Thanks giving

I have much for which to give thanks, not the least of which is that my toe seems to be healed. No longer discolored or swollen. One more week in the little bootie and "I'm back in the sandal again". And we have a lovely beach house to go to, 2400 miles south of the cold valley, for which I am very grateful. And the weather here is holding clear and crisp, the leaves have turned orange, gold and red, and we found Seven Deadly Zins on sale. Talk about blessings!

On the down side, of course, is the fact that this will be the first Thanksgiving in 10 years that I have not spent with my sister. We would pack up and drive to San Diego on Wednesday for 4 days, then head off to Mexico on Sunday. There was great cooking by her husband Tom and by Mr. C, lots of music and laughter, and the sense that we had all made it through another year and Thank God for that! She set a beautiful table with lovely linens, our parents' exquisite silver (now in my custody), place cards for the various guests, hand calligraphied in her perfect script. She was one to shop for holiday-specific accessories and her Thanksgiving finds were displayed on the table.

But this year we will mosey across the street to share bounty and blessings with our neighbors. I am taking a dynamite hors d'oeuvre, a stir-fry of kohl veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts), and Mr. C will grace the meal with his outstanding pumpkin pie and a less famous but just as tasty apple pie. We will finish up readying the house on Friday and head to Palm Springs on Saturday morning. Tucson on Sunday, then cross the border Monday morning in Nogales. We decided to avoid any drug war mayhem we might have run into in Cuidad Juarez. We anticipate having dinner ~ shrimp sautéed in garlic ~ at Dago's on Friday night!

For tomorrow, I wish you all a delicious, lovely, laughter-filled reunion with family and friends.