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Dear Ellen,

I’m glad to hear you had such a good time on your Thanksgiving. We also had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We drove to Brooklyn in time to set the table.  Marie and Heidi made a wonderful meal that opened us up to some different choices on T-Day.  We actually got Dale to eat some brussels sprouts without hiding them in his napkin…and he had to admit that they weren’t bad.  Personally, I gobbled them up — roasted and tossed with a great balsamic vinaigrette.  I opened my mind to creamed pearl onions — and I loved them.  I really didn’t think I’d enjoy them much and don’t recall I’ve ever had them.  The turkey was super yummy — Heidi put herb butter under it’s skin and roasted it perfectly.  The sweet potato puree and mashed potatoes were awesome.  The girls even put out some dinner of the Meow Mix variety for the neighborhood strays.

Of course, the best part was being there with our daughters.  We played board games and watched movies and I helped Marie with the little hat she’s been knitting for her friend’s soon-to-be-born baby.  We discovered that she’s not a fan of kitchener stitch…what a surprise.  I pretty much did that bit for her as it won’t be a long time (so she expects) that she’ll need it again, so why not.  All it needed by the time we left was a little bit of blocking.  Cute!

The cats wanted to help with all knitting too.  They were highly amusing.  Dale enjoyed being around them, but still says I can’t have one in the townhouse.  At least I know the farm will have kitties!

We had a great time and remembered you and yours while drinking heavily when we raised our many toasts.  We did spend the night, so drinking was not a problem!  We also got a surprise call from Allen that next morning.  He’s above the surface — in Bahrain for a few days for some work and some liberty.  It was very good to hear his voice.

On our way home we passed through Quarryville to check out progress on the house.  It is really amazing how quickly things are now moving.  Within a few more weeks, we’ll see walls.  Right now you can see the outline of most of the foundation.  The screened porch, wrap around porch and garage will have poured footings vice a basement underneath, but you can imagine how the house will rise up out of this hole.  They should put in the first deck this week…and pour the floor of the basement if it stays reasonably warm.  They’ve already put in the culverts and will be working on stabilizing the driveway as well.  I’ll be heading out on business, so won’t be able to go up for a few weeks.  By the next time I see it, it should look like a house!

Stay warm!

Love, Jan