A man and woman on a sandy beach as ocean waves roll in. Text reads "Thanksgiving at Long Beach."

Top Ten Tuesday  Things I’m Thankful For


Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Here’s how it works: Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic for each Tuesday. If you check this link, you’ll find she’s assigned topics for several future weeks so you can plan ahead. She adds, “create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list . . . Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you!”

Each week Jana posts a Linky on her blog where you can (if you want) share a link to your post and check out other bloggers’ posts.


Since this week’s Thursday is Thanksgiving in the U.S., our topic this week is Thankful Freebie.

Ever since my husband and I retired to the coast of Washington, where our daughter was already living, the three of us have spent Thanksgiving week at a beautiful spot in our state. For the last several years, that beautiful spot has been Long Beach, a bit down the coast from Tacoma.

On the right: a small map of Washington State with Pacific County, where Long Beach is located, highlighted in red on the coast (about two-thirds of the way down between the state's northern and southern borders. On the left: a cutout of Pacific County with the city of Long Beach highlighted in red near the southern end of Long Beach Peninsula.
(image from Wikipedia)

Long Beach is so named because of its location on Long Beach Peninsula. And  Long Beach Peninsula is so named because it features a continuous 28-mile-long sand beach on its ocean side, “claimed to be the longest beach in the United States,” according to Wikipedia.

Map of Long Beach Peninsula on the coast of Washington State, just north of the Columbia River (which separates Washington and Oregon).
(image from Wikipedia)

Having looked over photos from our most recent visits to Long Beach, I realized many things I’m thankful for at this time of year:

1. My family

2. Our ability to purchase and enjoy good food . . .

3. . . . and good wine

Dinner on the table: a roasted turkey in the middle, flanked by a bowl of mashed potatoes, a bowl of gravy and a glass of red wine on the left; two glasses of white wine, a bowl of brussels sprouts, and a bowl of cranberry compote on the right.

4. The incredible beauty of nature here in the Pacific Northwest

5. Good health that allows us to travel to and enjoy such places

6. The opportunity to relax

Two wooden plaques handing on a beige well. Top, rectangular plaque reads "BEACH." A square plaque beneath it reads "BEACH RULES: relax, unwind, enjoy."

7. Good books

Two women relaxing on a couch, with their feet on the coffee table. Both are reading books (The Witch Elm by Tana French of the left, Sleeping Beauties by Stephen and Owen King on the right) that obscure their faces. They are both wearing socks that say "If you can read this" on one foot, "Please bring me wine" on the other.
(also see #3)

If the weather cooperates, this year we hope to visit Cape Disappointment State Park and Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, the western end of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, near the southern end of Long Beach Peninsula.

I’m bringing along a stack of books in case the weather doesn’t cooperate. But, to tell the truth, watching a storm as the waves roll in can be a spectacular experience in itself.

© 2022 by Mary Daniels Brown

2 thoughts on “Top Ten Tuesday  Things I’m Thankful For”

  1. A wonderful list Mary and though in the U.K. we don’t mark Thanksgiving, there are still many if your items thst coukd have made it to my list. Love those socks!

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