Wednesday, November 25, 2009

We Gather Together...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! November has been quite a month around here. We had some rather major renovations done to the front of our house that include a new front porch, sidewalk and stairs down to our driveway along with the rebuilding of two portions of our stone wall, which were previously falling into the driveway. What a major improvement! I'd post some pics here but I've lost the charger cord for my digital camera and it's DOA. Imagine gray-ish cobblestones. However, in a stroke of modern trickery, it's actually stamped concrete. Have you HEARD of all the stuff you can do with cement these days? Well, I'll be honest. I had no idea! My dad said he's never seen it before. I said, yes, you have, you just didn't realize it was cement and not stone. It's quite cool and it's taken our front yard from hideous to fabulous! In the midst, there was jackhammering, digging, big machines, oh, and construction workers. Lots and lots of construction workers. One of them reminded me of a lesser version of Alec Baldwin and then he bent over and showed me his vertical smile. Okay. Yuck.

While my house was being jackhammered to within an inch of its life, I who never leave the house, somehow managed to get the flu. My family and I got the seasonal flu mist on a Friday and I was sick by Sunday. Coincidence? I say not! Of course I was the only one who actually got sick—no surprise there—and was I ever sick! Seven straight days of 101 fevers, a hideous cough, and an appetite that wouldn't quit. Can you stand it? Most people get the flu and can't eat a thing. I get the flu and I'm ravenously hungry. Where's the JUSTICE? It's not fair, I tell you. Not one bit fair!

In other news, today is my lovely nephew Jesse's 14th birthday. Jesse is a great kid, a wonderful student, and a talented film-maker and skateboarder. Happy, happy birthday to Jesse!

Now, I took the day off today so I could work in the kitchen all day. On the docket are two pumpkin breads, stuffing, green bean casserole, peeling and prepping 15 lbs of potatoes, and hitting the grocery store one last time for the final items. My dad is coming at 6 to help me prep the 26 lb turkey because I can't bear to touch the thing when it's not cooked. ICK! Since my dad loves turkey more than life itself, I bribed him into doing the dirty work for me this year with promises of dinner tonight. Now I have to think of something to make! Maybe chili...

On a final note, I'm grateful to all my blog readers who come by even when I'm on an extended hiatus, who email me just to say hello, and to all of you who've bought my books and taken the time to tell me you loved them, you'll never know how much you mean to me! Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!