As far as Thanksgiving desserts go, these cranberry bars might work. [link]

I just went on a Christmas tree ornament buying spree. Not sure if it was the relief over last week's results making me feel hopeful or if it's my reaction to the remaining stress being "I will holiday the hell out of the remainder of the year and I will like it! Possibly a bit of both.

Anyway, I've been working toward a sort of bird-themed Christmas tree for the past several years, one or two birds at a time. This year I upped the pace a bit and got a few four-bird sets from Target (seriously, how adorable are these? [link] [link] and a couple of Hallmark "beauty of birds" ornaments off of eBay. Which may be as basic bourgeoisie as humanly possible, but also pretty so I'm gonna just own it and go on with my life.

Of course, now I'm sitting here with my inner Puritan all, "You bought things you don't come close to needing, you wasteful spendthrift! You'll die in a gutter and you'll deserve it!" Seriously, Cotton Mather can take a short walk off a long pier.

I'm really looking forward to getting the tree up the day after Thanksgiving and sitting in a wash of colorful light every evening for the next month.

Now I want calling cards with my name and Very Handy Person.

Our radiators each have an air vent [link] . If one starts to drip or get gurgly I call the landlord to replace it. We've been through that dance several times over the years. Since my bedroom closet has a cool breeze from it when open I think it has something to do with (a lack of) insulation around the water pipes (that closet backs up to the business end of the bathroom).

Here's a thing I don't know since I've been lucky enough to avoid navigating the health care system much. I'm supposed to schedule a MRI on my ankle. Do I just schedule it with the imaging center and they will contact the insurance company before the test, or do I need to contact the insurance company to make sure they won't try to deny it after the fact?

Chances are your insurance company will require a pre-authorization. If your doctor's the one who's said you need an MRI, their office should contact the insurance company to get that process started.

Yep, this is per my doctor.

Those are cute birbs, Calli!

I'm heading back to San Francisco this afternoon, where I understand the air quality is Very Not Good.

I don't usually decorate for Christmas since I never spend it in my home, but I think colorful lights may be required this year.

The office probably has someone whose main job is to deal with insurance and pre-authorizations.

I've been googling and obsessively reading peoples blogs about broken ankles. I have yet to see one who had to be non weight bearing for 12 weeks. I'm so jealous.

But, I am planning to move home tomorrow!! I hope. Two friends were supposed to help but one may not be available. I am a bit torn, because it's been really nice to have my friends I'm staying with around, both for help and for company. But it will also be super nice to be in my own home and know where things are and not feel like I'm in the way and so on.

Oooh, good luck, meara. I can definitely see both sides to that one. How's getting around going?

As far as Thanksgiving desserts go, these cranberry bars might work.

Yum!

Thank goodness for neighbors. I went out to rake and locked the door behind me! Luckily, my neighbors have a spare key in their unlocked foyer.

I'm glad that you're going home soon, meara. Smooth transfer~ma!

Jesse, good neighbors are worth their house foundations' weight in gold.

My brunch: spreadable cheeses of various types on good soft bread with fig paste. So very yum.