Happy Thanksgiving and Open Thread

"Now be Thankful" - Fairport Convention

It's become a tradition to find a new version of this song every year. (Co-written by a very young Richard Thompson along with Dave Swarbrick and sung by Chris Leslie.)

I hope that all of you have things for which to be thankful at the moment -- good health, the love of family and friends, the bonds of community. 

I am thankful to all of you for your time spent here, the friendships both virtual and in the flesh that have been fostered as a result, the joy of having met several of you and the hope of meeting many more.  I appreciate your input, your wisdom, your humor, and your solidarity.

I will be boarding a north bound train in a little bit, hopefully in a saner atmosphere than would have prevailed yesterday.

Among things for which to be thankful, the reelection of our president and the fact that Romney has now slipped to 47.51% of the popular vote, truly hanging on the brink of the 47% vote, a total he can wear like a crown of irony.  Obama's margin is now just under 4.2 million votes and would likely have been over 5 million but for Sandy.  Overall turnout in the election is down just 3.4% thus far from 2008 and Obama looks likely to garner at least 65 million votes.  Not a bad showing all in all.

Alright, time to back and get the little dog to the kennel.  I wish he could go on Amtrak, but alas is a little too big.  I gave him roast chicken this morning to try and make amends.

Enjoy your day and be safe.  Hopefully the wifi on the train will let me check in later. 

Comments

[low-tech cyclist]

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, Sir Charles!

We're showered, dressed, and just about ready to head over to my wife's cousin's house for turkee. We're bringing stuffing, rolls, a couple gallons of sweet tea, and pies.

At last count, there will be 19 of us there, with enough kids to have a kids' table so they don't have to listen to too much boring grownup talk. Should be a good time.

[kathy a.]

have a great one, everybody!

i've got pies in the oven; dip and cranberry sauce are made; next is the veggie platter; and then stuffing. we're going to my son's girlfriend's parents' house.

[paula b]

Happy day to all. We're in DC, preparing the meal. I second SirC's appreciation of all on this blog. These friendships are truly special.

[Emma]

Enjoy your holiday, everyone. It's a normal summer workday where I am, but I am going to see my 9 year old get a medal for coming first in the state in a competitive English exam. So there will be pride. Less than a month to my summer holidays, so that's good too. Hope you all relax and enjoy good company and food.

[Sir Charles]

Emma,

I hope there's no performance enhancing drugs involved there. :-)

Thanksgiving is actually a rather nice holiday. Sadly, it is becoming increasingly tied into the start of the hideous Christmas shopping season.

[Linkmeister]

Happy T-Day to all from (believe it or not) gray and overcast Hawai'i.

[nancy]

"Now Be Thankful". Lovely. Thankful I am.

I have winged it today. A small smoked turkey, pre-cooked, allowed me to meander around all day deciding what else to cook. With just us three -- extended family now all over the map, old friends out of town -- it is pumpkin soup, sauteed brussel sprouts -- thinly sliced with garlic, olive oil, walnuts-- buttermilk mashed potatoes, sagey stuffing because I would not be forgiven to come up empty. (Smoked turkey is un-stuff-ed.) Assorted forgotten treats from the pantry! Black Forest Cherry Cobbler I hope. Football in the next room, (lots of interjection -- the fantasy football team coming up big with the Redskins I gather). Imax Bond movie later maybe. For the young people, skiing tomorrow. Or possibly a road trip to the Apple Cup, UW/WSU rivalry game, while I stay home and rake some leaves. All good.

Greetings all. Be well. Relax and enjoy having November 6 in the rearview.

Also am busy ignoring the Christmas catalog pile-up. :)

[low-tech cyclist]

Thanksgiving is actually a rather nice holiday. Sadly, it is becoming increasingly tied into the start of the hideous Christmas shopping season.

And its rather substantial incursion into Thanksgiving Day itself this year is a pretty dramatic illustration of why we need unions.

[nancy]

Linkmeister, surely your weather is a one-day event. Right?

Hau'oli La Ho'omaika'i.

[Linkmeister]

Thank you, nancy. Yep, bright and sunny this morning.

[kathy a.]

we had really a great thanksgiving dinner with the son's GF's family! great food and company; pandemonium, in part due to large roving dogs; hilarious stories. two of the host's lifelong friends were there with their families -- so, there was the kind of story-telling and argument and singing and etc. that goes on when most of the crowd knows all about you, and you're still friends. and there is plenty of wine.

they treated us like family, so there is that, too. the kids have been together 7 years and are finally moving in together, so we are kinda family -- the kind that hasn't spent holidays together before, so maybe there is catching up to do.

[beckya57]

I have a suggestion for the holiday shopping blues. My husband and I decided to resign from that particular rat race several years ago. We give money to charities instead. We notified our family members of our decision, and remind them every year; a few persist in giving us gifts, but most don't, and some give to charities too. It's one of the best decisions we've ever made: we can relax, enjoy the season, and celebrate what Christmas is really supposed to be about.

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving, we certainly did.

[kathy a.]

my sibs and cousins and i have a no-present rule; exceptions for under-18 (and our fabulous aunt). (party favors don't count.) and otherwise, no big presents.

anyway, i did my main holiday shopping today at a local arts gallery -- all special things made by hand. plus, a couple of housewarming gifts -- one belated, and one a tad early.

[nancy]

Not everybody had a good Thanksgiving. From the New Yorker. Love the white paper ruffled booties on that crow.

[kathy a.]

this is a couple days old, but still a thing of wonder. wapo's editorial board -- not exactly a bastion of liberalism -- is calling out the GOP for its wild-eyed attacks on susan rice.

of course, today they are back to featuring george will, who is of the opinion that blah blah twinkies blah haha stoopid baby boomers blah blah hostess crashed because of unions, blahbitty blah. not at ALL because of those huge raises and bonuses for the top people, or too much debt, or refusing to address the fact that people would rather eat something more food-like than products with a shelf life of infinity.

[Sir Charles]

Hey guys. On the bus on the way back to DC. (Amtrak was charging over $300 one way if you can imagine.). Traffic's a bit heavy but someone else is driving for which I am thankful. Hope you all had a great holiday.

Looking forward to springing Stanley from the kennel and getting him back where he belongs.

[nancy]

Sir C -- 250 miles on the bus. I'm impressed. Not. for. me. thanks.

The last time a bus was used for cross-state transport in my family, the thing had duct-tape used in the cabin to keep outside air from 'ventilating' the adjacent seats. At mountain winter elevation. So, g'luck. Hope you're on time and the kennel is still open when you arrive. One happy Stanley.

kathy -- One wonders -- does George Will sense that absolutely no one cares what he has to say anymore? It's kind of embarrassing actually. Ya almost have to look away.

[kathy a.]

since SC's bus appears to have had wifi, i think it's one of those fancy-ass modernized buses, not the kind where duct tape is a regular feature.

[Sir Charles]

nancy and kathy,

There is now a huge trade in low cost, but nice buses between DC and NYC. We saved about $600 by taking the bus -- it takes a couple of hours longer and is not as comfortable, but it sure beats driving. (Round trips typically run about $40.)

I am happily ensconced on the couch at home with Stanley wedged between my wife and I.

My only complaint is that we have been hit with a big time cold wave -- it's down to 36 degrees and windy. Feels like the middle of winter.

[Emma]

Feels like the middle of summer here, 35 degrees C, and humid. But the spouse and I had to mow the grass, clear the weeds and replant a lot of beds so there was serious gardening done here today, heat or no heat. Also managed to serve a homegrown vegetable lunch.

We also attended Sydney's Loy Krathong festival on the Parramatta River with some Thai friends this weekend. The kids put handmade flower floats with candles into the river, as part of a Thai ceremony to say thank you for the water. It was so pretty and the crowd was incredibly multicultural -- I love living in a city where over 30 per cent of the population was born somewhere else.

[Sir Charles]

Emma,

Yard work in the heat is one of my least favorite things to do. I suppose if you get delicious food out of it, it might be more rewarding.

It is interesting that Sydney is so diverse now -- I don't know that people generally understand that here in the States. I think the same is true of a place like London, which is extraordinarily diverse now as well.

Interestingly, there is a huge foreign born population here as well -- and truly global at that -- but it is much more dispersed in the suburbs rather than in DC proper.

[beckya57]

Part of what makes Vancouver, BC such a cool place is its amazing diversity. They actually have a lesbian neighborhood and a (different) gay male neighborhood, in addition to just about every Asian ethnic group imaginable (Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Indian, Pakistani, etc. etc.). Makes for a vibrant cultural scene and lots of great restaurants.

Glad to hear Stanley is back where he belongs. ;-)

[Sir Charles]

becky,

It's been a long time since I've been to Vancouver, a city I really love. But even twenty years ago I was struck by the incredibly large and diverse Asian community. It reminds me a lot of San Francisco both ethnically and physically.

[oddjob]

Armanda Marcotte posts on an analysis of the states' voting in the last election vs. their fertility rates and it turns out to be the very best predictor of how they voted.

Hat tip, Sully.

[oddjob]

...“Let’s forget about the rich and ultrarich going on strike and stuffing their ample funds under their mattresses if -- gasp -- capital gains rates and ordinary income rates are increased,” Buffett wrote. “Only in Grover Norquist’s imagination does such a response exist."....

[paula]

And the walls come tumbling down.
First the anti-Norquist brigade, then this: http://bit.ly/QloXDl

[http://www.amerisleep.com]

t's at once poignant and goofy, alarming and sweet, and filled with vignettes of mother-child relations that will have you squirming with recognition, no matter who you are.