Another Thanksgiving weekend comes to an end for millions of Americans (I had three of four days off, having had to work on Friday), a time (in theory, anyway) to take stock of one's life and feel grateful for what you have. And I do have a lot to be grateful for - family, friends, lifestyle etc. Overall it's been a good year so far, though 2017 has been marred by two unfortunate occurrences. The lesser of the two was my not being promoted this time around, despite being the recipient of three performance-related awards at work and filling in very capably (or so I was told) while my supervisor was away from the section for several lengthy periods of time.
The other and more significant of the two was the death of my mother at Easter. Her passing wasn't unexpected and is part of the natural order of things, but still cast a dark shadow over subsequent activities. But life goes on no matter what, so I should appreciate what I have now in case it all vanishes tomorrow.
So here's wishing that all my American family, friends and acquaintances had a Happy Thanksgiving (and a belated seasonal greeting to my Canadian friends), and hoping this post finds everyone I know (regardless of nationality) doing well.
And now a few photographs from the past week...
A Monday evening view of the Žaliasis Bridge and the northern bank of the Neris River:
Celebrating victory in the Tuesday night trivia contest at Būsi Trečias. My most important contribution to the team effort was filling in the blank with the correct answer to the musical question "Is This the Way to (blank)"*:
On Thursday my daughter and I had lunch at the British Cafe, which was British only in the sense of interior decoration. The food was more, um, local. At least I got to catch up on the news from last February:
Amber beams after doing some Christmas shopping at Lino Namai:
Giving ourselves a post-shopping treat at Holy Donut:
Our Thanksgiving turkey. This was the first time in several years that we had dinner at home on Thanksgiving Day. Considering all the leftovers afterward, it'll probably be several more years before we do so again (and a special thanks to my wife for both the bird and the homemade cranberry sauce):
Old Town sheathed in fog on Saturday morning:
In the afternoon I took my daughter past Trakai to the Strėva green trail. A wedding party either on their way to the ceremony or coming back from it stopped in the parking lot for a smoke break:
It was a fog-shrouded walk along the shores of Lake Stanka:
For dinner on Saturday evening, Amber, Shu-E and I took a break from leftover turkey to enjoy the seafood on offer at Žuvinė, located in the rear of the Town Hall building. In my case that meant scallops, Atlantic cod and mussels:
St. Casimir's Church on a Saturday evening:
The former town hall:
Sunday was a quiet day. Shopping with the family was followed by a solo walk around New Town and Šnipiškės. Felix, a name you can trust when it comes to chicken:
Lukiškės Square was known as Lenin Square during the Soviet occupation period, during which time it was "graced" with a statue of you-know-who (now found in Grūtas Park, minus its right thumb). Five designs are now being considered for the refurbished square, which passersby can check out for themselves:
A Thanksgiving classic:
* Amarillo
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