Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

I’m just a talker, trying to find a channel!

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Republicans don’t trust women.

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

Pelosi: “He either is stupid, or he thinks the rest of us are.” Why not both?

Fuck that bum, let’s go Joe!

Please don’t feed the bears.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Nikki Haley, who can’t acknowledge ‘slavery’, is a pathetic shill.

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

Shut up, hissy kitty!

Everybody saw this coming.

Motown is Joe-Town!

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

Can we lighten up on the doomsday scenarios?

You are here: Home / Open Threads / The Day After Open Thread

The Day After Open Thread

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Writers, question – would you like a post on Sunday or wait a week? I have a nice guest piece to share.

Kept it low key this year, yet there was still a ton of food.

We finished off the day with a short walk around the ponds at sunset. It was 70 degrees here yesterday.

What’s on your plate for today…besides leftovers?

Reader Interactions

192Comments

  4. 4.

    Jim Bales

    We have three families that have shared Thanksgiving together for over a decade. A few years ago, as appetizers, one family brought an artichoke dip and another family brought a lasagna dip. These were so good that everyone filled up on dip before dinner was served.

    Dips were banned from Thanksgiving, leading to the new tradition. The Friday After Thanksgiving is now “Dip Day”.

    Even more families are invited to Dip Day because you don’t need a table to sit everyone around :-)

    There are kids playing in the yard, various boardgames, card games, and video games, and, of course, the dip day movie. This year’s Dip Day movie will be “Galaxy Quest”.

    I urge everyone to embrace the tradition of “Dip Day” as an alternative to insane shopping.

    Best,
    Jim

  5. 5.

    OzarkHillbilly

    What’s on your plate for today…

    Let’s see… Making chili and cornbread for my son and his fellow backpackers who we are meeting tomorrow at the app halfway point of the Blair Creek section of the Ozark Trail. (i guess I should pick up some beer for them too) Mixing and pouring some concrete around the replacement mail box post that my wife ran over after it jumped out in front of her. Setting a few more landscape timbers. Getting everything packed up and ready for the jaunt to Shannon Co. Changing the oil and battery on the truck.

    Hmmm… What am I forgetting?

  11. 11.

    Steeplejack

    I’m putzing around in a bit of a fog. My internal calendar has been thrown off, and part of me wants to know why there’s no Premier League soccer followed by A.M. Joy on the TV.

    Dip day sounds good. I was going to do a spinach and artichoke heart casserole for Thanksgiving, but that could be easily redesigned as a dip. And I feel more like snacking than dining this weekend anyway.

    If I get super motivated I might put on long pants and go to the deli to get a pastrami on toasted rye with Russian dressing. But even typing that makes it seem like too much effort.

    Black Friday shopping is right out. Unless on line, of course.

  13. 13.

    WaterGirl

    I am on the Amtrak train, heading home from Thanksgiving at my niece’s house. I had planned to give thanks to Robert Mueller as we made our way around the table, but at least half the people were in tears, thankful for their time with beloved Amstel who died badly earlier this year, so it didn’t seen appropriate. Especially since I was included in the “tears” group. Amstel was one of the best dogs ever.

    Not so thankful today for their kitty. I packed up my suitcase last night, placing my clothes for today along side the suitcase, along with my coat, mittens, purse, and the clothes I was going to wear. At about midnight I went searching for my toothbrush, only to find that half of my calf-length down coat was soaked. “oh no!”, I said, thinking that a water bottle had leaked out on my coat.

    If only! The kitty had peed a bucket – on my down coat, mittens, purse, etc. Even the pockets were soaked, along with everything in them. So there I was at midnight, washing the down coat and everything else – I had to wash them twice – and then dry everything in the dryer. It took hours and hours to dry my down coat, so I was up until 4:30 am and then had to get up at 5:30 am for the train.

    I can say that I am truly grateful that the flood of pee missed my MacBook air, my iPad air and my phone, along with my actual suitcase and everything in it. And so grateful that I didn’t find it all this morning! I can’t even imagine what I would have done.

    Should be home in a couple of hours, looking forward to seeing all my guys.

  17. 17.

    schrodingers_cat

    Had a low key Thanksgiving myself. No turkey, made a spicy mussels and pan fried cod, (coated with rice flour and semolina and abunch of spices), roasted okra on the side. All served with basmati rice. We saw “Rang De Basanti“, which was on the list of movies to see for a long time.

  18. 18.

    Fair Economist

    My son said he was dying to go to the Black Friday sales (buying thing gets him excited but we’ve always been traveling). But the morning is half over and he’s still asleep.

  21. 21.

    laura

    I’m rolling out of bed to haul a feast to my dad’s and stop in for a drive by of some friends and children of friends home from college. Weather-wise, it’s a good day for traveling.
    Dip Day sounds intriguing.
    Tomorrow will be gift making including linoleum cut prints and sewing small items.
    This long weekend is a welcome gift.

  22. 22.

    Suzanne

    @schrodingers_cat: Things are okay. Elder Spawn was with us for Thanksgiving this year (ex-Mr.-Suzanne and I have to trade off the holidays in the typical divorced-parents fashion), and we had a really nice day. She started getting anxious at one point during the day, so she went out for a walk. She backed out of being on the basketball team, which disappointed me, because I think physical exercise and making some new friends would be good for her. The meds appear to be working. She still doesn’t like her intensive outpatient program. Sigh. So…..things are definitely better. I am still emotionally exhausted.

  26. 26.

    Schlemazel

    @Jim Bales:
    I love that stupid movie
    By Grabthar’s hammer, by the suns of Worvan, you shall be avenged.

    I played Richard the III, there were 5 curtain calls dammit!

    Maybe you are the plucky comic relief!

  28. 28.

    WaterGirl

    @Amir Khalid: This is a very stand-offish kitty, so I just leave him be. Pretty sure this was not personal! Even if it felt personal as I had to put my hand in 5 different coat pockets, pulling out pee-soaked stuff.

    He is 2 years old and has never done anything like this. They gave him a new food yesterday and I’m thinking it might have been a reaction to that. I know my dog had a crazy flood of pee reaction to those rawhide bones many years ago, and this reminded me of that. No hard feelings toward the kitty, but I don’t think I’ll be keeping my suitcase on the floor next time, though that’s been my “spot” for years and years.

  29. 29.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @West of the Rockies (been a while): They are on their own for Tums. As far as the box fans, they’d better be pedal powered because we’re going to be a long way from an outlet. Which is OK, supposed to be mid 30’s tomorrow night anyway, perfect sleeping weather.

  31. 31.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    @Steeplejack:

    Do you wear shorts most of the time, Steeplejack? I do so much that I have talked about putting on “long pants” at which point someone will say, “They’re not long pants–they’re just pants!”

  33. 33.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Suzanne: I read your fashion quandary in the other post. If you wear button-down shirts, Talbots has a version, which has a little stretch and is 95% cotton, which I like, you can also wear cuff links with it, if you like.

  35. 35.

    Suzanne

    @schrodingers_cat: My boobs are too big for most Oxford-style shirts. What fits in the waist, sleeves, and shoulders leaves gapping across the chest. I like Talbots, though. I have one right down the street.

  36. 36.

    WaterGirl

    @Suzanne: Like midrif tops, the shoulder-less shirts are not for everyone. But everyone seems to wear them – no matter what the body shape or size, no matter how unflattering they are. If I were 25, maybe I would wear them, too.

  37. 37.

    Josie

    @Suzanne: I’m so glad to hear you say that. I went into a rant at a concert not long ago about the stupidity of those hole-in-the-shoulder blouses, and my son looked at me as if I were a crazy old lady or something. I feel better that a young person agrees with me.

  41. 41.

    Josie

    @WaterGirl: How awful. Many years ago, when my husband and I went on a long vacation, our kitty did that to our house sitter. Everything in his suitcase was soaked. Strangely, he never volunteered to house sit for us again.

  42. 42.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    @Suzanne

    I recall your griping about that yesterthread, thus my silly joke. Makes me almost miss Golden Girls 80’s giant shoulder pads…

    Almost.

  44. 44.

    Suzanne

    @Josie: I turn 38 in January. Not sure I count as a “younger person”. But you are very kind.

    @WaterGirl: I do not wear them! They look ridiculous to me. Like, if the weather is such that you need sleeves, then WTF are you doing without shoulders?!

    I am boring. Black, gray, white. Occasionally a graphic print. Occasionally pale pink or light blue. VEEEEERY rarely a pattern. Layers. No froufrou.

  46. 46.

    narya

    Tonight’s dinner will be butternut squash risotto with the leftover veggies and some wild turkey dark meat; today I have to pick up a race packet for tomorrow’s 5k and then go stock up on wine at my local store (big sale on everything). Tomorrow’s dinner will feature venison tenderloin and probably acorn squash and something something. Other than today’s errands and tomorrow’s race, and laundry at some point, there is a lot of nothing on the agenda, which is awesome.

    p.s. I have a picture of the stuff I made for yesterday’s meal (downstairs neighbor/friend made the turkey parts) if anyone’s interested!

  47. 47.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    Had a low key Thanksgiving sans parents due to this nasty cold – just the daughters showed up. Today is all about piles of leftovers and manhattans.

  49. 49.

    WaterGirl

    @Josie: Yeah, I agreed to feed a demon cat for friends. They warned me, but oh my god, they made these demonic sounds and would lunge for your legs and hang on by the class. It was in the middle of a hot, humid summer, but it only took one visit for me to learn to wear heavy blue jeans instead of shorts. That awful sound – they scared me so much that I started bringing my boyfriend with. Terrifying. Makes pee not seem so bad. But yeah, I only watched their kitties once.

  50. 50.

    WaterGirl

    @WaterGirl: hang on by the CLAWS, not CLASS. Hard typing on the train and nearly impossible to edit comments because you the internet goes in and out and you get “internet not available when editing”. Sorry about all the typos.

  51. 51.

    rikyrah

    Not doing much Black Friday shopping. Lucked out with a Flash Sale,last night, complete with free shipping on some hair products, which was what I really needed. Don’t really have much planned today.

  53. 53.

    WaterGirl

    @WereBear: So do you think the standoffish kitty’s feelings were hurt because I just leaver him alone? Or was it that I was the only visitor whose stuff wasn’t behind closed doors? Or maybe my coast smelled like my kitties/dogs?

    This kitty doesn’t like to be picked up by anyone and will claw people when they do. She had just gotten a “hug/stranglehold” from one of the kids who lives there shortly before the pee-storm. Maybe acting out because of that?

  55. 55.

    Suzanne

    In all seriousness, I’ve seen all of these retail apocalypse stories, and every time, I wonder who all of these people are who buy all this stuff. For example, Mr. Suzanne wants to buy a new TV, as the TV that he has set up for video games broke. This will be the first new-TV purchase in almost ten years. Yet, apparently there are people who buy new TVs every year? Like WTF? My house is, like, FULL of crap, and I want to own LESS CRAP. I just don’t understand who could possibly be purchasing all this shit.

  57. 57.

    Miss Bianca

    @Jim Bales: that sounds awesome, except I work in retail. Online retail, but still…no Dip Day for me (pout).

    Tell everyone to limit their shopping to online hardware retail, and you’ll have made me very happy! ; )

    ETA: Next week for writers post, please, TaMara. Heading down to New Mexico for the weekend.

  59. 59.

    Fair Economist

    @Suzanne:

    My house is, like, FULL of crap, and I want to own LESS CRAP

    That’s how I feel. I look at stuff and think “where would I put it?”

  60. 60.

    sheila in nc

    @WaterGirl: I just laugh when I see the shoulder-less styles. That strikes me as exactly the kind of thing that will be a short-term fad, completely unwearable in two years without looking silly. I get the same feeling about the wild prints on the leggings. Of course I’m getting older, so what do I know.

  61. 61.

    satby

    I’m just taking a small break from cleaning the house before my son gets here. I expected him early afternoon, but it will be closer to dinnertime, which I don’t mind because I can get a shower in and then start the turkey.

  62. 62.

    Suzanne

    @Fair Economist: My mom moved in with us about four years ago after some health problems, and she is a big packrat/clutter/retail therapy person. Nothing is more stressful to our relationship than that. To me, if you don’t have space—or you’re not willing to make space by getting rid of something—then you don’t buy it.

    That is apparently not a universal sentiment. And apparently I am controlling and need to relax, or so I have been told. The fact that I cannot relax in chaos is somehow overlooked.

  64. 64.

    Suzanne

    @sheila in nc:

    I get the same feeling about the wild prints on the leggings.

    Don’t get me started on that shit. Grown-ass women wearing the dorkiest fucking shit I have ever seen.

  65. 65.

    satby

    @Suzanne: just TRY to find some leggings in a solid color! Other than black anyway, which I seldom wear.
    You might be younger than the Coldwater Creek target market, but I just bought two shirts from them last week that had normal shoulders and decent colors.

  66. 66.

    WereBear

    @WaterGirl: She had just gotten a “hug/stranglehold” from one of the kids who lives there shortly before the pee-storm. Maybe acting out because of that?

    Could be: you treat her with “dignity” as she sees it, so you look like much more a friend.

    Cat Etiquette Rules

    If the household allows their children to override her boundaries this way, no wonder the cat is a bundle of nerves.

  67. 67.

    Fair Economist

    @Suzanne: I am painfully aware it’s not universal. Both my mother and husband buy and keep more than they need by far. At my mother’s most chairs and tables are covered with papers, magazines, and packages to the point that you have to clean up to sit down. She gets very frustrated when company comes over because she finds that very embarrassing but is not willing to throw out catalogs and stop buying stuff. My husband figures it’s fine if he can stack or pack it neatly and he is good at that but the problem with that is it becomes very difficult to find things. Sometimes we have to pull two layers of stuff off in the garage to get something and heaven forbid if nobody remembers where it is.

  69. 69.

    MomSense

    @Suzanne:

    I’ve downsized a few times and Instill want to get rid of more. My youngest had me watch the documentary Minimalism. He’s a bit obsessed with getting rid of stuff and only having what you really like. I let him put stuff in boxes from the living room and I have to admit I dont miss it.

  71. 71.

    Fair Economist

    @MomSense:

    My youngest had me watch the documentary Minimalism.

    I really liked that one. It made me substantially more aware of how much stuff I have I never use. It’s still hard to get rid of things that I *used* to use a lot.

    Just as an example, my husband has so many clothes he has two large dressers of clothes so full I can barely close the drawers and 2/3 of a walk-in closet so full you can barely walk in. But when I left one single load of laundry unwashed he complained he didn’t have anything to wear.

    I’m not innocent – the other 2/3 of the closet is mine and I almost never wear anything in there anymore. The things I actually wear are in another closet. They are all things I *used* to really like, which is why I haven’t thrown them out.

  72. 72.

    MomSense

    @Fair Economist:

    I keep accumulating family things like my grandmother’s candlesticks or my great aunt’s cutware. I don’t know that I can part with those things but I am ok with packing them carefully and putting them away.

  74. 74.

    Yutsano

    @Fair Economist:

    2/3 of a walk-in closet

    the other 2/3 of the closet is mine

    Your closet is a TARDIS?

    I’m at work but it’s going to be a dastardly easy day. So I’m not complaining too much.

    Unless my appointments persist in being late. That shit drives me batty.

  75. 75.

    Emma

    @Suzanne: My only solution (also a “if it fits at the waist it shows my bra” sufferer) is to buy a size larger and have it tailored if you can. Obviously it has to be a really good quality to make it worth it. Talbots might be a good idea as some offer alterations.

  76. 76.

    Fair Economist

    @MomSense:

    I keep accumulating family things like my grandmother’s candlesticks or my great aunt’s cutware. I don’t know that I can part with those things but I am ok with packing them carefully and putting them away.

    I mostly steel myself and refuse those. I know they’ll just sit in storage until I die and get passed on to somebody who won’t even know who once used them or have any memories of them. I did pull my grandmother’s everyday china out of storage and use it.

    There is supposedly a crisis coming on in antiques and collectibles because the current generation has much less interest in old delicate things, and less space to put it in. Plus the post-war generations packed their big houses with so much stuff. There’s just more stuff than people to keep it.

  78. 78.

    opiejeanne

    Today I’m going to try to write about 2000 words on the novel I’m working on. Mnemosyne told me about NaNoWriMo a couple of months ago and didn’t need to twist my arm to get me to participate; she made it sound like fun. Yeah, it’s fun but I have new respect for John Scalzi when he announces on Twitter that he’s written 2500 words today while I’m waiting on his next book. I had no idea how hard that can be, although one day of this project, when I wrote a ghost story into one chapter, it turned into 4500 words without trying.
    November 30 is the last day, we’re supposed to have 50,000 words to finish on that day, and I’m getting very close (38,772) but it’s becoming an obsession. “I have to write!” I tell my husband and he says, “Go write!”. It’s nice to have support but I’ve also discovered how very good I am at work-avoidance.
    The one thing I’ll shop for today is a little embroidery book that I left at our cabin and I wanted to use it for some tea towels for my daughters for Christmas. The shop where I bought it is right down the hill from my house, at the edge of town. I don’t expect it to be crowded today but I may be lying to myself in order to make me get out of the house.

    Looks like the sun may make an appearance today, it’s not raining right now!

  79. 79.

    Fair Economist

    @Yutsano:

    Your closet is a TARDIS?

    I’m at work but it’s going to be a dastardly easy day. So I’m not complaining too much.

    LOL. He has 2/3 and I have 1/3. Boy that was a dumb error.

    If we had a TARDIS closet I don’t even want to THINK about how much junk we’d have.

  80. 80.

    Suzanne

    @satby: I love to wear black and gray. It might be an architect thing. I just ordered four pairs of black pants and three gray sweaters. I am approaching 30 gray sweaters (different shades of gray, cardigans, pullovers, light and heavy weights, etc.). I will accessorize with brighter colors but I like the minimalist, structured look in clothes.

    I am no Marie Kondo by any means. I have plenty of stuff that I keep because I like it. But I have places for it.

  81. 81.

    Emma

    @satby: If you are a size 14 or higher, try fullbeauty.com. I just stocked up, because they offer petite sizes too. I have the upper body of someone built to be 5’7″ but my legs keep me at 5’4″.

  83. 83.

    CaseyL

    “Minimalism” is not my thing. I admire people who can whittle their belongings down to the perfect few, but that ain’t me. Even when I go through everything with a ruthless eye, even when I can go to Goodwill with a car full of offerings… I often wind up replacing what I took. Especially clothes. FSM, do I love clothes.

    OTOH, I hang onto things until they’re falling apart. Car is a 1995 Honda wagon; TV is a 55″ rear projection at least 13 years old; laptop is a 2009 with added ROM. My DVD player stopped working after a mere 10 years, and I haven’t replaced it yet. And when I do replace stuff, I try to get something used: eBay is my go-to for electronics.

  84. 84.

    HinTN

    @Yutsano: Hey, I was 1/2 hour late this morning to an appointment that was rescheduled having missed it completely on Wednesday. They were very accommodating but I’m feeling guilty for the concatenated chaos rippling through the rest of their schedule.

  86. 86.

    Suzanne

    @Emma: I get lots of clothes tailored for that reason. I found a place that makes women’s Oxford shirts to your measurements, but it’s a little spendy for me. I have been meaning to try eShakti.

    I tend to really like that Japanese minimal look in clothes, so I buy a lot from Uniqlo. If I had more money, I’d buy Issey Miyake (favored by both Steve Jobs and Zaha Hadid).

  87. 87.

    Emma

    I have been on a throw-out frenzy. My mother was a collector (not a dangerous-level packrat by any means, but still!). The stuff she left behind made me realize that since neither my sister or I have children we will be leaving a stupid mess behind ourselves if we don’t deal with it now. It’s a bit depressing but…

  89. 89.

    opiejeanne

    @PaulWartenberg: Aha, a fellow insane person. What are you writing about?

    Mine’s about a girl in the Missouri Ozarks who is 9 in 1859 and 15 at the end of the book, after the Civil War; the things that happen are based on some things that happened in my family, others are made up out of whole cloth. It will probably take at least a year to edit and do the rewrites, a lot of time spent digging in libraries. I did some of the research online (what did this thing cost and how would it get there?) but not everything I need is online; language and some details will need more research. Like, if you joined a cavalry unit in 1862 what was your starting rank? I know there was a horse procurement program for the Union army but did they do that in Missouri or did you have to show up with a horse to begin with? I don’t know but I know the answer is out there.

  91. 91.

    Yutsano

    @HinTN: To be fair it’s a VERY light day for me so it’s nowhere near as crank inducing levels as a day like Monday would be. When I get packed in and you’re late and there’s no way to get you in…I’m the jerk who has to tell you the bad news. And that ain’t fun.

    Glad your appointments worked out however!

  92. 92.

    realbtl

    I’m trying. I’m down to 2 electric guitars, 3 acoustic, 2 dobros and a bass. Plus appropriate amps for each. Oh and a PA and mics. Well shit I’m trying.

  93. 93.

    Emma

    @Suzanne: I can see why you’d like Miyake. I would love to own a couple of his coats; they are simply exquisite. I’d never heard of Uniqlo but liked what I saw. Mind you, next to your severe structuralism I’d look like a bird of paradise but it never hurts to have a few good basics to play with.

  94. 94.

    debbie

    @WaterGirl:

    Do you mean those shirts with the cut-out bits? They are all over at work, and it’s all I can not to tell them their shoulders are a bit too doughy to pull off that look.

  96. 96.

    debbie

    @Suzanne:

    Have you looked online at all? I have a few no-iron shirts from Lands End (yes, I know, but the no-iron shirts are different). They have both fitted and not fitted/relaxing styles.

  98. 98.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Just One More Canuck: However much evil shit Tim Allen has perpetrated in his life is almost (almost) cancelled out by his acting herein. Goddamn but he shafted Shatner so well & often the latter ended up looking like St. Sebastian…

  99. 99.

    Suzanne

    @debbie: I do the vast majority of my clothes shopping online. I would buy more from Lands End if they didn’t do so many patterns. Death to patterns.

  100. 100.

    delk

    We close on our new place Wednesday and move into it on Thursday so today, like the last few remaining days are all about getting ready for the move. Thankfully we did a massive de-cluttering when we put the place up for sale so it is not too bad. Plus we opted to have the movers pack for us so hopefully it will be somewhat effortless.

  102. 102.

    debbie

    @Suzanne:

    Agreed. Some of the patterns are just horrid, but there are solids and then things like pinstripe, etc. It’s the no ironing that I like the best!

  104. 104.

    Just One More Canuck

    @Uncle Cosmo: Agreed about Tim Allen – for reasons that escape me, my wife watches his most recent show. If it’s on when I walk into the room, I turn around and walk out

  105. 105.

    Heidi Mom

    Regarding clothes, does anyone remember the “find your colors” craze from the 80s — determine whether you’re a spring, summer, fall, or winter based on hair color and skin tone, then buy clothes accordingly? I looked at the photos, realized I was a summer, and never looked back. My colors are pink/rose and blue, with navy and some gray as basics, almost all from L.L. Bean and Lands End — whichever has the best variations of “my colors” when I need new clothes. Simplified my life greatly!

  107. 107.

    opiejeanne

    @delk: I hope they don’t look inside your record player and just tape down whatever lp is in there with packing tape. Ruined a Don Ellis Live! album. I found a decent copy on eBay to replace it, but damn! Someone else put an unwrapped vase inside the dryer. Of course it broke.

  109. 109.

    opiejeanne

    @Just One More Canuck: We watched one episode of Tim Allen’s current show and decided not to do that any more. I liked his dumb tv show where he played the host of a handyman tv show, Home Improvement?

  110. 110.

    ProudGradofCatLadyAcademy

    Hi all.

    Sounds like a lot of people here had a really nice day yesterday!

    No leftovers as we went to the buffet at dad’s behest yesterday. The turkey on the chafing dish looked dry and the stuffing had cranberries in it so I decided on duck and wild rice instead of the traditional turkey/stuffing. As everyone knows, a proper stuffing only contains Kellog stuffing croutons, lots of turkey neck broth, sauteed buttered celery, onions and poultry seasoning. I might need to go hunt down said ingredients and wipe the horror of yesterday’s stuffing attempt out of my head. Might have to make do with Brownberry croutons, as Kellog’s in recent years has been difficult to find.

    If I don’t do that, a complete cleaning/vacuuming is in order. I think I might be allergic to my cat, low level sniffling, red eyes, sore throat for weeks, and it is not a cold. The first solution I found said ban the cat from the bedroom. I can’t ban her from the bedroom, I live in a quaint old schoolroom in the old principal/teacher lounge. Restricting her use of the bedroom might stop my red eyes and sneezes, but it cuts her living space by half. Figured I’d start with the house, more brushing, and talk to the doctor about allergy shots before considering other more drastic measures.

    Right now PBC is sitting in our Squirrel TV window waiting for the squirrels to show up to the squirrel feeder. They usually show up between now and 3 pm. However, she expects them to be here 24 hours a day. When the squirrels aren’t here eating she sits on her pet cube by the window and yells at me because they aren’t here.This leads to me patiently explaining that I don’t control the squirrels’ time and there is nothing I can do to make them show up beyond putting out fresh food every morning. I get a distinct feeling she doesn’t buy the explanation.

  112. 112.

    ProudGradofCatLadyAcademy

    @Heidi Mom

    Autumn here! I remember that, and it really did help.

    I want a uniform these days, something like the coverall from Frances Mcdurmond’s new movie. Now that would be easy for sure!

  115. 115.

    Suzanne

    @Yutsano: I keep it in a garage at home and a parking structure at work. And I avoid going anywhere else during the day in the summer. It works out fine. Every car gets too hot.

  116. 116.

    Redshift

    Had a good family Thanksgiving at my parents yesterday; and I’ll shortly be heading over for another Thanksgiving dinner that couldn’t be beat wine and cheese with the additional mob of relatives that are in town. Also, because my niece is in town, have seen more movies this week than in the past couple of months.

  117. 117.

    delk

    @opiejeanne: Yikes! We asked six different people and they all recommended the same company so I’m hoping for the best. We are packing some stuff ourselves and all of our albums have been packed.

  118. 118.

    brendancalling

    I have to admit, this was one of the worst Thanksgivings I’ve had in recent memory, which sucks because Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Starting Wednesday, everything went wrong including: wheel bearings on truck seize up; food poisoning; clinic fails to call in my asthma medication to CVS; run over lawn sprinkler system with g/f’s car, repair is on me; iphone 7 meets an early and permanent demise.

    We spent Thanksgiving with a couple we’re friendly with, but the husband is an alcoholic so things were… well, not the best.
    Hopefully next year is a lot better.

  122. 122.

    Heidi Mom

    @Suzanne: Very practical approach! But my dog is black/brown/white, one cat is a classic “mackerel brown tabby” (thanks, WereBear) and white, and the other cat is mouse gray, so it would be a little more complicated in my household.

  125. 125.

    opiejeanne

    @delk: Yeah, you’re probably ok if you got recommendations. I got overwhelmed by the move on the day of that move and they called in a bunch of packers to help us. I think they got some of the guys off the street.
    We had another mover, same company but a different branch who had moved us there and they had been hired in advance to help us pack, and they were good. We just thought the same excellence carried from one franchise to the next. It doesn’t.

  126. 126.

    opiejeanne

    @WereBear: The one I used didn’t use seasons to describe what you should wear but gave you a color palette. For me there was brown (Brownie uniform brown) teal, lavender and I can’t remember the rest of the colors, but I do look good in teal and lavender is fine, but I am NOT wearing that boring brown color, ever.

  128. 128.

    James E. Powell

    @realbtl:

    I recently gave one of my guitars to a former student who needed one, but it also made space for another one. There is no cure for GAS.

  129. 129.

    delk

    @opiejeanne: Plus the mover’s office is about five blocks from our new place and the neighborhood chamber of conference was one of the recommendations. The move is about 8 miles from the old place so hopefully it will run smooth.

  131. 131.

    trollhattan

    @Suzanne:

    And I have a black car with a black interior.

    Wait, don’t you live in Arizona? Do you only drive at night or is there a death wish we should discuss?

  133. 133.

    germy

    To recap: Republicans are currently defending a pedophile in order to save a Senate seat so that they can push through an enormous tax cut for the rich because it's the only victory their leader, another sexual predator, may get after colluding w/ Russia to steal our election.— Charles Clymér?️‍? (@cmclymer) November 20, 2017

  135. 135.

    brendancalling

    @ProudGradofCatLadyAcademy: we leave this afternoon for Florida, for our first full marathon. The food poisoning has passed, than heaven.

    And, I have made a decision: heading back to Guatemala in May and this time I won’t let a misplaced sense of patriotism bring me back to the US. I had planned to expatriate after Clinton won the election, but after Trump “won” I felt like I needed to stay and help. Big mistake I won’t repeat.

  136. 136.

    Shell

    over for another Thanksgiving dinner that couldn’t be beat

    Yes! Saw the 50th anniversary show of ‘Alice’s Restauant’ last night on PBS. Its been years since I listened to the original. But I was still shouting out the best lines,along with the audience.

    Made a mushroom bread pudding yesterday, instead of the usual stuffing. It came out really well. I could have eaten just that for dinner.

  141. 141.

    ruemara

    @Suzanne: speaking as a grown-assed woman, I wear shoulder-less shirts & dorky leggings. Because I am a grown-assed woman and do what I want. It’s fun.

  148. 148.

    Patricia Kayden

    @trollhattan: Rightwingers lack grammar and spelling skills. I couldn’t understand most of those tweets. Malia’s future is brighter than most of those white trash haters and they know this. Hence, their anger.

  149. 149.

    Phylllis

    @Suzanne: Foxcroft shirts are quality tailored shirts that are cut very well for us ‘ahem’ bigger girls. They pop up on Nordstrom Rack pretty regular. I have a few that are close to ten years old and they have held up really well.

  151. 151.

    Elizabelle

    About to order a lobster roll and think, kindly as always, of MomSense and her fellow jackals.

    Stockholm is as temperate as central Virginia. Disturbing? You decide.

    Beautiful city. Not much daylight, but they sparkle.

  152. 152.

    Elizabelle

    Ps. Stockholm is expecting snow ❄️ Monday and Tuesday. So this is the warm before the white stuff commences. We will return to Germany before then.

  154. 154.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    Not sure “Black Friday” is a winning concept for airline advertisements. Looking at you, Travelocity.

  155. 155.

    hueyplong

    @ruemara: Where I live, that’s “grown-ass” without the “ed,” at least as it’s pronounced. I don’t see it in print much.

    As a grown-ass woman, you should definitely dress as you like. As a grown-ass man, I do likewise. I’m not about to tell just over half the population they don’t get to do as they please.

    We leave that kind of thought process to Republicans.

  156. 156.

    Amir Khalid

    @Patricia Kayden:
    I have absolutely no idea why rightwingers would have an opinion on Malia Obama. As far as I can see she’s a college kid doing college-kid stuff. She hasn’t said said or done anything political that I know of. Neither has Barron Trump, come to that, and liberals seem to have let him alone. Aside from expressing pity for a kid growing up with such fucked-up parents.

  157. 157.

    Yutsano

    @Amir Khalid: There have been a couple of remarks about his behaviour, although as far as I’m concerned that’s just a normal awkward 11 year old boy thrust into a strange situation with no preparation time. The fact that he has only one parent that seems to care about him isn’t helping.

  158. 158.

    schrodingers_cat

    @ruemara: The idea of having one uniform is so boring. I went to Catholic school, and wore a uniform from kindergarten to grade 10, so no more uniforms for me. Though in the dead of winter because of layering, I do tend to wear darker colors more often and pants. So I do have a winter uniform, because its practical, but if I were in a warmer climate I wouldn’t. And I can’t wait to abandon my uniform by the time March is around the corner.
    As for leggings as pants, as long as my top covers my ass, I think they are okay. I do like patterned and colored leggings but then the top has to be plain and simple. Balance is the key.

  160. 160.

    chris

    Hahaha! A little comic relief from Daniel Dale.

    It takes a special kind of thought process to see a terror attack on Sufis in the Sinai and respond by calling for a wall on the Mexican border.— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) 24 November 2017

    Glad to see y’all survived the turkey ‘pocalypse.

  161. 161.

    HeleninEire

    Minimalism, yeah. I left NY with just 2 36 inch rolling bags. Every time I gave something away I felt a weight lifted. Pared down a 900 square ft apt to 2 bags.

    When I want to buy something here I try real hard to determine whether I already have something that will substitute for it. If not, I try to do the “one thing in, one thing out.”

    I am successful probably 75% of the time.

  162. 162.

    Emma

    @Amir Khalid: Yeah but she goes to Hahvudd, has an English (white) boyfriend who comes from a wealthy family with distant links to the Royal family. It is killing them.

    *sigh* People are idiots.

  164. 164.

    ThresherK

    @Yutsano:

    Hello, Child Protective Services? There is a boy being raised in an unfit environment and I want someone to look into it. His name is Barron and I can’t give you the exact address, but it’s across the street from 1599 Pennsylvania Avenue.

  166. 166.

    Duane

    #2 Miami trails Pitt 17-7 late in the fourth. Missouri- Arkansas just getting started.
    Go Tigers!!

  176. 176.

    Miss Bianca

    @opiejeanne: here’s a place to start – from the Wikipedia article on “Cavalry in the Civil War”

    Both cavalries originally required recruits or local communities to provide horses, a policy that lasted briefly in the North, while the South maintained it throughout the war even though Richmond leaders recognized its serious drawbacks.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavalry_in_the_American_Civil_War

    As a general rule, since cavalry was considered an “elite” (ie, well-heeled) fighting unit in most armies, the cavalry soldier would be expected to provide his own mount, and be able to maintain him/her. The Union Army policy woukld likely have been very much the exception to the general rule, I’m thinking, but I am not an expert.

  177. 177.

    Snarkworth, short-fingered Bulgarian

    TaMara, that’s a nice feast displayed in a lovely kitchen. However, it’s missing something. If you scroll down to John’s post, you will see that his picture prominently displays the ceremonial roll of paper towels. Maybe it has something to do with the Puerto Rican paper towel toss.

  178. 178.

    Calouste

    @Emma:

    distant links to the Royal family.

    That doesn’t really narrow things down. The royals were pretty good at procreation, both inside and outside of marriage.

  179. 179.

    Emma

    @Calouste: No, the funny thing is that the kid has a second cousin who was the Queen’s and Prince Charles’s household equerry (or something like that), which seems to mean “the guy who makes sure everything gets bought and nothing is missing especially when there’s a big shindig”. A butler with a big checkbook, basically.

    As I said, people are idiots.

  180. 180.

    Steeplejack

    @opiejeanne:

    Reading Miss Bianca’ s comment, it occurs to me that Civil War reënactors might be a good source of information (taken with a grain of salt, of course). Many of these people have an obsessive interest in the subject and could be a mine of information or at least leads.

  181. 181.

    stinger

    @Heidi Mom: Yes! Another summer here! Luckily, I dislike greens and reds with yellow in them, so I’ve never wanted to wear coral or pumpkin or chartreuse. Sticking to soft blues and pinks and plums does make most of my clothes work well with most of my other clothes. Sometimes I fell like all I wear is blue, though.

  182. 182.

    stinger

    @stinger: Hmm, I added an edit that hasn’t come through. It was to say that when I retire, I plan to pare my wardrobe down to jeans and seasonal-weight white tops for everything but special occasions. And maybe change from shoulder-length hair to a “boy cut”.

  183. 183.

    Mnemosyne

    @stinger:

    Which “season” wears purple? I wear a lot of purple.

    I’m probably either a Winter or an Autumn, but I have kind of an odd skin tone that is pale but very neutral, neither porcelain nor ivory.

  187. 187.

    stinger

    @Mnemosyne: All seasons get to wear some shade of most colors, but if purple is your thing, you may be a Winter. If you look good in deep rich colors–ruby, emerald, royal blue–and the “ice” versions of those colors, that’s Winter.

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