The morning is cloudy but warm. Nothing is moving. The prediction is for sun this afternoon then down to the 30’s tonight. I’ll be home safe and warm.

Henry woke me up this morning. He bayed then leapt out of bed, landed on the hall rug and slid across. Without pause, he bounded down the stairs and slipped a bit as he ran. When he got to the front door, he barked incessantly. I could hear it all from my bedroom. I could also hear a blower. My landscaper and his guys were cleaning my front yard and deck. Henry was just announcing their arrival. They blew pine needles off the lower driveway which I hadn’t seen in a while. They raked and cleared the flower beds. They blew the deck clean of the oak leaves strewn about by the wind. The upper driveway was filled with pine needles and leaves which a vacuum sucked into a truck. My yard looks neat.

I had leftover Thanksgiving last night. I’ll have it again tonight. I don’t ever mind leftovers especially turkey dinner leftovers.

When I was a kid, the countdown to Christmas began right after Thanksgiving. My town put up lights. The fire station was totally outlined in holiday colors, and swags hung over the square from one side of the street to the other. A bell hung from the center of each swag. The store windows were decorated, and I loved walking through the square.

When the Sears catalog came, it was a fight to the finish as to which of us would get it first. I kept a running list of what I wanted for Christmas. To help Santa, I included the item number from the catalogue in my letter to him. I just wanted to make sure he knew exactly what I wanted.

The sun just arrived, and I can see blue sky behind the clouds. I think it will be a nice day. I’ll do a bit of shopping and visit my favorite local stores.

The morning is glorious. It rained all day yesterday so everything is still wet. When I opened the back door, I could see steam rising from the tops of the fences where the morning sun was hitting it. The steam rose in the air and reminded me of steam from subway vents on the sidewalks. When I was a kid, I used to stand on one to get warm. A bird was singing loudly all by itself probably in thanks for the sun and the warmth of the day. It will get to 60˚ here.

My Thanksgiving dinner was delicious, and there is plenty for leftovers tonight. The aluminum pan was filled with turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, squash and sweet potato. Gravy and cranberry sauce were on the side. The original email said to call from the parking lot, and they’d bring my dinner so I dressed not at all. I wore fleece pants with lots of white dog hair, pelting and a hole. I stayed in my sweat shirt with no supportive undergarment. When I got to the restaurant, the sign said to go in to pick up dinner. I slouched and went inside.

My to do list has one item. I need to organize all the Christmas gifts into bags and boxes to get them ready to wrap then mail. I am determined to finish organizing by Sunday so I can buy whatever gifts I’m missing. I’ll wrap them all next week. I want the boxes gone by next Friday.

I am sad. My slippers have reached the end of their usefulness and their warmth. My toes poke through, well, the big toes anyway. The backs are frayed, and the soles worn down to the linings. I have worn those slippers everywhere. They stopped being just slippers a long time ago. I’ll miss them.