"Never pick a fight with an ugly person. They have nothing to lose." - Robin Williams

It's Thanksgiving morning. The pumpkin pie is in the oven and the apple pie is sitting beside the stove. I made it last night.
I think another tablespoon of cold water would have been the solution to crust dough that wouldn't roll out well. Because of that the apple pie top crust is disappointing but hopefully it will taste good.

We're taking them to Beth & Nick's at 2 p.m. for a meal that will include Nick's parents, some cousins, and one of Beth's classmates. I'm looking forward to conversation with what promises to be an interesting group of people.

It's overcast, foggy, and crisp outside - a perfect Thanksgiving day. Inside I've had the fire going since 4:00 so now at 9:15 it's a toasty 73 degrees, some of that from the oven.

I'm finding that several aspects of my role at UFC require mindfulness. As the sr. pastor I was the buck stopper and bore final responsibility for what was done. Now I have a direct supervisor (Dave) and Brett (pastor) above me on the org chart. And Molly, Dave's very competent assistant, is someone  whose approval I want.
This morning I wrote a cover letter for a form we'll send to staff guys who work in direct contact with an aspect of the men's ministry I'm responsible to get underway. I tried to do my best and most careful writing (this could potentially be a "what were you thinking??" letter) and sent it off to Molly, Dave, and Brett for their review.
I don't want to be a Nervous Nelly who can't work independently but I also don't want to stick my foot in it when I'm still learning my way around.

11:30 and I just woke up from a nap. Who needs a belly full of turkey? Not me, obviously.
And it's raining harder than it has since we entered the wet season.

Now it's 7:45. We're home from a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at Nick & Beth's apartment with engaging conversation with Nick's parents, an aunt and uncle, and a classmate of Beth's from U of O. Beth is her mother's daughter, which is to say she is a very gracious host who makes everyone feel perfectly comfortable and serves up a banquet. And Nick is a class act; good guy!

That's Nick and Beth at the far end of the table. In their apartment I couldn't back up enough so Pam's not visible to the left and Nick's uncle is out of frame to the right.

I'm not sure I'll be up much longer. The dog show will conclude in a few minutes and the chemical in turkey that makes you sleepy is kicking in.