Thanks for Thanksgiving

The waning sunlight on Sunday afternoon reminds me that Thanksgiving weekend is drawing to a close. It's been a good one, and in addition to all the things I have been thankful for and which I mused upon at this time of the year, I am thankful for having this long weekend. Each of the days has brought some mixture of adventure and/or pleasure. Really, we kicked it off on Weds night with a family dinner to a) note our 33rd anniversary and b) pick up our previously ordered complete all courses included Turkey dinner to go. As Sharon noted on FaceBook, "Dinner for 3 at Mimi's, $50. Having your 21 year old son offer to pick up the tab, priceless."

Thursday morning, 4 of us braved to 30s temps and rode the hilly loop around our little town. It was a great workout and fun to be out. Friday, I got to ride a longer hillier ride further out in the country with one other rider, and yesterday, it was the relaxed club lite ride (although hillier than I recalled from prior excursions there) with a different riding partner. All started out in the 30s and ended in the 50s. Wool worked well each time. As nice as it has been today (20 deg warmer than Weds!) I just haven't been in the mood to ride, other than a spin in the neighborhood.

We dog-sat for a family we know from church for two of the days. Abby is an ancient, shaky, graying wiener dog who waddles as she bounces through the grass. Hard of hearing, and possibly of thinking, the only parts of her that I know work are her teeth (she buried 3 of them in my finger) her nose (she can find anything in a trash can) and those parts of her that require cleanup when used indoors. I was not unhappy to see her go, but understand how it is with dogs when they are in a strange place.

Alex and his pal Steven hankered for a ham (had all the turkey they could stomach?) so they went to the store and came back asking how to make it. Suffice it to say that our refrigerators are full of left overs.

Jeff came over yesterday afternoon and we covered the bases I love so much: sincere coffee, bicycles, and pens. I made a pot of French Roast, we looked at my bikes and talked wheels and tires, and he showed me his newest toy, a Bianchi Pista. He left it with me to play with. Today, I PUT ON A HELMET and tried a fixie for the first time. Then I went back and re read Sheldon on fixes. I think I'll try it again. I'm eager to get trackstanding down :) This bike is geared 42/16 which is fine for flats but a bit rugged for climbing. Maybe I just need to practice. Next Jeff played with some fountain pens. He liked a '48 Parker model 51 vac Demi. I like his taste. It's about the perfect size and balance. This particular example is in near new condition too. Most of my preferred inked writers are about the same size, whether made by Parker, Pelikan, Sheaffer, etc.

Alex and I hung lights on our house yesterday and got all the decorations down from the attic. Usually Alex (with his youth and cat like agility) does all the high work and I stay down low. Yesterday though, he was sliding more than he was comfortable with, so we exchanges places and I finished the roof work. The Keen shoes I reviewed recently give really good grip on steep pitch roof shingles.

Yesterday afternoon we also gave away our 9' tall fake tree because it is too large to a family who had a use for it. Later, we shopped at several stores for a better sized replacement but saw nothing that was satisfactory. Oh, and I watched most of the Auburn/Alabama game as well.

Sunday school (5th Commandment) and church were good today. I enjoy preparing the lessons, and our class has well read and thoughtful people who add a lot to the discussion. Alex decided that it probably was a good thing TODAY that he got up when I roused him, and came to church with us. Our guest preacher spoke on making a deliberate turn aside from our intended paths to inquire about God. His text was the story of Moses going to investigate the burning bush.

So now I need to look over some papers, make sure I've cleaned all the pens that Jeff dipped, and get mentally ready to get back to work. And in 15 more miles, I'll get 3,000 for the year (outdoor miles only counted) Very good weekend.