le n, my family is also big on just having a bunch of snacky stuff on hand during the holidays: cheese, crackers, hummus, chips, fruit, olives, baby carrots, stuff like that. Could you pick up a few simple items to bring with you? I like meara's movie idea too. Are you just going there for the day? If you'll be there the night before, you could get a big takeout meal so you'll have leftovers for the next night.

Also, I'm with you: one big meal at noon is never gonna be enough to keep me sated until bedtime.

smonster, sending you ~ma for Bella! I hope it's easily diagnosed and fixed. Poor kitty.

le n, I would vote for either smonter's sandwiches in the evening or Kate's suggestion of hummus, cheese, etc, snacks set out to snack on as needed. We end up doing the opposite on Thanksgiving. We tend to eat around 4 or 5 but can't really wait that long between breakfast and dinner, so we do the hummus, olives, cheese, veggies, etc, set out from noon on so folks can graze if they get hungry.

We eat our thanksgiving (and xmas) meals in the early afternoon (because Southerners). Evening is for cheese and crackers and fruit and pretzels and drinks.

Thanks for the kitty~ma.

le_n, I have gotten myself in the habit of bringing snacks almost everywhere I go. With this Intuitive Eating thing, I end up hungry about every 3-4 hours, and no one else is on the same schedule as me. So if a nice veggie/cheese/crackers tray or other appetizers to share does not sound practical, in your shoes I'd have some string cheese and granola bars or apples and peanut butter or something for myself.

bonny, she's a jumper. She is getting older (thirteen or so) but she's very always been small and agile.

Yeah, injury sounds like a distinct possibility. Has she been evaluated previously for arthritis? At her age it might have crept up on her enough in a way that seems sudden from the outside. Harvey was just coming up on his 14th birthday when I noticed enough signs of pain that I talked to the vet about it. Thankfully, the glucosamine/chondroitin/msm supplements I give him have been very helpful.

Teppy, thanks so much for sharing those beautiful pictures. I'm still smiling after looking at every single one.

I hope the vet can diagnose and fix Bella up quick and easy. Puppycat has certainly pulled stuff a time or two with overly ambitious jumping.

Kitty~ma for Bella. I hope it's nothing serious.

Today we're taking my mother out for her birthday, and tomorrow we go out to celebrate our anniversary. I'm fighting my impulse to hibernate the whole weekend.

Buying beer and copious cough meds before 9 am makes me feel classy. But the beer, sadly, is payment for helping me move Dad's desk that is bring brought up today. Very fair trade but, mmm, beer.

I hope Bella just pulled something minor that will resolve soon.

That sounds very similar to what happened with Jeeves a couple of years back when he pulled/wrenched his hip. A steroid shot from the vet helped immensely. Also, I put boxes/step stools/etc. by the places he most liked to jump so he wouldn't aggravate things further.