So, the suckage level of this Thanksgiving has not abated. My office closed at 3 yesterday, I got out of there at 4:30 with an armload of take-home work. The only happy note is that I get paid overtime for it - yes, Virginia, the Dept of Labor says paralegals should be paid overtime, though very few law firms actually respect or follow this guideline. (And now that Dubya is messin' with the regs, it may change for the few who do get it.)

The big suckage is that Girlchild has to go home tomorrow - she begged for Friday off, but was guilt-tripped with the "But we neeed you..." speeches - plus this weekend IS a big moneymaker for those who waitress in mall-friendly restaurants. So much for shopping therapy - we will be lucky to hit Target and Borders tomorrow a.m. before she hits the road.

My father is home, post-stent-insertion, I talked to him yesterday and he sounded pretty darn normal.

I took a pre-dawn walk with the Bossy One, and thought about Thanksgiving. Despite the astronomically high suckage level of this year and the strangeness of this Thanksgiving, I really am grateful for a lot of things.

I'm grateful for my wonderful kids, and the strong bonds between us, and their bond with each other. They are real friends as well as siblings, and it makes me so happy to see it.

I'm grateful for my parents, though they may drive me nuts, at least they are still around to piss me off.

I'm grateful for my few and true friends, who supported me through this hellish year without suffocating me with smarmy attention.

I'm grateful that the smarmy "How ARE you?" crap from the others has almost completely stopped.

I'm grateful for my job, and particularly that I have Beloved Boss back in my life, and that while I may come home feeling like my brain was used as a soccer ball all day, I'm always challenged and interested in my work.

I'm grateful that I still have this nice little house in this nice neighborhood, and I can afford to keep it and even continue with the remodeling projects my husband and I had planned.

Sure, life could be a lot easier, but it could also be a lot worse - and I can never say it's boring and uninteresting.

The Booga Bag is almost done and I can't wait to felt it - I am loving this Kureyon color 31 - soft lilacs, blues and greens. Though it's not my normal color scheme, it sure would look great in a sweater to wear with faded denim, and it's sooo soothing to knit with Kureyon - the striping effect is hypnotic. Now I'm thinking the Bossy One needs a Kureyon sweater. He has only one sweater, and I made it when he was a puppy, out of some Homespun I have on hand. He has filled out to his full adult size since that first winter, and while the sweater still fits, it's pretty ratty looking and needs to be replaced. I think that this weekend calls for a trip to the NSLYS, to see if she has any suitable Kureyon or Silk Garden in stock, in a colorway to flatter a very macho and obviously very spoiled Yorkie.