A Mossy Christmas Letter

‘Twas the week before Christmas, and all through the house,
Not a Rottweiler was stirring, nor even a mouse
The stockings were packed in the basement with care,
Along with the tree and decorations to spare

This time last year, we were in Texas celebrating our son’s graduation from SMU. In fact, I mailed my Christmas cards out as soon as I returned from our second North Texas Thanksgiving and wrote my annual Moss Family Christmas letter very early in December 2010 (publishing it electronically via this blog). I sent out fewer cards this year and waited until now to finish writing this year’s letter. I also opted not to print and mail the letter. I’m sharing it here for family, friends, and anyone else who stops by.

Winter 2011

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. And boy did it ever! The first two months of this year dumped more snow, that I had to shovel without the assistance of my son (who fled south in 2009 to Texas to finish college and settle into a warmer climate). I spent most of Ground Hog day either shoveling the driveway or baking bread. At least I didn’t have to drive in it, since I had joined a vanpool in the Summer of 2010.

Rachelle visited us in January and grouted our entryway tile floor. Except for live streaming concerts broadcast by her college (UNT College of Music), I didn’t see her in person until Thanksgiving last month. She opted to endure more than one hundred days of one hundred degree heat in one of the driest and hottest Texas summers on record. But I’m jumping ahead.

My home state, Kansas, turned 150 years old in January.

Spring 2011

Terry and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary at a flooded Table Rock Lake resort. No, we didn’t take in any shows in Branson. We did see evidence of flooding in the area, but nothing that interfered with our stay (since we didn’t plan to water ski or tour the lake by boat).

Summer 2011

We enjoyed surprise visits from my uncle Ron and son Derek and his wife Royna near the 4th of July weekend. We spent hours visiting and enjoying the cool air from my newly installed and updated central air unit (well, newly installed in December, but not tested until the heat arrived in June).

Home renovation began with the roof, followed by the driveway and then the fireplace. Our experience with the roofers left us euphoric, while the driveway contractor caused us ulcers. The first torrential rain waited weeks to arrive, and when it did, we still had a leak next to our fireplace. Every roofing contractor we had bid on our roof assured us the leak would be sealed by the new roof. Unfortunately, while the extra care taken by the roofers to seal around our fireplace did not fix the broken cap and mortar none of us had noticed. We found a highly recommend chimney repair contractor who replaced our cap, some firebrick and the mortar. We are happy to report that the recent rains (before and after Thanksgiving) did not result in any new fireplace leaks. We did discover our gutter draining into a basement window well, but we’ve solved that minor water mishap with some weaterproofing and gutter run-off upgrades.

On the 1st day of August, I celebrated my 15th anniversary with my employer.

Fall 2011

We attended one of the largest SF conventions (the infamous Dragon*Con) in the country in Atlanta, Georgia (the last state of the lower 48 that I needed to visit). We won’t be returning to the venue, as the sheer number of people crowded into five huge hotels in downtown Atlanta blunted our enthusiasm for the events. I did get to meet three of my favorite artists: Don Maitz, Janny Wurts and Michael Whelan. We spent a pleasant evening with Don and Janny at a local steak restaurant.

A first for me (but probably not the last) attending a funeral on my birthday.

The Third Annual North Texas Thanksgiving gathered in Derek and Royna’s apartment in the Colony, Texas. A strange name for a community (or maybe not so strange) but a very nice place to live.

Advent 2011

December started with a ‘changing of the guard’ with respect to my vanpool. I became the sole driver. I managed to find three new willing riders, in addition to the remaining Hallmark rider. We finished our second full week together and we’re settling into a routine, just as we approach the holidays. I’m praying for good weather, not just because I’ll be the one that has to navigate the ice and snow, but also so my kids can travel safely home next week. Derek and Royna are driving up from North Texas on Christmas Eve and Rachelle is flying in on the Tuesday after Christmas.

While I’m looking forward to seeing Derek, Royna and Rachelle again, I’m also concerned about my husband’s health. As I mentioned last week in my request for prayers, something new has cropped up to dampen our festive moods. He did see a specialist last week and a biopsy is scheduled for three days before Christmas (so please keep those prayers flowing!).

No matter what the storms of life may bring, though, I will take time to ponder the wonder, the pure joy, of the greatest gift of love ever bestowed on such an unworthy world.

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given,
and the government shall be upon His shoulder;
and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
— Chorus, Handel’s Messiah

Merry Christmas from the Moss Family

Rain Showers Instead of Meteor Showers

I got a strange call this afternoon from my daughter’s boyfriend. I let it go to my voice-mail because I happened to be in the middle of a meeting at that time. When I got a chance to listen to his voice-mail, I nearly laughed out loud. I always fear the worst when I get calls out-of-the-blue from my kids (or their significant others), but this time he just wanted to let me know he had heard a blurb on NPR about the peak viewing opportunity tonight for the annual Geminid meteor shower. I called him back to thank him for the heads up, but I already had at least four other feeds (from various astronomy magazines, clubs and websites) keeping me up-to-date on all things astronomincal. My biggest hurdle to viewing anything in the night sky this week is the non-stop rain and overcast huddled over Kansas. Check out tonight’s hourly forecast for my viewing area:

The star Castor in the constellation Gemini nearly coinicides with the radiant point of the annual Geminid meteor shower

So just like what happened last month with the Leonids, I guess I’ll be missing the Geminids this year. I sure hope 2012 allows me better viewing opportunities for meteor shows, comets and the planets. I remember May being especially disappointing with overcast skies nearly every weekend. I finally gave up in August and stored the telescope in the basement because the weather just wouldn’t cooperate with my observing goals and schedule. I almost retrieved it for last weekend’s lunar eclipse, but since the eclipse coincided with moonset and sunrise, I decided looking through the hazy atmosphere with my camera’s telephoto lens would be sufficient.

Parking Temporarily Returns

Last week I reported my home town Public Works Department had installed a ‘no parking’ sign in my court (and twelve other cul-de-sacs spread across the city). This afternoon when I turned into my driveway, I noticed the sign had been removed from the pole. Terry will need to let the band members know they can park in the usual locations for tomorrow night’s weekly rehearsal. I’m just happy I won’t be juggling cars tomorrow or worrying about where to put them, especially since the wet yard would rut if I had to park some of them off the street. I doubt my previous blog post could have caused so much fervor that it necessitated the complete removal of the sign by the City. I know they planned to add an addendum to the ‘no parking’ sign to indicate only during snow, but I assumed a second sign would be attached below the first one. Apparently, something else is planned and I will keep an eye on the sign post for the next few days to see what develops.

Tips and Teaks

I continue to experiment and enjoy the enhancements of the Nook Color software update 1.4.1 released yesterday. I encountered some diminished functionality from a couple of websites I frequented. After trying the usual things (clearing cache, cookies and history and powering the device off), I chatted with a customer service representative at Barnes & Noble. I didn’t agree with his proposed solution and while he went seeking advice from a higher power (second tier tech support), I stumbled upon a solution. I updated yesterday’s blog post to include my findings.

Continued Prayers Please

My husband saw the specialist today and a biopsy is scheduled for three days before Christmas. Your continued prayers for healing, strength, understanding and patience are greatly appreciated.

Prayer Request

Yesterday, my husband received discouraging news from his doctor. The sort of news, when piled on top of all his other health issues, that makes you instantly angry, scared and depressed. We know more than we knew last week, but we know less than we need to know to deal rationally with the situation. Now a specialist is needed and more tests, all of which will not occur fast enough to suit either of us, especially with the delays in scheduling that the normally joyful holiday season will inflict on us. Just when you need it most, patience and peace flee before the storm of doubt and uncertainty.

So, I’m sending out an appeal to family and friends to prayer for healing and comfort for my husband.

Healing Prayer

Dear Lord of Mercy and Father of Comfort,

You are the One I turn to for help in moments of weakness and times of need. I ask you to be with my husband during this illness. Psalm 107:20 says that you send out your Word and heal. So then, please send your healing Word to my husband. In the name of Jesus, the Great Physician, drive out all infirmity and sickness from his body.

Oh Lord, I ask that you turn this weakness into strength, this suffering into compassion, this sorrow into joy, and this pain into comfort for others. May my husband trust in your goodness and hope in your faithfulness, even in the midst of this suffering. Let him be filled with patience and joy in your presence as he waits for your healing touch.

Please restore my husband to full health, dearest Father. Remove all fear and doubt from his heart by the power of your Holy Spirit. And may you, Lord, be glorified through his life. As you heal and renew my husband, Lord, may he bless and praise you.

All of this I pray in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

15 And the prayer that is said with faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will heal that person. And if the person has sinned, the sins will be forgiven. 16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so God can heal you. When a believing person prays, great things happen.

James 5:15-16 (New Century Version)

Bert & Ernie Stopped By

I decided to visit Bedford Falls this evening. I spent time with the Baileys and even admired Zuzu’s petals. I pondered the parallels of Pottersville and a more recent Potter-dom. But I savored the supporting roles of the original Bert and Ernie most as I watched “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

More in the morning … good night for now.

* * *

Good morning (at least for the next thirty minutes in the Central time zone). I am being exceedingly lazy this Sunday morning, lounging around the house, reading a space opera and visiting with my dad, who stopped by to return the house key I left him while we were away in Texas.

According to the Trivia section of IMDB’s entry for ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ Sesame Street’s Bert and Ernie muppets were NOT named for the characters in the film:

Two of Sesame Street’s Muppets, Bert and Ernie, share their names with the film’s cop and cab driver, respectively, but it’s believed to be just a coincidence. While Karolyn Grimes, who played Zuzu, claimed that the two Muppets were named after the characters because the movie was Jim Henson’s favorite, according to longtime Muppets head writer Jerry Juhl in an interview with The San Francisco Chronicle, Ernie and Bert were not named after the movie’s characters. Juhl said, “I was not present at the naming, but I was always positive the rumor was incorrect. Despite his many talents, Jim Henson had no memory for details like this. He knew the movie, of course, but would not have remembered the cop and the cabdriver. I was not able to confirm this with Jim before he died, but shortly thereafter I spoke to Jon Stone, Sesame Street’s first producer and head writer and a man largely responsible for the show’s format. He assured me that Ernie and Bert were named one day when he and Jim were studying the prototype puppets. They decided that one of them looked like an Ernie, and the other one looked like a Bert. The movie character names are purely coincidental.”

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038650/trivia?tab=tr&item=tr0765775

The characters antics in the context of the early twentieth century (late 20s, the Depression and during WWII) showed their age while I watched it last night. Uncle Billy using string tied around his fingers are reminders, which he never remembered (compared to my use of electronic calendars and text message alerts). Live bands and dance contests, with such classics as the Charleston and the Jitterbug (while my kids play DDR on a game console). The ‘Hee-Haw’ salute shared among the Bedford boys still slips my grasp; I can’t imagine what children born in the twenty-first century think of it. Two piece telephones, telegrams, phonograph records, trains, all things I’ve never seen or experienced, but I at least knew someone who had and could connect with that past.

But regardless of the context where and when the film was cast and shot, the story shines, nearly as classic as Dicken’s A Christmas Carol and an annual favorite in my household.

To Occupy Christmas or Not?

Hallmark Lobby Christmas Tree (with the Mayor's Christmas Tree in the background)

I drive a vanpool from Lansing to downtown, midtown and the Plaza areas of Kansas City, Missouri every weekday. My final stop, before heading to my own work place, is Crown Center, the ‘home’ of Hallmark Cards. As you can see from the slightly blurry cellphone photo I took this morning, the decorations at the world headquarters for Hallmark simply exude the Spirit of Christmas. I need this extra immersion for Christmas cheer to confront the gauntlet of bland and vaguely wintery decorations my building lobby sports. I left the house without my red and green ball Christmas tree ornaments, so I can’t ‘occupy’ the decorations today. And I have my uncle to thank for that ‘Occupy Christmas’ idea, thanks to a comment he posted to my post yesterday about the prevalence of unholiday decorations littering the lobby.

For the entire drive in this morning, I kept thinking of picket sign slogans I could hand paint for such an occupation, such as: “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” or “Put Christ Back in Christmas” or “The Cross (X) Marks the Spot” and so on. Rather than being the 99% we could be (and are) 100% loved by Him. I know I’ll be saying “Merry Christmas” rather than “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings” for the next thirty or so days (until Epiphany anyways).

I’m also curious about the decorations in the lobby of your workplace buildings. Snap a photo with your cell phone and comment with the link to participate in this unofficial and informal survey of corporate expressions of Christmas (or unHoliday) cheer.

Return of the unHolidays

unHoliday Decorations II

I returned to work today after a long Thanksgiving break. As I approached the elevators, I became concerned that a new form of fungus had usurped our sedate lobby ferns. Then I remembered. The building must have hired the same interior designer from last year’s decorations. I am tempted to scrounge through my Christmas decorations at home and bring in the largest brightest red and green balls to hang clandestinely among the bleak colorless concoction displayed above.

I’m getting depressed just looking at this picture. Ugh.

The I’s Have It

For my twenty-eight posting in my ‘Thirty Days of Thankfulness‘ blog series, I am extremely thankful for the Interstate Highway System championed by the only President hailing from Kansas (albeit as a transplant from Texas): Dwight D. Eisenhower. Thanks to his vision and backing, construction was authorized by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 and took 35 years to complete. The network has since been extended and as of 2006 it had a total length of 46,876 miles. About one-third of all miles driven in the country use the Interstate system (2003 figures). The cost of construction has been estimated at $425 billion (in 2006 dollars), making it the largest public works project in history (for more interesting facts and trivia about the Interstate Highway System, please click here).

Last Wednesday, my husband and I embarked on our third annual trip to North Texas via the K ansas Turnpike (consisting of I-70, I-470, I-335 and I-35), paying for the privilege to drive from one end of it to the other for just $10.75, continuing on through Oklahoma and about forty miles of Texas to reach Denton. Within just the past couple of months, Kansas raised the speed limit on all Interstates to 75 mph, which made the trip from Kansas City through Lawrence, Topeka, Emporia, the Flint Hills and Wichita, seem to fly by. Oklahoma, however, still maintains a 70 mph speed limit and thanks to the ‘no delay’ Dallas interchange (between I-35 and I-40) and all the attendant reduced speed zones through the Oklahoma City metropolitan area makes the trip south seem to drag on forever. Terry slept through the second half of Oklahoma and I listened to music via my Nook Color. I had to switch from Heart‘s Greatest Hits (which started to put me to sleep) to Iron Maiden‘s Powerslave (nearly all the songs on this album race along at tempos that rival the Trooper). I managed to stay awake and arrived in Denton just as the sun was setting.

For the rest of the weekend, we visited Rachelle, Nic, Derek and Royna, enjoying a fabulous smoked turkey and ham with the usual Thanksgiving fixings. I made two batches of sticky buns, which didn’t survive more than an hour or so once they came out of the oven.

We avoided any of the early bird Black Friday sales, but attended the special Black Friday show at the Abbey Underground. Saturday we spent more time visiting and watching movies, including Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Tower Heist and Super 8. We had some dysfunctional family comedy at the movie theater Saturday evening and drama early Sunday morning, but nothing that we couldn’t overcome and laugh about. Sunday we did some more shopping and then spent the evening reliving my childhood by trying to tune in television stations with an indoor antenna.

Yesterday, Terry and I were up early to hit the road north, since we had a pickup time at the kennel of six o’clock to retrieve Roxy and Apollo. We left Denton at 6:55 and pulled into the driveway in Lansing at 3:25 p.m.

We experienced an uneventful drive for the most part, except for an incident involving an Oklahoma State Trooper. He pulled me over, not because I was speeding, but claiming I had crossed over the white line (the one between the right lane and the right shoulder) several times and was concerned that I was suffering from fatigue from driving too long (I’d only been on the road a couple of hours by then so no, I wasn’t tired, nor do I believe I was weaving erratically around the highway). He asked for my driver’s license but not my registration or insurance. He also asked for my husband’s driver’s license, which always makes Terry angry, but he restrained himself from sarcastic outbursts. Essentially, the only reason this trooper pulled us over is (most likely) that we had out-of-state tags and he was fishing for illegal drugs (good luck with that) or outstanding warrants (ditto on that one). I need to poll my attorney friends and determine if when pulled over, an officer can ask for passenger identification without stating a reason. Otherwise, it might be harassment or just a way to extend the length of the stop. The officer did not ticket me, but gave me some kind of warning (not really a warning, just a record of our contact) for me to sign. I signed (since I didn’t feel like making a scene) and proceeded north, finally and thankfully reaching the Kansas border at noon.

Despite the prevalence of State Troopers in Texas and Oklahoma (I only saw one Kansas State Trooper just south of Topeka), we made record time. I purposely prefer to make the return trip on a Monday because traffic after the Thanksgiving weekend is horrendous on Sundays, but non-existent on Mondays. I attribute the ease of our travel to the exceptional highway system we enjoy in the United States. I’ve ridden or driven quite a few of the Interstates and someday I need to figure up which ones and how many miles. With a nod to Eisenhower, I’ve visited his home town of Abilene, Kansas several times (and driven through it more times than I can count while traversing Kansas via I-70 east or west) and been through his birthplace of Denison, Texas via US-75 and US-69. Roads and facilities are named for him in my unofficial home town of Leavenworth, Kansas, probably because he attended the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth. I’m just grateful that Eisenhower brought back something good from WWII Germany:

Eisenhower gained an appreciation of the German Autobahn network as a necessary component of a national defense system while he was serving as Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II.^[6] He recognized that the proposed system would also provide key ground transport routes for military supplies and troop deployments in case of an emergency or foreign invasion.

Interstate Highway System, Wikipedia

All my past and future road trips benefit from Ike’s foresight. I like Ike and I love his Interstates.

Expectant Waiting

For my twenty-seventh installment of my ‘Thirty Days of Thankfulness‘ series and the final (fourth) Sunday, I will focus on the season of Advent.

“Advent is a period of spiritual preparation in which many Christians make themselves ready for the coming, or birth of the Lord, Jesus Christ. During this time, Christians observe a season of prayer, fasting and repentance, followed by anticipation, hope and joy. Many Christians celebrate Advent not only by thanking God for Christ’s first coming to Earth as a baby, but also for his presence among us today through the Holy Spirit, and in preparation and anticipation of his final coming at the end of time.” All About Advent, About.com

Being raised a Methodist, I remember with fondness the anticipation of lighting each successive candle in the Advent Wreath on each Sunday leading up to Christmas eve, when the final white Christ candle shone bright with love and hope. I even celebrated advent at home with my husband and children for a couple of years, but being empty nesters now, it’s harder to motivate myself.

For this first week of Advent 2011, I will share excerpts from the ‘2011 Advent Home Worship‘ by MaryJane Pierce Norton:

Hope

Advent is a time of waiting and of hoping. We wait for the day when we celebrate again the birth of Jesus. We hope that everyone will come to know God and to worship God.

God promised to send a Savior to the people. When we read the Scripture reading, we hear what the prophet Isaiah wrote about God. God is the potter who molds us. We know that the gospel witness is one that helps us understand that God is loving and just. God brings peace. This gives us hope. We anticipate again the birth of the baby Jesus remembering that Jesus helps us know God’s love for us.

Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.

Isaiah 64:8 (NRS)

Think about a potter. A potter takes clay and forms it in a way that is pleasing. That is what God is able to do with each person. We are reminded that we are all the work of God’s hand. How do we use these gifts that God has formed in us?

Dear God: Thank you for your son, Jesus. Thank you for the words of the Prophet Isaiah that remind us that you are the source of our hope. Help us to live each day allowing you to form us in a way that brings about your kingdom here on earth. AMEN.

* * *

The Advent Home Worship also provides daily meditations and actions to take to convey hope to others. For example, today’s item:

Tuesday, November 29, 2011: Is there someone you know who needs to hear words of hope? Make or select a card for that person and mail it today.

* * *

May all your days be filled with hope and love.

Giving Thanks

And so I’ve reached the penultimate day in my ‘Thirty Days of Thankfulness‘ series. No, it’s not the final day, since this marks the twenty-fourth posting with six more to go, but it is the traditional holiday date to give thanks for all my countless blessings.

I’m extremely thankful that I didn’t actually have to roast a turkey. Thanks to a friend of my daughter’s, we had an exquisitely smoked turkey as well as a marvelous spiral cut ham to go with our many traditional side dishes. We did somehow manage to leave the cranberry sauce in Denton but no one is pointing fingers as to who rushed who out of the apartment. He did make an excellent gravy.

We’ve just cracked into the pies. The sticky buns batch I made this morning disappeared within a few minutes of coming out of the oven, so the pies are all that’s left to fill in whatever gaps might be left in our stomachs.

Rachelle and Terry seated at Derek's Transformer-like Table

We had some lively dinner discussion topics around my son’s interesting dining room table. Their apartment’s kitchen is a vast improvement over the one they had at the other apartment. The chairs are very comfortable and we enjoyed the food and the debates with equal relish. Some of us have drifted off into a food coma, others watched a movie, or played video games or, in my case, snuck off to write this quick blog post to recap the highlight of my November for the last three years. The long drive to North Texas from Northeastern Kansas is well worth the backaches and road hypnosis to spend a few precious days with my kids. No matter how connected we may think we are thanks to the Internet, or technology, or cell phones, or tex messages, it just can’t beat the up-close and personal reach-out-and-hug-your-loved one kind of experience.

This may be our final North Texas Thanksgiving gathering with both kids attending. It will all depend on Rachelle’s graduate school auditions and selection process. Next year, I may have to decide between a Colorado or Chicago Thanksgiving with Rachelle or returning to North Texas to visit Derek and Royna.

But I won’t dwell on a situation that doesn’t yet exist and may not be an issue as I just remembered that we will be in Texas next November no matter what for the inaugural Formula One race to be held at the Circuit of the Americas scheduled to occur just four days after my husband’s birthday.

Today, I’m just thankful to be here with my kids, their significant others and my husband, all together under one roof. If only Roxy and Apollo could be here as well, then my life would be complete.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family and friends.

Sticky Buns

I am thankful to have made it safe and sound through two states to visit my children. So, for my twenty-third installment of ‘Thirty Days of Thankfulness,’ I wish to share their (and mine) perennial favorite: Sticky Buns (follow the link for the recipe and detailed instructions with photos).

Nearly the first thing I did upon arriving at my daughter’s apartment was to inventory her pantry and then head to the largest Kroger grocery store in the state of Texas. As expected, since it was early evening on the day before Thanksgiving, the aisles were jam packed, especially the baking aisle. We survived with most of our limbs intact and only forgetting one item, which we had forgotten to place on our grocery list.

Once back at the apartment, I installed my old bread machine and began mixing up a batch of the sticky buns, using the dough setting on the bread machine. Since it was close to eight o’clock, I knew I would be up way past my bedtime. While my husband and daughter’s boyfriend headed over to a friend’s house who had graciously agreed to smoke a turkey for us, Rach3elle and I streamed a couple of old Star Trek: Voyager episodes from the sixth season, ones I didn’t remember but were quite interesting none-the-less.

We decided to go ahead and bake the first batch of sticky buns last night, using my daughter’s large 9×13 inch glass baking dish. I wasn’t completely satisfied with the way the dough mixed and rose, so I wanted to be able to test taste it in case I needed to re-do a batch early in the morning. Another strange new experience for me: cooking with gas. My daughter’s kitchen apartment includes a Hotpoint gas range. I have only ever cooked using electric ovens. Interesting.

The sticky buns came out of the over around 11:30 but when we flipped them over onto a large cookie sheet, several rolls around the edges stuck to the sides and came unraveled. Prime targets for a taste test. The results were superb but I would need to make another batch in the morning to fine-tune the recipe. While I had purchased what I thought was non-fat dry milk at the grocery store, it was actually labelled ‘instant’ (I really should where my reading glasses while shopping), so I put an eighth to a quarter cup of half-and-half in the liquid portion of the recipe. This morning, I decided to forgo any dairy aspect of the recipe and the dough does look like it is rising better.

I sometimes make this recipe up for friends and family, but I don’t bake it for them. I send them a batch in a disposable aluminum foil pan with instructions on refrigeration, rising and baking so that they can enjoy this treat fresh out of the oven, sticky, gooey and hot, just like it’s meant to be enjoyed.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!