"Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie." - Jim Davis

We're getting ready for Thanksgiving Dinner, leftover shepherd's pie made with goat meat. It's what we took to small group last Tuesday. We didn't know how many people would come so Pam made a lot of it. But it was good,

On our way to small group Wednesday evening we went to Enterprise to pick up the rental car I'd reserved. When I go to Seattle to see the folks I rent a car so Pam has the Kia here. I always get a compact because it's the cheapest I can fit in for 12 hours of driving and gets the best mileage. When we walked out to the lot after doing the paperwork the guy said, "Is it OK if I give you a free upgrade" and pointed at this 2016 Mustang convertible.
Uhm, OK, if I have to.
In November I wasn't going to take advantage of the drop top, but I wasn't going to let any of the car's other capabilities go untested!

Alas, as you can see, it was raining, and either pouring or still wet for the entire time I was driving. Mustangs are notoriously squirrely on wet pavement so I didn't throw it through the S-curves on Sheffler like I would have otherwise. I can, however, attest to the car's acceleration from zero to 60 entering a freeway. I'm guessing something in the 4-5 second range. And if you need to pass someone putting your foot to the floor will get the job done rather quickly.

I left at 2 a.m. Wednesday morning and was at the folks' place by about 9 a.m. including two 20 minute naps and a stop at McDonald's for what they claim is a breakfast sandwich. (Horrible.)
I left that evening at 7 p.m. and walked in MoHo's front door at 1 a.m.
Traffic on the way up was OK. Coming back it was fine until I got to Tacoma and then thick until well south of the Army/USAF base (JBLM). The downpour lasted until south of Portland, so the speed limit was out of the question anyway.
OK, I don't recommend that as the ideal way to spend Thanksgiving Eve, but I'm very glad I made the trip. 

Dad's in rehab unit at Ida Culver House following surgery for his broken hip. I (we) think it's unlikely he'll ever be able to return to their apartment there and independent living. At 95 he's just too weak to recover the strength to get from sitting to standing, even with the physical therapy he's getting.
We've got some difficult decisions to make in the near future. That will probably be more difficult because dad doesn't seem to have a full grasp on his situation.
Mom is doing remarkably well for someone who turns 95 next month, but she admits her need for a higher level of care is not far off, given her crippling arthritis.

In the afternoon I had coffee with friend/colleague Jim who pastors the church we both grew up in. His prodding was one of the big factors in deciding to write a follow-up book and he's now serving as one of my content readers. I asked if we could meet to talk through some of my publishing options and his input was very helpful. I needed someone else's perspective and his comments on those options confirmed some of my plans, plus he gave helpful counsel from the consumer's side of things.
Thanks, Jim!

I've spent most of the day asleep in my chair, a combination of fatigue from the 24 hour trip and from the cold that has grabbed me with a vengeance. I left the house to return the Mustang and feed the goats a.m. and p.m., but have done nothing else. Ugh.

Apparently boorish male behavior is not limited to a particular political party, profession, educational level, or age.
For the life of me I can't figure out why an octogenarian male thinks the sight of his naked body will entice any woman.
Gravity; it's the law.