman for Fishkill Town Board
- jointly oversees the Open Arms Christian Ministries International Food Pantry with distribution point here at Beacon Parks and Recreation Building
- supports the “Class in a Bag” Initiative, which supplies backpacks filled with school supplies for children in the Beacon City School District
- Ran for Dutchess County Clerk
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth

On the Saturday before Thanksgiving, registered people lined up to receive one turkey and a bag of food to prepare at home from one of the four distribution locations: Fareground at 37 Lamplight (the old Mary Kelly's building that is now the Star of Bethlehem Baptist Church), the Beacon Parks and Recreation Building at 23 West Center Street, Salem Tabernacle at 7 Delavan Ave., and St. Andrew & St. Luke Episcopal Church at 15 South Avenue.

Meals included a 14lb turkey, the infamous Kings Hawaiian dinner rolls, Stove Top stuffing, Key Food brand Urban Meadows apple pie, Kraft Mac and Cheese, Urban Meadows’s jelly, a bag of fresh apples, a bag of rice, and Green Giant mixed greens.

Families were in line to receive, some who walked there with metal push carts and strollers, and some who drove.

Knights of Columbus #446 members gathered around Junior Dabashi’s (Key Food) truck for another loading in of Thanksgiving Meals at 23 West Center Street, the Beacon Parks and Recreation Building.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth

The total number of meals distributed from each location was 123 at Fareground, 127 Beacon Parks and Recreation, 61 at Salem Tabernacle, and at least 10 distributed directly by I Am Beacon to those who could not make the line. Reuben of I Am Beacon and Junior Dabashi of Key Food, with the assistance of Salem Tabernacle’s van of helpers which includes Ian, Frank and Pastor Bill, collect and distribute the food to each location, with the assistance of the Knights of Columbus offloading the food from the trucks.

ALBB visited the West Center Street location to talk to the group leaders to learn the origins of Turkey on Every Table - to get more from the story and see behind the flyer that asks for food donations each year.

How long has the program been going on?

Before this interview, the group leaders conferred among themselves to track back the origins, as this initiative is a collaborative effort with the groups.

This interview is with: Reuben Simmons of I Am Beacon; Ian Zrodlowski of Salam Tabernacle Church; Junior Dabashi of Key Food; and Bernard Gadson, married to Kenya Gadsden who was leading the distribution with families to get the turkey meals. A member of Knights of Columbus served as cameraman for this video.

LaStar Gorton, incoming City Councilmember for Ward 1 in Beacon, assisting in distributing the Thanksgiving Turkeys.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth

Reuben Simmons greeting a Knights of Columbus #446 member before Distrobution begins.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth

I Am Beacon started Turkey on Every Table in 2014 and continued it for 4 years. Reuben, a co-founder of I Am Beacon told ALBB: "We got away from it [Turkey on Every Table] in 2018/19 as we saw there were multiple organizations doing distributions. The impact we felt was already being met. As an organization, I Am Beacon stepped back from it...And then COVID hit, and there was more time for people to regroup. One of I Am Beacon's missions is to do things in a collaborative effort."

Ian Zrodlowski of Salam Tabernacle Church carrying bags of food from their van.
PHoto Credit: Katie Hellmuth

Reuben went onto let the other explain. Ian told of how Salem Tabernacle Church has been in Beacon since the 1950s. "Every Thanksgiving, the women of the church would get together and put baskets together for people in need. Usually by word of mouth." He said that a dozen families would usually be reached. "It was not a formal thing, just something that we've always been doing."

More Salam Tabernacle Church members carrying Community-donated food from their van.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth

Reuben explained that Junior Dabashi was a key part of why the initiative started back up again. Junior had met with Salem Tabernacle, Reuben said, and who learned that Salem Tabernacle wanted to get more involved with the Beacon community. Junior asked Reuben to bring back the Turkey on Every Table program. "The only way I said I'd do it is if it was on a collaborative effort." They met with Salem Tabernacle, as well as Kenya and Bernard Gadsden with Open Arms Ministry, who run the weekly food pantry out of the Beacon Parks and Recreation building every Saturday.

In 2021, the Turkey on Every Table program revived, and has been happening ever since.

Fried Turkeys and Home-Bound Senior Citizens

During the distribution, ALBB heard Bernard talking about his schedule this week for frying turkeys. We asked him to tell us more about the process, and who he was cooking for. Bernard is passionate about caring for the seniors to provide for them an experience that can easily pass them over.

Bernard works at a Senior Apartment Complex. "A lot of seniors don't get a chance to go out. So they stay home and probably make a cornish hen. On Thanksgiving. I just felt that's ludicrous," Bernard told ALBB. "So I said, I want to bring my equipment. I want to fry turkeys for them." His boss gave him the green light to fry the turkeys, and he's been doing it for the last 5 years. "I did 3 turkeys yesterday. One for my grandson's school in Poughkeepsie, and 2 for my job. There was nothing left. They love it every year. And I look forward to it." This year, he's doing two more turkeys on Tuesday for another senior apartment complex in Newburgh.

Bernard then describes how he likes to fry the turkey. He prefers a turkey that is 15lb or under. "Forty-five minutes to an hour, and they are done," Bernard stated.

Kids Coat Distribution From Knights Of Columbus

Coats for kids came through the Knights of Columbus, who have been doing the coat distribution for 40 years in Beacon from their building before they sold it, member Kevin Allison told ALBB. One year, a group from Peekskill was doing a toy drive distribution where Sue Serino arrived to help. "One of Sue’s office people was at the door. One kid came through the door with no coat. I said 'where is your coat?' He said he didn't have one. I made sure he had a brand new coat.”

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Knights of Columbus, Trinity Council #446 logo on sweater swag
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth

Knights of Columbus member Kevin Allison
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth

Knights of Columbus Logo on Jacket
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth

In Response To SNAP Cut, Carter's To Give Away 20 Free Thanksgiving Meals - Details, Menu & Signup With ALBB

Chef Jon Lombardi, owner and creator of Carter’s Restaurant at 424 Main Street, is one of the longest running financial supporters of A Little Beacon Blog. Jon and Katie go back, way back to when he was managing the original Vault, and she had her office and community space in the Telephone Building in 2017.

Together, they cooked up ideas on how to give people great experiences with great food. They’ve been through a lot together through those years. They have parted ways; they have come back together; they have endured the current crazy political climate.

To preserve his sanity, Jon makes one thing clear: “No politics.” This is their understanding. But. He enjoys having his headline news at ALBB delivered to him in person or over the phone from Katie (as many advertisers do…check-ins down Main Street is common for Katie to do any day of the week).

One rainy Thursday morning before Halloween, while Katie was jogging outside and Jon was shopping for food to cook that day at his restaurant, he asked: “I don’t think I remember things being so political. Why are people so political these days?”

Katie answered: “I think it’s because things keep impacting people’s every day lives. Parts of how they live their lives are being taken away or threatened, and because of that, they have to speak out. Like, my friend is going to lose SNAP, and that upsets me. So I am going to speak out.”

Not everyone is familiar with the SNAP acronym. “SNAP?” Jon asked. “What’s that?”

“Food Stamps,” Katie answered. “They are turning off in November because of the government shutdown.”

“Sh*t,” Jon said.

“Yeah,” Katie said. “I qualified for them over the summer, and I experienced the feeling of going through the cashier line, and having to decide what to buy because not everything is eligible on that SNAP money card. Mayor Lee of the City of Beacon just announced they are going to issue grocery gift cards to SNAP recipients, and the Beacon Farmer’s Market always accepts SNAP dollars and doubles them, and they are figuring out what to do when the money doesn’t drop down into the card.”

Jon took a moment. “Well they are going to need Thanksgiving dinner.”

Katie responded, “Yes they are.”

Jon’s wheels started turning. His mind is very creative, especially when it comes to feeding people. Food is Jon’s love language. Finally, he started speaking again. “Tell them we are going to donate 20 turkeys. Is that enough? I’m at the store now. Let me price it out. They will be frozen, is that OK?”

Stopping in her tracks, Katie said: “Yeah!”

“Ok, Jon said. I’m getting prices. I’ll call you back.”

Jon did call back, and we started developing the plan of how to take signups. Then Katie said: “Jon - what if, maybe, what if maybe the people could also have some famous Carter’s mashed potatoes to warm up in the oven with the turkey. Just so that they can have some starch.”

Jon thought a minute, and then said: “Nah…because then I’d have to throw in apple pie.”

The menu developed from there. Jon’s catering brain fully engaged, and he thought out the entire menu that those in need can sign up for an pick up to cook at home.

Carter’s Restaurant will provide 20 meals to SNAP recipients or those in need. People can sign up for this meal using the form below. It is preferred if you have a SNAP card, but if you don’t, and you are in the middle of hard times, please reach out. Pickup will be the Tuesday before Thanksgiving at Carter’s at 424 Main Street.

Carter’s Thanksgiving Meal For Those In Need:

• Turkey (thawed - you cook in your oven)

• Carter’s Homemade Mashed Potatoes (made fresh, ready for you to warm in your oven)

• Apple Pie (frozen, you warm it up in your oven)

• Mixed Vegetables (canned veggies - you season as you like)

• Cranberry (a can of that sweet cranberry mold)

• 8 Dinner Rolls (hopefully you have leftovers for sandwiches!)

How To Sign Up

To sign up, please fill out your information below. We are prioritizing SNAP recipients, but if you are in need, please sign up. At this time, the distribution amount is 20 households. As Carter’s customers and ALBB’s readers are from all over the Hudson Valley, this is open to the region. Thank you.

Please email Katie of ALBB with questions: katie@alittlebeaconblog.com

SignUps Closed

We are SO glad we reached so many of you. The Turkey Meal Signup is closed, and we are coordinating delivery and pickup. If you filled out the signup form and have not heard from us, please check your email everywhere.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone.

"A Call To Truth" :: The Thanksgiving Myth: Celebrating Genocide

During this time of recognized genocide in Palestine by Israel, largely funded by the United States and protected by some European powers, Thanksgiving as a Day of Mourning is becoming more recognized. Below is a statement by Heart of Falastine, who shared this slide deck to illustrate. Beneath the slide deck is a video of an annual recognition at Plymouth Rock of land theft, cultural extinction and normalized dehumanization created by BTNewsroom.

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By Heart of Falastine:

“Thanksgiving is not what you think it is. Beneath the myths of ‘peace and harmony’ lies the brutal truth of genocide, land theft, and the erasure of Indigenous peoples. This colonial holiday celebrates the domination of land and the dehumanisation of those who belong to it.

“As millions prepare to gather in blind celebration, let us remember: Thanksgiving is a justification of violence disguised as gratitude. It perpetuates the same colonial mindset that sees the earth as property to be conquered, rather than a sacred relationship to be honoured.

“This season, refuse to celebrate the lie. Stand with Indigenous peoples. Acknowledge the truth. Reject colonial erasure. Choose solidarity over complicity.

📖 Inspired by the wise words of the Kanak people of occupied Kanaky (colonisers call it “New Caledonia” 🇳🇨 )

*******

By BT Newsroom:

“Hundreds marched at Plymouth, Massachusetts in observance of the National Day of Mourning. Organized by the United American Indians of New England, Indigenous people and supporters gather each year on Thanksgiving to honor the holiday’s true history of colonialism.”

Happy TGiving :: Thanksgiving 2024

In trying to be true to evolving feelings about Thanksgiving, was going to skip the traditional holiday post that every brand must post on holidays, especially Thanksgiving. Was going to let Thanksgiving-themed articles speak for themselves. But after watching basketball yesterday, a dream floated in overnight, and its message can be the theme of this holiday post from ALBB to you:

In the dream, I (Katie) was on the court, running up and down with my team. On my team were various people from parts of Beacon and Newburgh, like in the Ceasefire group, and people I couldn’t see from elsewhere. We were just there - playing our part - on the court, running very fast, forwards and backwards, turning to catch the ball, each taking turns passing and catching to score. We had deeply different strengths and purposes, but we were grounded. We knew what to do and who we were.

Whenever I leave Beacon, I reflect back on it to see and feel its unique mix of people that foster the environment beneath and above the sidewalk. This microcosm that fosters hands-in nurturing that can be taken with you wherever you go.

This is the Tgiving feeling that I pass to you. In the dream, I was grateful for the players.

In health and honesty,
Katie

Last Days To Donate Grocery List To "Turkey On Every Table" From Key Food, Salem Tabernacle, I Am Beacon

The “Turkey on Every Table” initiative from I Am Beacon, Key Food, and Salem Tabernacle has opened for collection again, hoping to reach families as it did last year. Created in 2014 by I Am Beacon, the three organizations came together last year during the pandemic when soup kitchens could not operate, and pre-packaged and delivered bags of dinner meals for people to cook.

Said Ginger Dandreano, Administrative Assistant for Salem Tabernacle when ALBB asked how the distribution will work: “All the food will come already packaged in a grocery bag. The idea is to make this as easy for people as possible, especially for those who may be walking. The bag will consist of a full Thanksgiving dinner.”

Pickup points will be Salem Tabernacle (7 Delavan Ave), Open Arms Food Pantry (based at Beacon’s Recreation Department at 25 Center Street) in Beacon, NY.

How The Organizations Coordinate The Food Giving

Ginger elaborated to ALBB: “The turkeys are being purchased by Salem Tabernacle. Salem Tabernacle does a yearly fundraiser that raises money for this outreach. So far this year, $5,000 has been raised. Key Food in Beacon also contributes with a fundraiser that helps offset the cost. Salem Tabernacle purchases the food from Key Food at cost. I Am Beacon also promotes the Key Food fundraiser and creates awareness amongst the community. I Am Beacon also has provided the connections with Open Arms Food Pantry and St. Andrews. Key Food is a generous, community oriented store that makes this complicated process much easier. They get the food at cost and also refrigerate the food up until the day of distribution. I Am Beacon and Key Food truly make this possible.”

How People In Need Can Sign Up For The Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving Dinner Signup at Salem Tabernacle.

Families or Friends can call Salem Tabernacle at 845-831-0114 Mon-Th from 10am-3:30pm. They can also go to www.salemtabernacle.com and follow the prompts to sign up (or click here directly). You can sign up yourself or sign up a family in need. Available while supplies last, but you must sign up. Their goal is to feed 100 families this year.

This year the drive is heating up again, with collections being made at Key Food at checkout. You can specify that your donation of food or cash/credit card be for this project at the checkout counter. Volunteer opportunities are available with Salem Tabernacle for those looking to pack bags, deliver them to destinations, and facilitate getting them into hands.

Requested Items Include:

Peanut Butter Jars, Jelly Jars, 16-Pack hot Chocolate Mixes, Canned Yams, Mac and Cheese Boxes, Stuffing Boxes, 1LB Rice Bags, 14OZ Canned Vegetables, 3LB Apple Bags, Baked Pies, Reusable Grocery Bags

People Working With The Organizations

I Am Beacon is run by brother and sister Rueben Simmons, Brook Simmons, and Brandon Lillard. Open Arms Food Pantry is managed by Kenya Gadsen, who served on Beacon’s Board of Education years ago and was of the few Black board members serving. Kenya moved to Fishkill, and currently serves as an elected Councilwoman for the Town of Fishkill. Key Food is a franchise run by the Dabashi and Said families.

Turkey On Many Tables - 3 Organizations Came Together To Distribute 100 Turkeys To Families

Thanksgiving 2020 was here all of a sudden, and many people were making their usual rounds to hit the grocery stores, as well as food pantries. In non-pandemic times, soup kitchens tend to cook a meal for a designated group of people, like seniors that the Salvation Army of Beacon usually cooks for, but could not host anyone this year, but still managed to help families get meals for Thanksgiving. They will do so again for Christmas (donations for that effort can be accessed by texting rescuechristmas to 91999, where Captain Leilani Rodríguez-Alarcón, Corps Officer / Pastor is in receipt of the donations, or contact Leilani.Alarcon@use.salvationarmy.org).

At the food pantry at St. Andrews Church, who collects and distributes non-perishable items, an unexpected call came from this united group of 3 organizations to donate 25 turkeys to the regular participants of that church’s pantry. I Am Beacon, Key Food Beacon, and Salem Tabernacle teamed up to raise money and distribute the turkeys to families using their local channels, with a goal of reaching 100 families.

Starting in 2014, I Am Beacon started doing the program called Turkey On Every Table to use their community connections to find those in need, and raise the money to deliver. Large organizations are important, but often local, grass-roots organizations have boots on the ground with friends and relatives getting first-hand information on what people need during any time - pandemic or not.

This year, the three organizations teamed up. Says I Am Beacon’s founder, Reuben Simmons: “We worked in a collaborative effort on raising money for the food asked for on our list, packing the bags, and making the deliveries. Salem Tabernacle scheduled a pick-up at their church.”

Pat Lassiter, longtime Food Pantry Manager for St. Andrews Church that opens its doors to residents of Beacon on Saturday mornings, was pleased when she received a call from Reuben, that the group would be donating 25 turkeys to people who come to get food from St. Andrews Food Pantry that Saturday.

Some members in the group who organized the Turkey on Every Table: I Am Beacon, Key Food Beacon, Salem Tabernacle.
Photo Credit: Key Food Beacon

Says Reuben: “I Am Beacon used their network to identify a couple of outlets to also distribute the program through. We worked with Mrs. Lassiter from St. Andrews pantry located on South Avenue, and Kenya Gadsen to distribute to families through Opens Arms Ministry at the Beacon Recreation Center at 23 West Center’s Food Pantry.” Due to state funding requirements, St. Andrews needs to limit giving to Beaconites only, and the Open Arms Ministry at Beacon Recreation Center is open to anyone, regardless of residency.

After hearing of Pat’s appreciation for the gift of turkeys, Reuben replied: “I am happy to hear it all worked out that day. She has been doing an amazing job for many, many years with so many amazing volunteers.”

How To Get Involved

To get involved with any of these organizations, you can donate to food donations bins periodically at Key Food, and follow along on a more personal level with I Am Beacon’s podcast on Spotify. I Am Beacon will be gearing up for Membership 2021, and will be moving forward to a non-voting membership organization in 2021.

To get familiar with all of the Food Pantries in Beacon and how they work, see A Little Beacon Blog’s Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen Guide. There are volunteer opportunities with several organizations listed there. You can call them directly for inquiries, or see their websites (if they have one) for published volunteer opportunities. Directions on how to donate to them are published in that Guide as well.

Happy Thanksgiving 2018

Happy Thanksgiving.

Enjoy the quiet, the laughter, the unplugged, the family, the friends, the neighbors.

Last year’s blog post made a suggestion to tell someone unexpected why you are thankful for them. Someone not in your every day life. It’s a neat assignment, if you were to try to do it.

This year, there is a lot to be grateful for, but I’ll say that I’m grateful for the ability to step outside my house and onto the sidewalk or into any shop, where I’m bound to run into a friend who I haven’t seen in real life for a while. Usually it changes the day for the better, or helps reshape how I was thinking about something, and I’m grateful for those moments.

What or who are you thankful for?

PS: The photo in this blog post was taken inside of the shop Raven Rose on Main Street on the east end of town near the mountain. The owner, Courtney, always has the prettiest windows and unusual flower selections for a wild bouquet, including several tall dried flowers. I’m thankful for those snippets of beauty.