Sunday Salon - November 18

Happy Thanksgiving week! Why yes, I have already been taking sneak peek at Black Friday sale ads this week but I will, almost definitely, not be among those shopping on Thanksgiving. I hate that so many stores are going to be open and not allowing their employees the time to be with their families.

Fall Feasting reading continues for me this week. I'll be finishing up Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love and then I think I'll start The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry by Kathleen Finn. What are you reading this week?

Here's What I'm:

Listening To: Flogging Molly after watching them on Austin City Limits. All five of us like them and the boys have seen them a couple of times - they have amazing energy when they perform. I describe them as "Irish folk punk." In 37 years, Austin City Limits has never had a mosh pit before - they did last night. The regulars looked a little peeved!

On CD I've started The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. I've only just started but so far I'm not sure that it's going to make the best book for me to try to listen to while I'm driving. May have to keep the physical book handy to go over when I get home if I feel like I've missed something.

Watching: The final home game of the season for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Sure, I watch them every week but this week was special. Our Athletic Director, Tom Osborne, is retiring this year so this was his farewell. He has been involved with the Husker football program in some way (player, assistant coach, coach, and athletic director) for 500 games. Osborne is revered in Nebraska as much for his integrity and class as for his national championships.

Cooking: Nothing. Zip. Zilch. The Big Guy was out of town most of the week and with both of the kids working most evenings, it was just me and I was pretty lazy about my meals. This week, of course, there will be Thanksgiving goodies to be prepared.

Making: A crafting area (finally!) in my basement with everything in one place, organized, well-lit, and a table to work on. The kids and I are going to love this. Have I mentioned before that Mini-him is seriously into crafting? He has even opened a Pinterest account.

Grateful for: My job. As frustrated as I can get with the phone calls, my company is really a great place to work. They treat their employees well, run their company well, and are constantly giving back to the community. It's nice to be part of a company that's so positive after what I went through with my last job.

Happy about: Having Mini-him's cats here. There, I said it. I'm  not one who needs to have people around all of the time but it was nice to have the cats around when I was alone so much of the week otherwise. And, truly, I am feeling that they are helping reduce my stress level.

Looking forward to: Thanksgiving and spending time with my family. It looks like we'll have good weather which will make my family's traditions easier (field goal kicking when it's freezing out isn't nearly as much fun). My mother-in-law will be coming to stay for a couple of days. I'm thinking it might be time to have her try to teach me to knit again. And definitely time to have her try to teach me how to make pie crust. She makes the best pie crust!