Good decision to stay in when your health isn't up to the event or the cough would disturb you for worry of disturbing others.

This holiday is one that is both personal and ironic. My father was found on November 18 by the nextdoor neighbor who decided he had been too quiet for too long. Looking at my last contact and his emails and appointments he missed, we know he in fact died of that pulmonary embolism after his evening shower on Nov. 11. He and my mother were both WWII veterans; she died on Memorial Day (six months later - that was a really rough time).

Starting the planning for Thanksgiving by first establishing when people can do it. Not always on the traditional Thursday. From there I'll figure out a menu. Today I've pulled out the Bob's Red Mill gluten free baking flour to test my first modified recipe for a Cranberry Duff dessert. I'll do some traditional foods we always eat including mashed potatoes and gravy, but if I can figure out how to make the gravy without wheat flour then I can have an open face turkey sandwich over a piece of non-gluten bread with the non-gluten gravy. There is usually never leftover lamb, the other meat we'll have (and a yogurt mint sauce for that is gluten free). Reminds me I may need to pamper the mint pot beside the kitchen door to see if I have enough for that yogurt.

Today is trash day so I put my modest bag of stuff that can't be recycled or composted into the large can then stuffed the can full of old sunflowers. I am slowly clear cutting the tall woody dead stand in the front. They grow 10' tall and sometimes as wide, into each other and the seedy heads tangle. This morning as I pulled them apart one of them struck back, a direct hit to the eyeball. That smarts but I think I'll survive. I'll use saline rinse (those single dose packs) to rinse and otherwise keep my hands off and see if that is sufficient. Note to self: gloves and goggles next time. There is a small galvanized can that rarely gets used but maybe I'll make a push with both cans to finish that whole tall thatch for Thursday's pickup.

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Dorothy, I hadn't seen your post when I put up my remarks this morning. More in a bit. Dawg speed to you, however this works out.