By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Some reasons to be grateful this Thanksgiving:

One. Stuffing! Stuffing alone would make the Thanksgiving Day meal my favorite of the year. But at our house there’s a bonus — pumpkin pie.

Two. A leaky dishwasher. Our 14-year-old Maytag dribbled water onto the kitchen floor and through it to the ceiling of my office below. Why am I grateful? Because the old dishwasher gave up the ghost three weeks ago, and not on the day before Thanksgiving.

Three. Rain. Lots of good rain last week, enough to turn the California hills green for the holidays.

Four. Wrestling with God: Stories of Doubt and Faith. The manuscript is finished. My editor at Patheos Press has edited it. Religion writer Don Lattin (Distilled Spirits, The Harvard Psychedelic Club) has written the foreword. And the publication date is set: Feb. 3, 2015.

Five. Friends and family. So many people have loved me over the years, some of them are alive today, some not.

Six. You. Yes, you dear reader. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t get to chatter away every week, happy in the knowledge that somebody, somewhere is taking me seriously.

Seven. More stuffing! I’m going to have seconds. Thirds, if no one is looking.

To see what a California drought can look like, go to “For Wetter, For Drier, I’m Married to California.”  My 2012 thanksgivings are at “I’m Thankful for a Clean Oven, Fresh Ice Cubes . . . and a Daughter-in-Law to Be.”