Three beautiful things from the past week:

1. In addition to a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner and a second turkey dinner on Friday, Mum packed a container filled with leftovers for us to have for supper on Monday. Thanksgiving is one of the only times of the year when the leftovers are just as good as the original meal.

2. Karen and I still exploring meeting spots between her new home and my folks’ place. Last Saturday we chose Sturbridge, where we did much of what we would have done if we were still meeting up in Middletown — eat lunch, buy apples, and drink hot beverages.

3. Friday, Mum and I baked a batch of spritz cookies. She made the dough and shot the dough onto the trays and I decorated them. There was some confusion because she seems to be missing a few of the shape discs, but we eventually settled on poinsettas, ornaments, a few hearts, and a tray of humanoids that could have been angels, elves, or snowmen, depending on your interpretation.

Life is looking up, which makes me think that the doldrums that hit at the beginning of the week were definitely a combination of tiredness and PMS.

Getting some stuff done definitely helps, too. Rudi and I have started cleaning, which really means that the Burrow is much, much messier than it was this morning. Unfortunately, when I say messy, that translates to impossible to move around and every possible surface covered. It will get better; cleaning is one of those things that has to get worse before it improves.

I also finished the knitting of Mystery Gift #1. I still have to weave in ends and block it (it currently puckers a bit), but essentially it’s finished. I’m also nearly done with sleeve #1 of my cardigan and hope to finish it off tomorrow at lunch. I keep pushing back my expected finish date for the cardigan, so I suppose I’m now reasonably hoping for before Christmas.

Thanks for all the well wishes. I definitely appreciated them all!

I know it’s been a few days since I last wrote, but that’s because I was busy having a lovely weekend up in Connecticut. I ate lots of good food; had quality visiting time with the folks, Gramma, and Karen; and came home with pretty new shirts (thanks Mum!), (thin) socks, and shoes.

And, now, in the wake of both a holiday and a smidgen of a vacation, I’m feeling a bit low. Okay, credit that, if you will, to a lack of sleep or to its being that time of the month, or, even, to the fact that I need desperately to completely overhaul my apartment before Sunday afternoon. Nonetheless, I spent this evening curled up on the couch watching tv. Granted, I watch tv every Monday, but this week my knitting sat untouched in my bag in front of me for the whole night, even though I’m a mere 20 rows away from finishing Mystery Project #1. (Yay!)

I’m hoping tomorrow is a more productive day in all aspects. It would be great to get to party-time on Sunday without having our guests have to help us prep the food or carry the tree into the house.

Three Beautiful Thanksgiving Things from today:

1. Mum tried new squash and turnip recipes this year. They were delicious! (In fact, we might need to get the recipes…)

2. Dad lit a fire this morning just before the Macy’s Day Parade and it stayed alit pretty much all day long. It really made things seem quite cozy.

3. After Dad and I got the doughnuts this morning, I changed back into my pjs. I didn’t get dressed again until just before dinnertime.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Please get on the road now.

Rudi has to work a full day, so we won’t be leaving until what would normally be rush hour is upon us. If you leave now, you’ll get to your destination while it’s still light out and, more importantly, will not be on the road when we need to be.

Thank you.

If you’ve been wondering about the radio silence around here recently, we’ve been combating a bug problem in our bedroom. Over the summer we had a grain moth problem in our kitchen. I’d been optimistic recently we’d finally gotten a handle on them, but discovered at the end of last week that the problem had merely migrated to the other side of the wall. So Rudi and I have been washing loads and loads of laundry — all of our linens, as well as a bureau’s worth of clothing. And since we had to tear apart the room to tackle the worms, we figured we might as well do a major top to toe cleaning.

Before we leave for Thanksgiving, we will have a spotless bedroom filled with lots of clean laundry. Too bad the holiday party we’re having in ten days will be held everywhere in our apartment except our bedroom.

Oh well. It’s always the way, right?

I came back to work today after two days out sick. Walking to the Metro, I realized fall finally arrived while I was tucked in my Burrow sickbed. I offer you three beautiful things from my walk:

1. The rain and the wind brought down many leaves, which I shuffle through crunchily on the sidewalk. They are beginning to moulder, and the scent takes me back to my childhood.

2. I love how even leaves do not want to die. They lose their chlorophyll from their outer edges first, crinkling delicately around the edges, but tenaciously clinging to branches and to life.

3. As I bounce from the escalator into the station, I see an elderly couple heading up and out. The woman is losing her scarf, and her husband turns to grab it for her. He lovingly wraps it around her neck and gently ties it so it will stay put.

My heart just about broke with joy.

Anything beautiful and autumnal where you live?

Thursday is almost over, but Friday isn’t allowed to come before I post my Three Beautiful Things from the past week:

1. I knew fewer Springsteen songs than I expected to (although I could identify which albums a number of unrecognizable tunes must have come from), so I was terribly grateful when they finished their set, left the stage, and returned to play songs I knew the words to.

2. Being sick makes me want to watch tv. I entertained myself with Britcoms for an hour or two yesterday and today and then switched to the computer where I caught up on Heroes and Ugly Betty.

3. Thanks to Suzanne, I was able to determine that the reason I was going to run out of yarn for my Every Day Cardigan is because I was knitting with worsted weight yarn and not sport weight. (I knit a swatch and got gauge on the smaller needles, I swear!) I’ve placed an order with Peace Fleece for two more skeins of yarn and am past the elbow on sleeve #1. If the yarn arrives by the weekend (hmmm… that’s tomorrow, isn’t it?), I might be done with the sweater by Thanksgiving!

Still sick, but I thought some tea was in order, so I’m up for a little bit. While drinking my tea I thought I’d take part in this Pew Internet and American Life Project survey that Ann linked to. I’m going to bet that many of us who blog (or read blogs) are going to find similar results:

Based on your answers to the questionnaire, you most closely resemble survey respondents within the Connectors typology group. This does not mean that you necessarily fit every group characteristic.

Connectors make up 7% of the American public.

Basic Description
The Connectors’ collection of information technology is used for a mix of one-to-one and one-to-many communication. They very much like how ICTs keep them in touch with family and friends and they like how ICTs let them work in community groups to which they belong. They are participants in cyberspace – many blog or have their own web pages – but not at the rate of Omnivores. They are not as sure-footed in their dealings with ICTs as Omnivores. Connectors suspect their gadgets could do more for them, and some need help in getting new technology to function properly.

Defining Characteristics
Connectors combine a sense that information technology is good for social purposes with a clear recognition that online resources are a great way to learn new things. Their cell phones have a lot of features, and they also try new things with technology; more than half have watched TV programming on a device like a laptop computer or cell phone.

Who They Are
Connectors, which make up 7% of the population, have a median age of 38, with a majority (54%) in the 30-49 age range. Ethnically, it is mostly white (72%); 16% are Black and 12% are English-speaking Hispanics. The typical Connector has been online for 9 years, which suggests they were a second-wave of late 1990s adopters. Most are women (55%) and they rate above average in educational attainment and income.

Uh oh.

My throat is sore. My glands are swollen. I feel tired and achy.

What are the odds that a good night’s sleep can forestall the illness that sidelined Rudi for three days last week?

Maybe this is why I’ve been so tired the last week…

Heading to bed….