Yes I'm Still on Thanksgiving Because the House Isn't Decorated Enough to Show You Pictures of That

Klunk and I got a little impatient waiting for the sides to be reheated in the microwave.

This was the first time I've gone to one of my children's places for a holiday, and it went really well.  Even driving through Atlanta went smoothly.  

And Hannah and Briton put down their phones long enough to take a family picture with mine.  (Note Klunk still eyeing the food on the table.)

Modern Day Thanksgivings

Am I right?

This Year

My new Nativity for this year has arrived:

 

Yes, I will take down the photo behind it when I begin decorating in earnest.  I just couldn't wait to get it on the mantel.  This one is going to be one of my favorites.

Silliness

These socks were on sale, and I had a coupon code for the site, so

I now own Knitters' Hunk socks, thankyouverymuch.

The Past

One of my cousins (not the one who sent me the unfinished sweater, though from the same side of the family) sent me a history book of my father's.  What her mom (Daddy's sister) was doing with it, I don't know, but it's been fun looking through it.

Let's study our presidents.

 

And Buffalo Bill.  (?)

Constitution and Declaration of Independence --- check.

And in the "Teenagers Never Change" category:

A Lesson

Well, you talk about not having pictures, and bam, you get an opportunity to take pictures.

This is me at the dentist today.  For several weeks, I've had a painful back tooth, which I initially attributed to Life causing me to grind my teeth more than usual.  Over the weekend, though, it began to give me trouble when I ate or drank anything cold (my dear Dr Pepper!).  It got to the point yesterday that I figured I'd better call and have someone look at it.

Long exam short, that back tooth has four cracks in it.  I'll be going back in two weeks to have a temporary crown put on.  Twinnie, we match one more time!

When I left the office, I saw this license plate on a car in the parking lot:

Daddy had a plate exactly like this one on his car.  It gave me the same feeling I get when I see a feather: that he's here, whispering in my ear, "Baby Doll, everything's gonna work out."

Plain Jane

Don't fret;  I understand that my recent posts have been largely unillustrated.  That's 'cause there's nothing particularly photogenic going on around here.  I've been watching the impeachment hearing and knitting.  Tap has been around, the cats have been sleeping, and that's about it.

Open Book

I tend not to think of myself as well known.  As in, it doesn't cross my mind that many people know a lot about me.  Yet my experiences prove over and over that I am wrong.

If someone sees cowboy boots, they say they think of me.

If someone sees (or hears) the Bee Gees, they say they think of me.

(When Barry Gibb showed up as a surprise on "Saturday Night Live," I thought my Facebook feed was going to be crushed under all the notifications.)

If someone sees something about knitting, they say they think of me.

If someone sees Abraham Lincoln, they say they think of me.

If someone sees Hugh Laurie, they say they think of me.

Same with Robert Redford.

And the Marx Brothers.

And lions.

And Vanderbilt.

Today, I've been inundated with messages about this little guy, who seems to have made a Disney+ appearance.

And I can't argue with any of them.

'Round Here

The HVAC man had to come to the house twice yesterday before the heat was repaired.  I had to put on two sweatshirts and three pairs of socks to stay warm in between.  I took knit blankets to Madeleine and Riley to curl up in.  Tap stayed piled almost on top of me the entire time.  

Thankfully, all that was dealt with yesterday, as today has been wet and sort of messy.  The heater is in the crawlspace under the house, and I don't like putting people through stuff like that.  I won't order food for delivery if the weather's iffy, because I don't want the delivery people to have to get out in bad weather.  Growing up, I always argued against my parents and me going out to eat on Thanksgiving because it wasn't fair to make restaurant staff work on a holiday.

Knitwise, some of you may remember that quite a while back, one of my cousins sent me an in-progress sweater from one of her friends and asked me to finish it.  It had been begun by the friend's mother before she died, and the friend wanted the sweater completed.  I wasn't able to finish it because I ran out of yarn, and discovered that the yarn the mom had been using had been discontinued.  Evidently, the friend found more yarn, and Dixie (my cousin) asked me to take it on once again, so I'm working on that now.  Because of two people working on it at vastly different times, and the issue of the discontinued yarn, the back of the sweater will have a contrasting ribbing, while the sleeves and the front will not.  Again, let's call that "a design element."  Perhaps even a "new trend" in knitting?

We Need a Franchise Here, Frankly

Twinnie wondered if Hannah and I had any IKEA meatballs.  We walked in the store fou minutes after it opened, so I'm not sure that any meatballs were available.  Besides, we had both eaten a Sublime doughnut before we left her apartment.  Trust me here --- if you have a doughnut from Sublime, you want to hold on to that taste and that memory for as long as possible.

As the first truly winter blast has rolled in, my heat isn't performing very robustly.  Thankfully, I've been able to secure an early morning appointment for tomorrow.

Oh, and I've received a jury duty summons.

Let's think about those doughnuts some more, what do you say?

Out and About

Well, I have now been to an IKEA.

(Don't worry --- this was taken at a stoplight.  I wasn't actively driving.)

  Thankfully, Hannah looked up exactly where what she wanted was, so we were in and out fairly quickly.  We only visited the warehouse part, not the showroom.  We actually spent more time looking at Christmas decorations and toys than picking up her stuff.  I fell particularly in love with these:

From there on to Target, where I saw something I've never seen in my 30+ years of living in Georgia:

Crossing my fingers that someone will have a chance to use these this Winter.

Plenty of Room on the Floor

Spent yesterday in Atlanta, trying to get Hannah settled in a new apartment.  There was unloading and unpacking boxes, and a trip to the grocery store, and lots of waiting around for a furniture shipment IKEA evidently had no interest in making.

So, there was lots of waiting around and sitting on the floor and basking in Klunk's attention.  Nellie preferred the quiet of Hannah's closet.

Wrap-Up

Over the weekend, I got a lot of little things done.  Ever do that?  Tacked down a stubborn edge on a shawl, used lots of leftover yarn to make bath mitts and Christmas decorations and toys (for humans and pets), finished one book and began another, cleaned out a closet, loaded things up for Goodwill, made some items for the etsy store.  Individually, tiny jobs, but taken all together, they chewed through my weekend time, yet left tangible proof of accomplishment.

In other news, Tap got a new toy.  For those of you who have already seen this on Facebook, sorry.  The spider is so freakin' cute, and Tap is so unsure.

Look What I Found

Last night, I came across a forgotten cache of photos on my phone.  Let's review a few, shall we?

There was that time I started taking cello lessons, only to have my cello break when it fell (literally) victim to a cat race.

\

Sometimes, it really does snow (and ice) in Athens.

If snow and ice aren't special enough for you, how about the time two of my worlds collided and my best friend Shari and I spent time with awfully special friend Bridget in Philadelphia?

Dear, darling Rupert.  He's been gone a year.

Dear, darling Hannah.

My face mask of Katharine Hepburn (for whom Hannah is middle-named.)

Mama and Daddy, one year at Christmas at my grandparents', when someone decided pictures of everyone were needed.