Oy. Our Thanksgiving menu is once again becoming the subject of many emails and phone calls. We're now up to two kinds of cranberry sauce, two kinds of stuffing, and possibly two kinds of mashed potatoes, because nobody can agree on anything. (OK, the two kinds of stuffing are kind of my fault. The cranberry sauce was a mutual thing -- some of us like the canned stuff and hate the fresh, and some are the opposite. The two kinds of mashed potatoes are because people are skeptical that I can make vegan mashed potatoes.) We're also up to three desserts for five people. (I'm making pumpkin pie, which everybody except my sister likes. My cousin is bringing a pie dish full of apple pie filling, because she wants something healthier and thinks most of the calories are in the crust. My sister insists that fruit is not dessert and is bringing something chocolate.)

My boyfriend and I are having Thanksgiving for my mom, dad and sister -- his folks can't make it, because his stepdad is on-call for work.

I'm doing a bone-in ham cooked in cider, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, crescent rolls and butter, real whipped cream, black and green olives and Gerwurtraminer. My mom and sister are bringing homemade mac and cheese, cherry junk (which is traditional in my fam, and cherry pie filling mixed with crushed pineapple and Cool Whip) and a pumpkin custard pie and pumpkin cheesecake, and a bottle of house red.

We're going to have it as lunch, and then I've invited friends over in the evening to wear PJ's, bring any leftovers they have and a drink, and play some Wii and card games.

I am totally dreading Thanksgiving, due to potential family drama, but that's been true for the past fifteen years. so, you'd think I'd be used to it.

Our menu so far is turkey, matzo-egg stuffing, matzo-tofu stuffing (this is the one that's my fault), turkey gravy, vegan gravy (from a mix), caramelized onion and squash casserole with chestnuts, green bean casserole, roasted brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, canned cranberry sauce, and cranberry orange sauce. With squash soup to start, and two pies plus something chocolate for dessert.

I'm stuffing a turkey and making a vegan pumpkin cheesecake thing, mom said she will do "everything else". I know that includes brussel sprouts, not sure about the rest.

A little jealous of the bone in ham. I haven't had it in years, but it used to be one of my favorites.

We're going to have it as lunch, and then I've invited friends over in the evening to wear PJ's, bring any leftovers they have and a drink, and play some Wii and card games.

That's a genius idea.

I have to work on Thanksgiving. There is a high probability that I will be alone in the group home for most of the day, as all the residents will be with their families. But someone has to stick around in case plans change and a resident returns earlier than anticipated. I'll use the time to do some deep cleaning, and some reading, and maybe mend some clothes.

I'm not quite sure at the moment how Daniel and I will keep the holiday, but I'm sure we will find a way that suits.

Oh, yeah -- I'm also making a turkey breast, because my mom and sister like turkey, too, and mom is bringing cranberry sauce, because she and Dad like it.

Dan has to work day after T-day, and mom and dad live an hour away, and they like to be home before dark, so I thought "Have people over!" My house will be clean, and I will have food, and it will be fun!

black people or Middle Eastern people or Native Americans or Hispanic people to apply for this job?"

Therein lies the usefulness of "other" as a category to encompass ethnicities who are much less likely to apply for a job than the ones they listed. (I mean, seriously - listing Native American on an application form in any country outside the Americas...not so much with the pointfulness. And 'Hispanic' wouldn't be remotely meaningful as a category in Europe or Asia, afaic.)

It was more the lack of black and Middle Eastern people on that one that had me quizzical. The British one seemed to have a lot of options, and it was interesting to me that they were different options than the ones I usually see. But the New Zealand one (which I can't find right now -- that website was a pain to get through the first time, and now it's telling me that I have the wrong browser and so it won't show me anything) had Asian and European as the only options. The rest of my list of people not included was more that once I noticed those two groups, I started noticing how many other groups weren't there.

I am having Thanksgiving at some restaurant in Miami. I don't know where yet, at my friend has not yet made reservations. She called me very drunk last night after her traditional beaujolais nouveau/birthday party, and I reminded her she needs to make them. We'll see where we end up...