Getting the once-over

 

( <   Today's tropical beginning.)

Yesterday was the annual skin check. At first glance, with my bumps, age spots, red spots, deeply brown spots, and freckles, I look like a dermatologist’s final exam. In reality, all was well. All the thrills of having the UK in my heritage.

I’m happy to say my dermatologist is a woman, so I was a tad nonplussed when a cadaverous young man who looked like he has a night gig as a band roadie called my name. As he walked me to the room I had time to absorb the Tiny Tim hair, the wrinkled scrubs that stopped four inches above his ankles, and his creative choice of socks.

In the room he checked through my history and then handed me a gown. Would he be there assisting as large swaths of my body were revealed?

 When he wished me happy holidays on his way out I breathed a sigh of relief.

Today meets yesterday

          Our New Jersey Thanksgiving began with the traditional family gathering for the meal, but on the second day we truly visited the past by checking out grandson #1’s new digs.

Bye Bye Bean

 

   

     So you can just forget about those dewy-eyed golden retriever puppies splayed all over your L.L. Bean catalogues. Or maybe continue to order, but beware of any credit card offers linked to them.

Knees and Pecan Pie

Fact: overcooked pecan pie is almost toffee

          Nothing makes you appreciate a full-on Thanksgiving spread more than 50 years of cranking one out single-handed. 

Victory and Virtue

 

You wouldn’t think there was anything behind that black panel at the top of my microwave, would you? In fact, the panel doesn’t even look as though it would come off, but it does. I needed to change the filter, but couldn’t remember for the life of me how to get at it.

Anti-Social

 

     

    Well, that was interesting. On Monday I dashed off a quick entry about the Crime Bake writers’ conference and in return reeled in a comment from its headline speaker. 

Weekend Crime Spree

 

I began Crime Bake, the conference for mystery writers, with a master class chaired by Barbara Ross. With twelve mystery novels, a number of novellas, and umpteen Agatha nominations, she was definitely the right person for this class called ‘What I’ve learned along the way.’