Our party starts at 4; it’s now 1:22. The house is not clean. The tree is still sitting out in the hallway. No food has been cooked. We expect about a dozen people sometime this evening.

The bed is already full of crap that can’t go anywhere else.

Why do we never learn?

(Come 4:30 or so, it will be fun… Rest assured. We’re just in the height of panic season here in the Burrow.)

How long are candy canes good for?

I want to know because I bought a dozen last year to be a centerpiece for our tree-trimming party. I don’t like mint, so it’s up to Rudi to eat the red, white, and green ones afterwards. But Rudi tends not to eat a lot of candy, so the canes are still sitting in the glass I placed them in a year ago.

If I dust them off is it kosher to use them again on Sunday for this year’s festivities? I mean, what are the odds someone is going to want to eat one? And if they do, will the candy still be okay? Or will it have undergone some strange transformation the way chocolate turns white and chalky if left too long? (Sarah, since you’re the only one coming to the party who reads the blog, consider yourself forewarned!)

Or should I just spring for a new $1.20 box for 2006?

I think that, after nearly four years away from a weekly yoga practice, it’s time to resume going to class.

After four years of not practicing the skill regularly, the ability to relax with deep yoga breaths is starting to wear off.

My shoulders seem to be permanently around my ears.

My jaw is always clenched, even when I’m asleep.

I have an ongoing headache.

I want a disciplined class again. I want an instructor who corrects your position with the lightest fingertip touch so that you immediately know that your back is not, in fact, yet flat. I want a room filled with camraderie and silence as everyone finds their own boundaries and paths. I want to begin with breathing together as one and sun salutations and to end with corpse pose and namaste and a bow.

And, luckily, I can have that. I live in a hip section of town where yoga studios practically surround the Burrow. It’s just a matter of valuing myself enough to get off my butt and walk three blocks to partake in the next class. Here’s hoping I move in that direction soon.

Television ends sweeps month strong with a great week of tv. Monday is usually the only night of the week where we keep the tv on all three hours of prime time, having found four shows that we enjoy: How I Met Your Mother, The Class, Heroes, and Studio 60. Tonight’s shows were all good episodes, I’m pleased to report.

We also get Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown and a Great Performances featuring James Taylor later this week. This promises to be a week filled with lots of knitting — and some housecleaning in anticipation of our tree-trimming party this coming Sunday — so it’s nice that the television offers us quality background entertainment.

These are the things I like best about our Thanksgiving Day tradition. Do you have favorite traditions?

1. Doughnuts. Dad and I (with or without Josh or Rudi or Rebs or Caroline) have stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts every year as long as I can remember. Some years we have had to stop at more than one.

2. The Macy’s Day Parade. Yes, yes. I know it should be The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. But isn’t the morning really all about Macy’s as a feel-good brand? I mean, until they fire Santa Claus and all…. I’m glad they were able to have the balloons this year even if they were practically scraping along on the ground. Better underinflated than not there at all, I say.

3. Food. Everyone gets in on the act at Thanksgiving. Gramma makes the turkey and the pies. Dad makes the rolls. Rudi makes carrots and peppers. I make mashed potatoes. Mum makes everything else. And it all tastes wonderful! This year Mum was ahead of the game and had tons of stuff prepped and hanging out in the fridge just waiting to be reheated, so Thanksgiving afternoon was relatively stress-free.

4. Blessings. It’s good to have a day to count your blessings. We should have more than one such day. But I’m glad we have one at the very least, because I have a whole lot of things to appreciate.

5. And last, but far from least, family. I love my family (and the extended family members who have celebrated with us over the years). I think of you all this weekend, whether you were around my table or not.

Tomorrow afternoon Rudi and I join travelers across the nation in the great seasonal migration. Adding several hours to the normal trip is worth it only because of what waits at the other end — loved ones.

Thanksgiving is a day filled with tradition. I offer you my favorite traditional holiday foods:

1. Stuffing — plain old Pepperidge Farms variety from the blue bag
2. Mashed potatoes — made with milk or cream, not broth
3. Turkey — I prefer mine dry; I understand I’m in the minority on this point
4. Cranberry sauce — Either Gramma’s homemade or the smooth canned version
5. Carrots and peppers — Rudi’s contribution to the day and the most recent addition to the traditional food column
6. Bonus: Apple pie — Worth waiting all day for and worth adding to the end of any list

May your own holiday be filled with what you love.