In happier news, last year's British Baking Show is on Netflix, so I can watch quirky British people while I knit and/or read fics. Tomorrow is eBay shipping, maybe buying Christmas presents (gift certs from a restaurant I think my recipients will like), and then more digging out the house. But the sun should be out.

I had an excellent day - dropped Walter off at Mom and Dad's while we went to the 5k, watched the Little Turkeys 100-yard dash (kid's "race" with a turkey mascot, totes adorable), ran (and walked) my very slow 5k (but since just two days ago I as dragging my ass in to work and thinking that was a mistake, I'll take it as a win for finishing without being totally wiped out), enjoyed the post-race treats including pumpkin pie and pumpkin It's-Its, watched some of The Hobbit while we did our food prep and discussed which parts were canonical, got all our food hot at the same time, ate just slightly too much, divvied up the leftovers, successfully covered the vegan pumpkin pie in coconut foam, discussed where we will go backpacking next year and what all we need to do in the meantime, and got home. Now my DVR is refusing to work so I can't watch Elementary, but that's really my only complaint.

Well, I'm tired, but that's hardly a complaint.

Next Thanksgiving I'm going to Aruba. Alone.

Nice!

Tell your dad the biggest gangsters have ties and briefcases, Tep.

Yes, as through this world I've wandered
I've seen lots of funny men
Some will rob you with a six-gun,
Others with a fountain pen.

And as through your life you travel,
Yes, as through your life you roam,
You won't never see an outlaw
drive a family from their home.

Since my dad's family had their yearly get-together for my Aunt and Uncle's 50th anniversary this year, and my Mom's family was having Thanksgiving at an in-law's in Mississippi, Mom, Dad, and I went out to Dixie Cafe mid-afternoon for our big meal. SO FULL of turkey & dressing now, I was only able to eat a side of mac & cheese for dinner.

I took some turkey cat food out to Smeagol, the big Tom who may have fathered one of my cats, and one by one all the other local alley cats showed up and sent me running for more cans. Even Kate Gosselin and her one little gray kitten showed up and got in on the act.

I made monkey bread, ran a race real fast, then hung out with my friend M all day--we went to a fancy vegetarian restaurant for lunch, and then came back to my place and I made more food. We got super caught up in a "naked and afraid" marathon for some reason. And our friend S came over late and we caught up and bitched about love lives and S enjoyed the green beans. But so far I've had the only piece of pie. So much pie still to eat. Oh dear.

Mom and I cooked and entertwined my nephew. My dad came over about a couple hours before we ate. My brother and his gf showed up 20 minutes before we ate. We ate. Mostly talked swim team stuff...for nephew...then they left.

I was frustrated with my brother but didn't show it. Every holiday and get together mom and I cook.in the past my brother has disappeared 5 or 10 minutes before time to eat and sated MIA for most the meal. His gf goes to her family on xmas (only child rarely sees her family ) but I told Mom that for xmas my brother and dad should be in charge of the food.

I'm thankful to be with my family but I wish the guys would do more.

Oh and there are only a few pictures I toik. No one takes pictures anymore either. Which depresses me for some reason.

In the Christmas gift name grab, I got my cousin who's a freshman in college. Next year, he's living in a house, so I'm thinking basic kitchen stuff? A bowl, a measuring cup, tongs, like that. That makes sense, right? I should just ask his mother.

Sister-in-law wanted to go to Golden Corral for Thanksgiving dinner. It's her first Thanksgiving with the family in some years, and she's in very poor health. So seven of us went to Golden Corral (me, Hubs, Sister-in-Law, Brother-in-Law (as in, brother to Hubs and Sister-in-Law), Sister-in-Law's 30-something daughter, and Brother-in-Law's two teenage kids.

It went pretty well. The wait to get a table wasn't too long. The food was adequate-to-good, except there weren't any baked beans (and I was able to ignore the completely-outside-Thanksgiving-tradition foods like pizza). Hyper-libertarian niece made no outrageous statements and only one questionable remark. Extremely religious nephew doesn't make outrageous remarks, so I felt more tolerant amusement for the big cross on the chain around his neck than anything else.

I'm at work today. Two of us are here out of a division of 16 people. Neither supervisor is here.

In other matters, Jesse, what's your budget? Back when a wedding shower meant the couple needed just about everything for housekeeping, my mother's go-to gift was a kitchen trash can filled with little things that people wouldn't normally think of -- a potato peeler, measuring spoons, that sort of thing.