My feet hurt.  I stood most of the day in my kitchen, twirling in confusion (what to do first, what to do next?) and then marching with conviction (pie crust . . . I will make pie crust).

Can we just discuss pie crust?  I find it very frustrating to make.  Even when I follow directions perfectly, I never seem to have quite enough dough and then my edges are less than perfect.  What am I doing wrong?  I want my pie crust to look perfect and taste perfect.  Mostly, I want it to look perfect.

I guess I don’t really love pie or I would have already perfected making crust.

I cannot believe how long it takes to prepare for Thanksgiving.  And why does my family insist on eating food–including dinner–the day before Thanksgiving?  It’s so annoying to create food today when I have so much to create for tomorrow.  And let’s not even talk about dirty dishes.

True story:  I bought new silverware.  My wedding silverware had dwindled to so few pieces (literally, three forks!) that I bought some utilitarian forks and spoons from Costco–the stuff that you’d see on a buffet line, I suppose.  It’s serviceable but that’s it.  And now with Thanksgiving company . . . I just needed some decent silverware. I am going to squirrel that stuff away so my kids don’t nick spoons in the garbage disposal and toss forks into the trash.  (Where are the forks?  I know the dish ran away with the spoon, but did the fork run away with the socks?)

Yesterday, I took my daughter to Disneyland and we had the most fantastic time.  We really have perfected our technique for seeing and doing as much as possible, even on crowded days.  It’s all about fast passes, riding fast-loading rides early in the day and single-rider lines.  But by the end of the day, my feet hurt.  Mostly, my baby toe hurt because the day before I bashed it into a piece of furniture.  My poor baby toe.

Today my 17-year old son was playing Christmas music on his phone while playing Super Smash Bros. on a Nintendo Wii.  My 13-year old daughter is dreaming about what she wants for Christmas.

I have no Christmas spirit.  (Probably because my feet hurt.)   My Christmas tradition is to dread dragging the Christmas decorations into the house.

Lest you think I am a Thanksgiving whiner, I’d like to say . . . well, yes.  I am feeling fairly whiny.  This is the voice of exhaustion and a painful baby toe.

Also, it’s 1:28 AM and I need to be up wrestling two 12-pound turkeys into the oven by 10 AM.

I am ever so thankful for my blessings, for my readers, for my friends, for my family, for this blog . . . and for so much more.

My mom’s trip was cut short due to unforeseen circumstances.  “Her” bed is still in my dining room, though the mattress was dragged upstairs for a sleepover and then back downstairs into the garage.  I need to unassemble the frame and put it back into the garage.

The kids had a day off today due to Veteran’s Day, but one kid had to go into school anyway for play rehearsal and one had a friend over.  My husband and I both ended up working as usual, as did one of our kids.

The weather has finally cooled.  In fact, it’s downright cold in our bedroom at night with the windows open–which I prefer.  I like it as cold as possible but my husband disagrees, so the windows actually remain closed.  We’ve even had a bit of rain here and there which has been a pure delight.  Our “cool” weather is between 65 and 70 degrees during the day, so I recognize that it’s not really cool at all, but it’s so much better than summer.  Now starts the season when we all realize with gratitude why we live here and with resignation why our housing costs are so unreasonable.

Last night I went to hear Diana Nyad speak about her record-setting swim from Cuba to Florida two years ago.  She was a captivating and inspiring speaker, better than I expected, even.  The event took place in a library, which was kind of fun because my seat was right next to a row of library books so i just plucked one from the shelf and read for thirty minutes while waiting.

I love reading so much.  In fact, just because you care (ha ha), here’s what I’m reading and watching.

Currently reading:  The Great Santini by Pat Conroy.  I’m reading it in preparation for reading his memoir, The Death of Santini. I’m also thinking I should watch the movie sometime.

Last movie watched:  Bridge of Spies with Tom Hanks.  Excellent movie.  Is there anything Tom Hanks can’t do?

Last music purchased:  Chris Stapleton’s The Traveller.  I heard him sing with Justin Timberlake at the Country Music Awards.  Such a performer!  And country music is not my favorite, but now I own this music, including (at least) two songs about whiskey.

What are you reading and listening to?