Sure, I have a bunch of 1000-word essays to grade, poems to comment on, and two articles waiting to be finished. But I wanted to check in again…

Yesterday we had a pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving dinner, because my little brother was in town this weekend, and Thanksgiving dinner is much better with at least one family member. Glenn did all of the cooking – brussel sprouts sauteed in orange juice with pine nuts, delicata squash stuffed with cranberries and pine nuts, cornbread stuffing with dried cranberries, onions, and pinenuts (There was a theme!) and a turkey leg and turkey breast. Oh, and store-bought sweet potato pie, which was pretty good. I felt thankful for Glenn and his excellent cooking, my little brother, who, besides having a bad cold, seemed to be experiencing good things in his life, and for little seals in La Jolla that we visited beforehand, even though it was a bit chilly (in the sixties!) After dinner, we went for a walk at the outdoor mall which had palm trees with Christmas lights beside the koi pond and topiary surfing reindeer. How seasonal can you get? I spent the night singing “Feliz Navidad.”

Now we can relax on real Thanksgiving! Enjoy it, all!