Best Of

We had a good family meal yesterday. DS makes the turkey and stuffing while DDIL makes amazing mashed potatoes. Her mother brought string bean casserole and pumpkin pie (from Costco, yum). I brought the pineapple casserole and the candied sweets (made from scratch) and they were a hit. I also made up a platter of assorted cheeses, dried apricots and dates, fig jam on the Brie (delicious), and almonds. I had multigrain crackers, and DDIL added club crackers. It was good. I also get delegated the chore of making gravy and I now know not to try to make it in the electric roaster because it would not thicken. Once we put it in a regular saucepan on the stove, it thickened quickly.

It was nice that both sided of DS and DDIL's family could get together. We enjoy her parents and being an only child, that's all the family she has. My DD and DSIL also came and they brought the wine and an apple pie.

Today I have lots of errands to run. I made an appointment to get my tDap updated because it expired in August. I have to pay for the luminarias that we purchased to take part in the annual Christmas ritual in our neighborhood. Two women organize the purchase of plumber's candles and white paper bags and a local landscaper donates the sand for the bags. The majority of the neighbors line the street and sometimes their driveways on Christmas eve at dusk. we usually take a ride around the neighborhood to see them lit. It is such a pretty tradition.

Lastly, is a run to the pulmonologist office to pick up a different mask to try. The one they gave me to wear is doing a job on the bridge of my nose. It remains reddened for the entire day and gets worse each day. Plus it makes my nose tender. I tried a band-aid as she suggested, but the adhesive is doing damage to my face. I guess we'll figure out a plan on Tuesday when I see her.

cindyny, I imagine your blood sugar might be a bit elevated after all those carbs yesterday, but should return to normal soon.

canarycat, glad everything turned out to be good for you.

reader425, lovely baked goods. Were they blonde brownies? I love them and had a friend in high school who made them the best. I have never been able to duplicate her efforts.

Chris, poor Tippy having arthritis. I like the "buttons" story. I am sure your cold weather gets to his bones as well. I know the cold gets to mine.

intolight, I second Chris with "you have paid your dues". I find that as I age, my mental energy exceeds my physical energy and after all the cooking I did yesterday morning, I didn't offer to help with the cleanup after dinner. I usually do, but my back was kicking up, so I sat. Normally, I offer to wash dishes.

I do hope everyone had a peaceful and enjoyable Thanksgiving. Today is bitterly cold, barely above freezing, but sunny. There is a good breeze so I am sure the cold will be penetrating. I hope everyone has a great day and waving "hi" to everyone.

Waving Hello to everyone. I've been reading but not commenting too much. I've had a lot of ordinary days, cleaning and shredding in my office and cooking more than usual ( taking meal to new mom at church, baking for a few events). I do think I've cooked more since moving south than I ever did when we lived in DC! I don't generally mind, as I like to cook.

Pies were my contribution to family dinner today, and brownies for the littles. I hope everyone had a good day and has a good weekend ahead.

I hope all of us in the US had a happy Thanksgiving.

We gathered with our neighbors and had a great feast. I’m overstuffed.

Fasting for bloodwork tomorrow morning. I hope all this food in me doesn’t throw off results. We’ll see.

Thanksgiving is really a holiday that allows us all, if only for a day, to stop what we're doing and consider the wonderful people in our lives and the opportunities we have, and have had.

Trish Regan

AAA Light! You have paid your dues. Enjoy, and be grateful that you have family willing to do the cooking.

My alarm clock for HOH people has a light bar on top, so I can use that. I have too many sleep problems to use my bedroom for much more than sleeping and getting dressed.

I am SOOO thankful. A year ago, I gave Tippy a bath, and after doing his zoomies, he sat howling like a dying wolf for about five minutes. It was quite cold and dry, and I decided it was triggering arthritic pain. I decided then that we needed buttons, so I bought them for Christmas. I have been giving him aspirin ever since. He has been complaining about pain a lot. Then I thought it was a tooth. So, about a week ago I gave him some tuna loaf crusted on aluminum. I realized then that he was eating some foil, so I gave him some laxative to make sure it did not settle in his innards. Day before yesterday he pooped out a needle with a bit of sewing thread at the end. He must have rolled on the carpet, and the needle had stabbed him. Then it migrated into his digestive tract. It could have gone into other places, too, and killed him.

I no longer have to wear that hard plastic brace. Freedom! I still have exercises to do, though. And food to cook, and all sorts of stuff.

Happy thanksgiving to one and all. I will be making candied sweet potatoes, charcuterie board, and pineapple casserole as my contribution to DS's dinner today. It should be a fun day with the whole family there.

DH and DSIL worked in attic yesterday to lay boards so they could access the controller that needed to be replaced. It controls the pot lights above my bed and it has been "iffy" for months. DH is a procrastinator and uses weather frequently as his excuse to delay working. First it was "too hot" up there and then he was trying the I have leaves to get up. Well, the leaves were wet from rain and were going nowhere, so I put my foot down because his next excuse would be that it is too cold to work up there. So I call him my seasonal procrastinator. They replaced the controller, so last night I was actually able to read in bed and then just switch out the lights using the control panel next to my bed, rather than using a flashlight as I have been doing. DH wanted to install these controllers for all our switches and while I do like them, when the controller blows, he complains because some are not easily accessible. You'd have thought he would have worked that out when he installed them? The advantage is I can control multiple lighting zones from one switch plate with buttons, rather than a bank of individual switches.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day. It will be crisp and cold here. Finally the sun is trying to peak through, but it feels like the 30's with breezes to really pick up later. Waving "hi" to everyone.