Post-Thanksgiving Rambling

* The morning comes quietly after the unusual bustle of a holiday weekend. One cat semi-snoozes on the back of the sofa, keeping an eye on the bushes outside in case a bird should happen to land. The other cat snores on the red chair. Have you ever heard a cat snore? It's rather disconcerting. He sounds like a tiny old wheezing man.

* This was probably a perfect Thanksgiving week. Our oldest came home last Monday night from college. An assortment of his friends were here most of the time. I like looking out at our driveway and seeing a few extra cars. (Why do all his friends have blue cars?) But we also had lots of time just with him when his friends were at work. We even got in games of Pictionary and Trivial Pursuit and had two suppers all by ourselves. Laurel and I did a tiny bit of shopping, we watched one Christmas movie, and we had amazing meals, almost all cooked by Randy.

Thanksgiving game of Rummikub

* We spent actual Thanksgiving Day at my brother's with an assortment of family members. There was basketball, ping pong, and a few games. It was a quieter dinner than usual with only one little one (my great-niece, age 4), and we headed home before dark.

* Duncan got to be in a Christmas parade over the weekend. He is much adored by a friend's little girl, and she requested that he ride in the parade with her. He donned an elf costume, made by my friend, and tossed candy to the parade watchers. He's a sweetheart!

Duncan Elf

* Today is going to be a getting-back-to-normal day. I laugh at myself even as I write that. I have high hopes of having a solid school day, packed with meaty material. We don't have co-op today, so we have an extra day to really immerse ourselves in World War II. I am tempted to use the forbidden phrase: "to catch up." I didn't really say that, did I?

* I also have high hopes of getting our house back to normal. We've had a painting project going on for the past few weeks. Our living room walls look fabulous; now I need to restore sanity to the house. I haven't replaced the regular decor, knowing that as soon as Thanksgiving is over, we'll be putting Christmas decorations up. At this point, cleaning and decorating will partner up.

* At long last, we have entered the world of the flat screen TV. It is a lovely thing indeed! We hooked up the PS3, and the kids and Randy had a great time playing all kinds of games. Randy thinks Call of Duty should count as school, since Duncan is studying WWII this year. ;) He's my kind of homeschooling Dad.

* And speaking of homeschooling, it's about that time. Have a great week!

The cat likes the new TV.