in other news I have had my alone ritual sacrifice. the pie will wait a bit.

I'm glad you are safe smonster.

I had a really good Thanksgiving. Not enough time with my family and I was really tired last night and today (the bed at the AirBnB was not comfortable) but it was really good. Played Munchkins last night with Dad, M, and E. Dad didn't really understand it. Today we played again but my brother instead of M and it was fun and Dad won. (Partly because my brother kept trying to make big moves and E and I would sabotage him and then dad kind of stumbled into a win).

This afternoon my brother asked me to go on a walk with him--just us and we chatted. He ended up telling me that he has an assessment for ADHD in mid December. He's thought about it for awhile and gotten tired of being the "absentminded professor" type. And he was talking to his primary care and his distraction and problems came up and the primary care dr suggested it. I've always thought of him as really together but he loses things a lot and always leaves really early for stuff and then ends up barely on time. And then for some trip wtih E they were supposed to fly out of Reagan and he took them to Dulles and only because he is always 2 hours early to the airport was he able to figure it out and make it to the right airport on time. I did get a case of the giggles because he went to the wrong airport! And then he triple booked his time for his intake appointment and was doing a telehealth thing and being asked questions :

do you talk really fast --his answer "well kinda, not as fast as my sister" do you interrupt people when they talk -his answer -"I worked hard not to do that and I did but not as much as my sister" there was a question about focusing on something like the tv --"sometimes I watch tv and read something like most people, not like my sister who can flip between and follow 2 or 3 programs AND read a book" I kind of under my breath said-most people can't/don't watch tv and read a book.... At this point I was having a fit of giggles. And he was kind of laughing too --not at him but at the way he has this comparison to me and it's warped his sense of perspective Then he said another question was about hyperfocus and he was like -yeah I used to read a 250-300 page book in a day or in one sitting but just skimming it-- not like my sister who could read a longer one or 2 in a day and *retain* what she read... I could barely tell you anything and she'd know all these details . I ended up asking him about how he does reading things he isn't interested in and he said it was a struggle. I told him that reading things I wasn't interested in was about inverse to the way I am with things I'm interested in and I have trouble retaining the info.

I talked some about the meds I've tried and taken and what has helped and that I'm proud of him for getting an assessment etc. Anyway it was a cool kind of bonding thing.

Oh and the day of his high school prom he was going fishing with Dad and Dad was asking him about when exactly was prom and my brother was like "oh it's not until X date" and dad is like-- That's today!

So I'm thankful that my brother let me know this and we are trying to build a relationship. He hadn't even told my SIL yet he has an ADHD assessment

Thanks, everyone. Today I am thankful for my community, to be sure. Online and IRL. I’m home in bed with the cat, to whom I owe many many snuggles. She’s been shut out of the bedroom for many months because R is (allegedly) allergic. I must pay fealty to the snuggle monster. Thankfully she is bearing no ill will and is like, about damn time, lady.

askye, that’s sounds great. Yeah, not having a good frame of reference can make things tricky.

Sounds exhausting smonster but glad you made it through!

I sat around and did almost nothing today. Got up and baked a monkey bread but it being only me barely made a dent in it. Otherwise, some tiktok, some book, and some great British bake off. Bit lonely but also didn’t try real hard to get an invite anywhere and get stuck somewhere weird or awkward.

I'm glad you and kitty are safe at home, smonster.

We just got back from a yum dinner out at a new to us and.nice place in Vienna, VA. DUDES, though! A couple tried to poach our reservation! Maybe.

The place was super crowded, and we had a res for two @ 6p, but we're still waiting at 6:20p. No big, it was busy.

But the hostess had her list, and I knew where we were on it behind my the couple in front of us. So they got seated, and I'm sitting at the bar, and one of the hostesses starts talking to another couple, and they go to a table...

I'm like, uh, no, they got in after is, and I go to the hostess, and she's like, OMG, I asked them if they were your name, and they said yes! I asked them like three times!

So she goes and gets them and makes them get up, and they just leave, and we go sit down. She's SO apologetic, and I'm like, not your fault, and.maybe they just misheard you, and she was like... "Yeah, no." (I'm still kind.of, like, yeah, but... What did they think would happen if they were doing it in purpose? That's weird.)

Big excitement! Actually, totally calm and fine, but still... my hyoervigilance paid off for once.

Dinner was delish. Now we're going to watch the second half of Oppenheimer, and I will fall asleep.

{{{smonster}}} Live you. Glad you are home and safe and snuggling the cat

That ‘s very cool, askye! And pretty funny.

Have had a chill day with the folks. Mom is recovering from her biopsy on Monday (which is cancerous but stage 1 or type 1 or whatever super-small-and-we-think-it-can-all-be-removed is) so our already unambitious cooking plans got dialed back even more. Everything came out tasty and we have way too much food, so success!

And the gall, JenP! Glad you noticed.

I'm glad the news is that it's so early, -t.

Today is looking like another super chill day, and I am looking forward to it.

Because of lurking in the Literary thread, I've started listening to the Murderbot series. Fun! I think that will be my accompaniment for the day.

Thanksgiving is one of those days. Good, bad, they often end up being memorable. I STILL remember the time my aunt and her husband came to my parents' house and my mother made her mother's famous oyster dressing. Of course, that was the year most of us came down with a stomach bug ... for years, any time I was queasy I'd remember that smell.

And, Atropa, I saw a video of someone who had their Alexa(?) playing Total Eclipse of the Heart and every time she sang "Turn around" the family dog would, yes, turn around.

smonster, happy to hear it's behind you now. All the ~ma. You are smart and incredibly brave.

In local news: 13 Israeli hostages, 10 Thai hostages and one Filipino hostage were released today alive. Trucks with humanitarian help are entering Gaza. And 39 Palestinian youths (under the age of 18) and women that were in Israeli prison after trying to kill or otherwise hurt Israelis are also being released as part of the deal. I'm not sure what they did because I don't want to read about more violence and terror tonight, but stabbings, stones, and molotov cocktails were mentioned.

Over 200 Israelis are still hostages, but for the first time since October 7th I'm breathing a bit better. This is both a wonderful and a sad evening.

I'm also very concerned about Gaza (when I have the time to read updates, and space in my heart to think of them as well). Road to Recovery is already in my donations list, but I'll search for another initiative that is helping kids and civilians in there. The situation looks dire. I wish I could have done more for them and for us, but even showing my government the door seems to be tricky. I swear they found the strongest glue known to humans and it's attaching them to their seats.