Turkey Day minus one.

Everything is just about as set as it can be on the night before Thanksgiving. I am most thankful that we don't have a cold snap-- the temperature was in the high 80s today, with more of the same for tomorrow, and the overnight low will be in the high 60s tonight. Perfect weather for the cats to sleep on the screen-porch. The dining room table is all set and looks great, so the cats are in the porch now till after all the leftovers are put away tomorrow night.

Last night was in the high 40s, so I let the cats sleep in the house. Mickey Kitty, who slept most of yesterday in his favorite chair in the TV room, was wide awake for most of the night. He was ready to start his day before five o'clock this morning. I was up out of the bed at least four times when I heard him playing around with Christmas decorations in the living room. That tiny cat somehow managed to get a gift-bag out from underneath the silver tree... the heaviest gift-bag that was under that tree. I heard the rustle of the tissue paper as he tried to get himself into the shopping bag. As soon as he saw me in the living room, he ran away and hid underneath the dining room table.

Next thing he did was to take a couple of the little wooden nesting dolls that I have sitting underneath a tall beaded tree. When he started to roll the little dolls around the tiles of the foyer, out I came, and away he went underneath the dining room table again. Next thing was to take a beaded ornament from a display of vintage ornaments on top of the piano-- he tried to roll that around the tiles of the foyer as well.

And didn't my husband and I just tell one another yesterday how lucky we were that our cats never touch anything around the house? I guess Mickey Kitty forgot that rule-of-paw in our little cat-world here. The only reason he was trying to get my attention was because he was ready to begin his day, which means it's time for canned food. After the fifth time getting out of bed, I just gave in and dished out a little bit of Fancy Feast for all three of them-- by that time, AngelBoy and ShadowBaby were awake as well. After Mickey Kitty's belly was full, he didn't bother re-arranging our Christmas decorations. They all went back to sleep, including me.

Our friend V from around the corner stopped by yesterday with an early Christmas gift for me. She had seen my husband yesterday morning as they were walking the dogs and he told her that we had all the holidays decorations out and up and done, except for the big tree in the living room. V couldn't resist, and came over here to see everything, and to give me the Christmas gift that she bought for me right after last Christmas was over. It's a beautiful velvet-suited Santa, with bendable arms and legs so you can set him down however you'd like him. I've got V's Santa sitting on the keyboard of the piano, with one arm holding onto the music-sheet display. It's a glorious Santa, probably from the TLC shop here in town, which is too expensive for words unless you buy after the holiday is over and the prices are slashed down to nearly-normal.

Of course I couldn't let V leave here without half of her Christmas gift as well. I let her open just the holiday-part of what I had wrapped up for her. A couple of months ago, I found a brown silk pillow (her living room colors) with tiny copper bells sewn all around the edges. The bells are so tiny and the jingle from all the bells has just the sweetest sound. It's meant to be a Christmas pillow, but I have a feeling that V will keep it out all year long, just because she loves things in that rich brown color.

So we had our own early Christmas here yesterday morning, before either of us had set the table for Thanksgiving. V will start her Christmas decorating tomorrow night after dinner, and after her two sons have left the house to go visit friends. V is on Cloud 9 when her sons come into town-- one lives in Chicago, the other in Charlotte, but everyone gets together for the holidays.


I've been feeding the birds every morning.... three feeders are in the backyard and I can see them from the breakfast room and the kitchen windows, and the cats can see them all from the screen-porch. Along with the birds, we have a family of squirrels who come by for breakfast every morning. No way to keep the squirrels away from the feeders, and I don't even try anymore. About a week ago, I noticed a couple of new visitors at the lowest feeder--- a mama mouse and two little baby mice. Oh goodie.

Well, I guess they have to eat, too, and heaven knows we have our share of field mice all over the subdivision here. I'm thankful the mice have found the feeders-- could be worse, such as possums or raccoons, armadillos, or huge hawks. The mice, however.... I've watched them through the binoculars and they're as cute as can be. I'm not afraid of mice. I guess after being here so long with various critters running around, and our oldest cat Rusty (now passed away) used to catch mice and leave them on the backyard deck all the time. Surprise! Look at what I've brought you! And growing up with Walt Disney movies, I expect all mice to want to wear tiny little jackets and start singing and dancing and sewing dresses for Cinderella.

But these backyard mice aren't singing and dancing, and they're not wearing little red and blue jackets. They're just sitting in one of the feeders and munching on the birdseed. They run away if the squirrels get too close, but the birds don't seem to bother them at all. As for my cats, they sit by the screens and watch the mice nibble on the seeds. Three cats on that screen-porch, and we've still got mice in the yard.

Oh well, break time is over. Time to finish up in the kitchen. Seems like we've spent all day long in that kitchen, my husband and I both taking turns, and tomorrow will be more of the same. I am so thankful that I was able to get a small turkey. Anything over 12 pounds is just way too much turkey. If it were up to me, I'd be serving lobster or shrimp or salmon. Turkey just isn't my thing, but it's Thanksgiving, and that's what everyone is expecting. Gobble, gobble.