PS. I just heard that you might be in for a nice snowstorm today? or tomorrow. Hope you don't get snowed in.

Homely that was nice that you could facetime with your son on Thanksgiving and YUP on the whole living in the futrure is fun, just think of all of the changes around us since we were kids !

I think Susan Dennis from Seattle was probably one of the first to facetime in her own way. She had her webcams with sound set up in her livingroom and then she put one up in her mom's livingroom so that they could watch the same tv show at the same time and talk about it in real time.

I had a nice but subdue Thanksgiving which was ok because we had rain on tuesday that turned into snow on wed, which left the roads ice covered so traveling wasn't wise, I stayed here at my apartment building and had Thanksgiving with some of my neighbors.

Hi, N Q - Hope your holiday was wonderful despite the bluster! Yes, the Thanksgiving thing worked out in the end for our son. By Thursday he'd been on the antibiotics long enough to feel well enogh to cook. He timed it so that he ate when we did, and we connected via FaceTime and passed him around the table while we all ate together. I love living in the future!

LOL, now your son doesn't have to feel guilty about not coming home and you get to feel relieved that he didn't come home, sorta a win on both sides except he's sick :(

I got about 3" of rain yesterday before it turned cold enough to snow, so I only got about 3" of snow but OMG is it windy and very cold today.

Sage advice about enjoying a peaceful year, N Q! We have the first baby in the family in 20 years this year - my niece and her husband had their first child in August. And, as chance would have it, my son called yesterday on his way to the doctor because he was quite ill. Tested positive for strep, so he would have gotten us all sick had he come down here. A strange way to have things "all work out in the end"! Enjoy the beautiful snow - 6" sounds manageable :-)

I remember how my parents felt as less of us would show up for the holidays and then it seem that there was suddenly a whole bunch of grandkids entertaining them over the holidays so it may be diasppointing for you now but some day in the future you may wish you had the peace and calm of this Thankgiving instead of screaming kids tearing your house apart over the holidays :)

They're now talking about 6"+ for Thanksgiving......it'll be pretty to look at :)

Hi, N Q - I haven't seen snow at Thanksgiving since I was a kid! Lucky you - maybe? Glad you're not traveling in it. I've been moping around because our son isn't here for the holiday this year. We cook everything together and it's a very special time. However, seeing that he will also be impacted by some of those big storms, I realize that his ability to get here and get home may be compromised so I am telling myself it is just as well. Enjoy your holiday! I'm home cooking today :-)

Happy Thanksgiving Homely, hope you have a real nice one. It sounds like I may have snow by Thanksgiving, luckily I won't be traveling in it !

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate it :)

Hello, Everyone! For those of us who are celebrating the American Thanksgiving, I hope your plans are going smoothly and that your Thanksgiving Day is an enjoyable one! N Q, SilverSquirrel (who is surely back by now), Luc D, Ed Hilver, and all the others I've not listed, hello and happy holidays! 

Best to all of you,

H

Hello, Everyone! For those of us who are celebrating the American Thanksgiving, I hope your plans are going smoothly and that your Thanksgiving Day is an enjoyable one! N Q, SilverSquirrel (who is surely back by now), Luc D, Ed Hilver, and all the others I've not listed, hello and happy holidays! 

Best to all of you,

H

Silversquirrel if I won the lottery I'ld also give a 2nd thought towards returning to the US !

I hope you have a nice trip, it should be fun ! 

Homely we went from frost to actually having some snow flurries, none that actually stuck to the ground and now we have a repreive from the cold, it's going to be in the 60s today through sunday. The deer hunters won't be happy about that, they like snow on the ground for tracking.

Hope everybody who celebrates Thanksgiving has a nice one !

Hi Homely and NQ:   Yes, we leave tomorrow evening at 8 pm.  Phoenix to London nonstop.  We are treating ourselves to Business Class in the hope that the pods will offer a chance to sleep!  I have packed the usual stuff plus the kitchen sink. Cat sitting arrangements made.  I'm wracked with anxiety of course, which is my usual pre-travel habit.  Thank you for remembering!   Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families.   My husband has convinced me that international flights are not affected by Orange Hitler's government shutdown.   Be well my friends.  Have hope.  If we win the mega millions, I'm not sure we will return to the US except to collect our kitties and the check!

Hello, Everyone - and a big Bon Voyage to SilverSquirrel tomorrow! Hope your packing went smoothly, and may your bags be ever under weight! N Q, that's crazy early for frosts, at least where I come from! We were expecting a frost last weekend but it did not hit. Our son, on the other hand, just got six inches of snow in Vermont near Lake Champlain, and he went to a function up at Jay Peak last weekend and they are already skiing up there! Brrrr!

Silversquirrel, I hadn't given any thought to the fact that you're in Phoenix and probably don't have a lot of cold weather clothing. If you have a wool sweater and a windbreaker, consider taking them, especially if you don't want to take your puffer coat and you might want to buy a set of silk underwear, they're light weight, small to pack and they keep your bodyheat in. Hope you enjoy your trip.

Homely I not only survived the first frost but the 3 that came after that along with this mornings low temp of 28 degrees ! After having had such a hot summer, I'm really enjoying these brisk temps. Hope you're taking some breaks between work to get out and enjoy the Fall colors :)

Hi NQ and Homely.  I'm glad that at least a few of us still show up.  As to the packing of clothes- I'm happily going to pack whatever makes me happy.  Hubby has his own system and I don't touch his suitcase!  I like choices.  It's going to be cold in Scotland and seasonal chilly weather along our River cruise.  I have a long puffer coat that is very warm but bulky.  Might take something warm but with layers, maybe not have to look like the Michellin tire man. Our weather here in the Phoenix suburbs has been very pleasant and we've had a few days off from using the air conditioning 😁

Hi, Everyone - Thanks for checking in SS! Looks mostly like it's nobody here but us chicken! And whoever thinks to check back in everyone once in awhile (looking at you, Moose, Ed Hilver, Trader P, Feral Orchid, etc.). So exciting to be so close to your departure date, but completely understand the anxiety both over packing and leaving behind your senior kitty. A couple of years ago we went on a cruise and I grossly underpacked (I'm an inveterate overpacker). I was uncomfortable the whole week. The following year, I tried to mix and match but made the mistake of packing both navy based things and black based things - they don't mix very well. Last year I gave up and packed whatever the heck I wanted. I was much happier. Good luck! N Q - I am with you on the seasons. Hope you have survived the first frost okay. It is still pretty warm here, but lovely. We have been impacted by all of the big coastal storms rolling through and it's been warmer than usual.

Hi silversquirrel, I envy you going to Scotland and I can understand stressing about what to bring with you but don't they do your laundry on river cruises like they do on ocean cruises ? if so then I'ld mainly pack things that you can layer and just switch out which layer is on the outside, nobody will know you wore it two days in a row :)

Hope you have a nice trip !

Hi everyone.   Just checking in to see who is still here.  Homely, we leave for our river cruise on November 13.  I'm already stressed about the packing and the welfare of our three cats, one of whom is a senior with diabetes.   We have excellent cat sitters, but I still worry.  Hope everyone is doing well.  Hello N Q and Stargzr.   

I had a friend who lived in Hawaii for a while too and he said the same about it as your husband, it's a nice place to vacation but not to live. He also said that Hawaii had the highest suicide rate of all the states, in part because most people there don't have the money to travel so they are stuck on an island with no place to go.

When one of my sister & husband built their house, they chose the land because it was on a hill and it had a great view, luckily they hadn't tarred the driveway before the first winter, they found out that the only way they could make it up their drive in the winter was with a gravel driveway, something the tires could dig into, though they do have quite a few winter days that they have to leave their cars at the bottom of the driveway.

We have the same extra seasons as you except I'll add another one to it and that's road construction that lasts from early spring into the beginning of winter !

N Q - It seems our cam here has failed. Hoping it comes back! Agree with you on the seasons. DH lived in Hawaii for a few years and he said that you can only take so much of paradise. Lack of change of seasons nearly drove him mad! Vermont has more than four seasons, per DS... in addition to the usual four they also have stick season, when all the leaves are down and the days are gray and all you can see of the trees are sticks, and in the early spring it's mud season. I think there are more but I cannot keep track. I adore winter but we have a very long, very steep driveway and that alone has turned me off of the season!