Thanksgiving was even less of a big deal than it usually is, and that’s really relaxed, considering this family. Other families fight and fuss and put on huge productions, but not us, man. We just sort of get together with whoever can come, coming; and whoever can’t, not. No drama, no recriminations, just good food and hanging out.

My mom had gone to get my gramma the day before, so it was just the six of us. Gramma and I ganged up on Mom a little to let me cook the gravy; three generations of women who don’t like to share their kitchens in one place is a scary sight to behold. My sister has a daughter, but I suspect that tendency will die out with me, as Bonnie has no problems at all sharing her kitchen. Someone else wants to cook? She’s all for it!

But the turkey was cooked (and it was from the farm across the road) and the side dishes were made and I brought a cheesecake and it was all good.

My mom kept the kids busy by setting them loose on Photoshop. I’ve always known that I was behind John on the video game curve thanks to poorer reflexes and a large dose of not being interested in them, but until now, I’d always had the jump on him on regular computer programs. Not any more. In two hours, that kid had figured out to do all of the stuff that I have wanted to learn. Gramma gave me Grampa’s old copy of it, so I installed it when I got home and gave him specific lessons.

See, this is what happens when you give a twelve-year-old photoshop and two hours:

Aren’t we pretty?

“Learn how to blur faces,” I said, and in ten minutes, he had it down and showed me. Cool! I can use his learning curve instead of mine!

I kept myself busy by being annoying with the camera, as I always do. A doe and her fawn sauntered up in the evening, but it was just a little too dark for publishable pictures. I enjoyed myself trying though.

And to cap it off, my dad talked my mom into surrendering the turkey carcass (he’s not a huge soup fan) so I brought it home and cooked me up a vat of turkey stock on Friday. I’ll freeze a little, but that will keep me fed for lunches for the rest of the week.

A nice day, that was, and the rest of the weekend was equally low-key. I’m waiting for the kids to come back from their father’s, where they’d gone to watch a football game, and then we’ll all continue to fart around the house and get stuff done that I’ve been putting off.

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Oh, and Jeff IM’d me today. He’s in Iraq; I don’t yet have an address for him, but if you want to send him a care package, email me and I’ll pass it along when I get it. So far, all he needs are batteries and copenhagen, which I will take care of.