With Thanksgiving tomorrow here in the United States, I wanted to start today’s post by listing some of the things I am thankful for…

I’m thankful for  my family for putting up with the time I spend in the shop and on the computer running the blog.

I’m thankful for the folks at Eagle America, for giving me the support and setting me up with some sweet tools.

I’m thankful for the fact that y’all didn’t laugh me off the blog when I cut my finger with the hedge trimmers back in May:

I’m thankful for the folks at Bell Forest Products, for your support and the wood… the beautiful, beautiful wood!

I’m thankful for having met the Wood Whisperer, Marc Spagnuolo, and for him helping me get this blog off the ground more than three years ago… and for still standing behind me – and so many other bloggers bringing you high quality woodworking content.  Special thanks also  go to his wife Nicole who helps to make the Wood Whisperer a great community.

Thank you to Matt, Shannon, Kari and the rest of the folks who make Wood Talk Online so much damned fun to listen to.  Heck, Roberto, I’m thankful for your interesting phone calls!

I’m thankful for talented woodworkers like Mike Siemsen, Jim Heavey and Gail O’Rourke (there are dozens more) who have taken the time to help me figure out some woodworking head scratchers.

I’m thankful for all of the woodworkers I met at the Woodworking Show in Tampa back in March and the Woodworking in America conference held in Cincinnati back in October. My eyes were opened to the incredible talent, humor and knowledge possessed by the folks out there building in their basements, garages and dedicated shops.

I’m thankful that my niece didn’t just laugh at me for building her something without an LCD touch screen and 4G connectivity for her 16th birthday:

I’m thankful for Wood Magazine, for your continued support and helping the legend of the Shop Monkey grow.

I’m thankful for talented tool makers like Ron Hock, the folks at Lie Nielsen, Veritas, Festool and so many other companies for creating quality tools so woodworkers can build their creation.

I’m thankful for my friend Paul, who showed me what patience was all about as we figured out how to build that huge home office system and disrupted the harmonious flow of his home while we installed it.

And, most importantly, I’m thankful for  each of you for stopping by Tom’s Workbench and taking a look at what I’m up to.  By the way, the entire crew of Tom’s Workbench – Me, my wife Rhonda and my two sons Dominic and Steven, have a message for each of you:

Now that we are officially in the holiday season, I guess I need to tell you that I was given excused duty this year for building holiday gifts.  That’s right, no cutting boards, no wine racks… Nothing.  After a few seasons of racing to beat the clock, Rhonda took some pity on me and said I had the year off.  I have a few projects on the table, though, so I plan on getting a little time in the shop after the big feast.

As I raise my glass tomorrow to toast the family members at the table, know that I’ll be raising one for you as well – the members of the Tom’s Workbench family.