oh my bil made a Princess cake from GBBO.

With marzipan or no?

Y'all are hella nice and my headspace is 100% better today!! Mille grazie!

My immediate fam has decided that we are drawing a name and setting a $40 limit from now on. M is 15 and required to participate. (We drew names in August so he had plenty of time to save it.)

And we have nixed stockings too.

Not gonna lie, I'm a little sad about this, because nostalgia, but it's diminished money and shopping stress considerably.

I'm partioning my hair with teeny rubber bands to dye it red, pink and purple. (I had leftover pink and purple from months ago. And my roots are seriously 5".)

I look demented.

Good, Strix! Pictures, please, of the finished look.

Jesse, I'm no help, but I'm sure whatever you decide on will be a hit. And feel better--no fun being sick on a long free weekend.

Suzi, it makes me smile everytime you talk about your son-in-love (and I *love* that name!) and your family. Thanks for sharing that happiness with us.

Consuela, I'm basking a bit in your description of your morning. We're chill and rain (and rain, and rain) and even well-spoken lines about sunshine are welcome.

We had a joyous time at the neighbors'. Her step-grandson was there. She raised him from age 8 to 22, and the joy they have and take in each other is so apparent. We've met him before and he always seemed familiar, but last night it clicked. I sotto voce'd to H, "Martouf!" and he grinned a little, and nodded. He's dark of eyes and hair, but he has height and facial structure similar to J.R. Bourne, and that same low, slightly raspy, voice and way of speaking. Puzzle solved.

The conversation was witty and sharp and wide-reaching, and even a bit bawdy here and there. The neighbors were relieved they didn't have to censor themselves on politics, religion and spirituality, and all of us discussed ramifications of "me too," with the guys contributing support--and surprise, in a couple of places, made aware of things Guys Don't Learn. The wine was plentiful and good, and we and the other guests were thanked multiple times for helping create a good evening.

And then one of the guests came home with us to peruse the DVDs we're donating, duplicates we somehow wound up with. She took two, the rest will go to the local volunteer library or to Goodwill.

Jesse - I think so. It was smooth on top.

msbelle, while I'm catching up, I'm in constant awe of you. Your determination and industry are formidable, and in such a cute package. And, always, the nicest.

H has been up on the roof all morning, clearing gutters of leaves and needles, tiny fir cones and discarded acorns, gifts of local squirrels, checking the tarp he arranged late last winter to cover the leak he was going to fix this summer, before he had to be away all summer and didn't get to it. It's unpleasant out there. He's rushing to avoid the next wave of rain, but I think this bout has gone on long enough. I'm calling it.

I think we have a successor to Belinda: [link]

I had one something similar whne I was very little and I loved it!!!

Thanks for the kind words, Beverly.

Strix, I'm so happy to see you pixels here! And I want to see your finished hair. I LOVE all the pretty colors!

I just got home with a bonus new car battery after discovering mine was dead. Ugh. I need to go out and swap them and then take the old one back to Pep Boys. I don't wanna mess with it right now, though.

I have brought all my Christmas decor boxes in from the garage and may start decorating tonight. But I should do homework first.

msbelle, I've had my Cuisinart food processor for 10+ years and it's going strong. I love it and use it all the time. Hummus, ftw!

Pretty much all my Black Friday shopping (all online, because I'm not going near a store) has been for me, plus one baby shower gift. So I've failed at Christmas shopping.