I hope things work out for the best.
Have a wonderful trip to Isreal. I am sure that your friend will welcome your friendship now. I think visiting a while after is nice because people do tend to "forget" to help you through and sometimes you just want that acknowledgment. I had a nephew that committed suicide in 1992 when he was 18....so I am sure she will be glad to see you. Enjoy your family and relax! Travel safely and Happy Thoughts....

So did they notice you don't eat lobster, Patti?!

Getting up early to go shopping on one of the busiest days of the year is definitely not something you'd find me doing. I barely go to the mall on regular days. There's always something else I'd rather be doing than shopping.

Thanksgiving was good. I thought we'd have close to 30 people, but I think it was 24 in the end. I had a lot of help, so things went pretty smoothly. The only thing that put a damper on it was that Avi and his business partner haven't been getting along lately, and our minds were on that part of the time. If things don't work out, they might have to end the partnership and the business. I think it's a problem of communication, and I'm still hoping they'll be able to reach some kind of understanding. Avi's partner is not an easy person to work with--he's critical and judgmental and negative. Everything always seems to be a problem for him. A lot of drama. They're really different, but somehow have managed to build up a good business together. In the past, Avi has given in on things that are important to him, and he's just not willing to do that anymore. His partner feels threatened every time Avi wants to hire someone who's more of a self-thinker, not just all these "yes men" types his partner feels comfortable with. Anyway, we'll see what happens....

I'm off on Monday to Israel to see that friend of mine whose son committed suicide. And also my family, of course, and other friends. Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all of you!

No traditional Black Friday shopping for me. Just a fun trip to a local Christmasy shop on the commons. It was a very pleasant experience just the owner and myself. Leaned lots about the area. It was a treat. Later we went downtown to a fabulous knitting store, and wandered on the piers. Very pretty and quiet, but wicked cold!

Kevin ships out at 5:30 tomorrow so we leave whenever we are up and at 'em I guess. The visit here was nice. Good to get away and see how and where Kevin lives. I even had a chance to see the tiny cabin he lived in for over a year. You can see daylight through the walls. I don't know how he did it. At least this winter he's warm and safe in a three bedroom 2 bath with no roomates but his dog Dodge. He'll be home for Christmas.

I'm glad we'll make our whole trip back to P.I. in the daylight. Travel safely everyone!

Hope everyone had a wonderful, tasty Thanksgiving with family and loved ones. As usual, there was way too much food and too many leftovers, especially desserts! We had fried turkey which was delicious. It took an hour to cook a 18 pound turkey. It was very moist and the cripsy/skin was golden brown and yummy. The only bad part of the day was the weather. It was very nasty traveling in the snow. We got 5 inches of snow, which is too much on Thanksgiving! The ski areas were glad but I wasn't! It is now 13 degrees out but the good news is 50s by Sunday. Did anyone go out and get their holiday shopping started on Black Friday. My son had to be to work at Best Buy at 3 am. He said there were people camped out in the cold and snow waiting until they opened at 5. Personally, I can't imagine needing anything that badly! How about you??? If you are traveling back home this weekend, drive carefully. Happy Thoughts...

Happy Thanksgiving Eve everyone! We've made it Booth Bay. The boys are downstairs playing pingpong and Dave and I are relaxing. The roads down were very icy and there were cars off the highway every couple of miles. We took a long time getting here. Feels good to be off the road.

Kevin said the lobsters are in a cage in the water down at the pier. My word. This is different. So tomorrow we have a little field trip down to the pier to pick up dinner. It has escaped everyone that I never eat lobster. I am really looking forward to the dawning moment when my boys (men) realize this. I'm planning to eat lots of veggies and dinner rolls!!

I hope everyone is surrounded by the folks they love this week and enjoy every minute of Thanksgiving! - Pat

Everyone enjoy those special times with your families....its suppose to snow here on Thanksgiving. Hopefully, not! We missed the snow today. I heard up north got some but here it was just rain and wind. Suppose to clear for traveling tomorrow with snow on Thursday. Remember to eat lots of good food....luckily for us their isn't an aquarium around here! Happy Thoughts and be sure to count your blessings....Thank you for being my friends!

Last night Dave and I ordered tickets to Zumanity Theatre. It's a Circ du Soleil show in Vegas. We'll be in Los Vegas the 5th through the 9th. Dave has a Credit Union function and I'm going along. I always like to go to the fun places when he travels. We're staying at the Mirage. This is our 3rd trip out there.

We also bought tickets to see Les Miserable in Boston in Feb. A friend bought a block of them and sold them to whomever wanted them. We just happened to hear about it and got lucky. We'd been wanting to see it for several years and hadn't done anything about it.

To those travelling ove the Thanksgiving holiday this week, please be careful out there.

Hi Lori, Windjammer is off the road somewhat on the left not far from the airport. Technically, its S. Burlington I think, though not really. Used to be easy to see but everything is so over developed and crowded now. It's surrounded by other buildings. (a little editorializing there) I remember when Tafts corners in Williston was mostly a neat old white brick homestead and farmland. Not anymore, though the house is still there.

The Lincoln Inn is in what folks call the 5 corners in Essex. Very eclectic. Definately a local hangout in the bar area. Several TV's and loads of folks.

That's pretty amazing, Kathi, that you've know each other for so long...

Patti, I don't remember seeing those 2 restaurants. Are they outside Burlington? I'll have to try them next time I'm in the area.

Yes, we lived one house apart.....I've known him forever. He is 5 years older so I hung out with his siblings when we were younger. His sister had a baby the same time my mother had my little brother and she moved back to her parents house. I used to take Kevin up to play with Chip. We were just friends for a very long time..then dated when I was in High School...and here we are today....with lots of history behind us and hopefully, in front of us! When to a craft class yesterday and got inspired....so I spent this afternoon making my Christmas Cards.....hope everyone had a good day. Chocolate is so.....necessary in life! Happy Thoughts...

Vt was beautiful as always. I just love the look of the mountains and we both miss them very much. We talked about going back to live but the housing costs are monumental in the greater Burlington area. We had a couple of terrific meals. Particularly at the Windjammer. the dinner at Lincoln Inn was pretty good. It's a strange restaurant. Each room has a different theme. We'll be going back after Christmas for a few days and a trip down to Rutland to see my sister. Dad isn't able to make the drive himself and has asked me to drive him down.

I have the Death By Chocolate cookbook., Marcel Desaulines. (spelled that wrong) It's pretty amazing. I use the recipes quite often. Dave is gluten intolerant and there are several excellent deserts he can eat there. The recipes are pretty long and involved. Well worth the effort though.

We'll be heading down to Booth Bay to spend a few days with Kevin for Thanksgiving. He is serving lobster with the "usual" Thanksgiving sides. I'm bringing down my pies and will cook up the other dishes down there. Just the 4 of us this year. It's the first time we haven't had the meal at home in P.I.

Congratulations, Kathi! That's a long time. We've been married 27 years. You said your parents and Neil's parents used to live on the same street--so you grew up together?

Neil and I just celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary. Seems like yesterday...hahah. I thought getting married in the middle of deer season was pretty funny. All my relatives had to miss a Saturday of hunting...How many years has everyone else been married? Hope you all have a wonderful rest of the weekend~ Happy Thoughts...