Turned a news channel on this morning after not having it on for over a week. It was a good respite and I highly recommend it.

What I saw today were media folks trying to fill the air waves with clips of crowded highways and airports and all kinds of advice for shopping and cooking turkeys.

I highly recommend faux. Get together when you can. Celebrate when you can. Cook and eat when you can.

We had such a good time that only today when I tried to sort through the pictures did I notice that they are all about food and furries and cannot possibly be sorted into any coherent order. So just deal with it.

Company!

Finding comfortable spots at 1880.

Katherine sent a puzzle for us to work on, which we did while binge-watching the GBBS.

A walk in the woods

On to Burgerville. The November specials were waffle fries, spicy milkshake, and a blue cheese bacon burger.

And somewhere in there, we made it to Trader Joe’s for Elizabeth to stock up. No TJ’s in Montana. And to La Margarita for lunch.

Several desserts were made from home grown pumpkins from Montana.

Pye was happy to lick the whipped cream bowl.

Dinner by the fire:

“Christmas” breakfast was a Dutch Baby after exchanging lots of presents. And, of course, following a long-standing tradition, listening to Johnny Mathes’ Christmas album.

All back to normal here at 1880 today. Just got a text that the Montana crew is safely back home now.

Where, you may ask, was Dolly in all of this? She came downstairs from time to time; evaluated the situation; and went right back up to our bed. She may look like a dumb labradoodle, but discretion is the greater part of valor when there’s so much company downstairs.

I saved a piece of pie, a piece of cake, plenty of cream to whip, and a chocolate turkey to eat tomorrow on actual Thanksgiving. And there’s a KC game for Joannie and me to watch simultaneously though not together.

This may not be the way most people celebrate. Frankly, I think they probably should.

It’s funny to think of this old body as a treasure, but it’s certainly the most precious gift I’ll ever own. But in a little more than a year, it and I will be entering our ninth decade. Hard to believe when inside I feel eighteen.

I was thinking today, that it’s bit of a chore to maintain this body Sort of like a vintage car for which you can no longer buy parts at Auto Zone. So you look for parts in all sorts of places. Or, in the case of a human body, maybe in the clinic of all sorts of medical specialists.

With a newer model, you just get gas and have the oil changed and the tires checked now and again. You might even give some thought to trading it in when the warranty has expired.

But a vintage car and an old human body deserve special attention. If you want them to keep on keeping on. Nowadays, although I am in pretty good shape for someone in my age group, I have all these specialists who advise me regarding whatever their particular specialities happen to be. One knows about bones. One about kidneys. One about rheumatoid disorders. One about pain management. One about skin. One about vision. One about hearing.

I’m going to be needing some new parts pretty soon.