Backalley bandit caught in the act!

So, yours truly was minding his own business, watching some Sports Center recaps last night.

Then, all of a sudden, the north side of my house was flooded by spot lights.

That's not an entirely unheard of circumstance, as the motion detectors I have out there cause the lights to come on as soon as someone pulls into my driveway.

But, there wasn't a car in the drive this time. And, I didn't see anybody on foot when I looked thru the windows.

Maybe some strong wintery winds were blowing branches? Nope.

What could it be?!

Kinda freaked me out when it happened the 2nd and 3rd times. I even went out there to try to figure out what was tripping those motion detectors, but found nothing. Hallowe'en was a month ago!

Didn't get much sleep last night, worrying about what I might have creeping around out there.

Then, as I was sipping coffee this morning, I spotted the culprit: the biggest raccoon I've ever seen was gingerly making his way across the property wall.

I wonder how he got so big?

Probably from going thru so many post-Thanksgiving trash cans in the alleyways of College Park . . .

Well, at least the mystery is solved and I don't have to worry about the paranormal explanations that were running thru my head!!

Things to be thankful for today

Besides all the usual, sappy stuff . . .

1. I didn't have to watch either the Macy's parade or the dog show that followed.

2. Ham!

3. Cooler weather.

4. Minced-meat pie!

5. Food coma.

6. No traffic.

7. Round 2 of the hogathon.

8. Valda's coconut cream cake.

9. Football!

10. Leftovers

I plan on following this bird's advice tomorrow . . .

Kind of a new spin on all those Chik-fil-a commercials?!

I hope all ye socks are able to get outta work/school a little early today, and get started on being thankful!

Ingrafted branches

Yours truly was a little disappointed this morning, as our regular Thursday meeting was derailed.

We are still in the middle of studying the letters of St. Paul, more particularly Romans 11:11-24.

You know those verses, the ones about ingrafted branches.

Anyway, in light of what's going on between the Anglican/Episcopal and Catholic churches this week, I thought they would be particularly topical.

But, that's not where the conversation led us.

Oh, well. Maybe, we can re-group after Thanksgiving!

Happy Turkey Day!

Actually, in this little corner of heaven, it was HAM and all the trimmings day . . .

The trimmings were stuffing (with some dried cranberries added to make it "pop"), collard greens with onions and grated cheese, a carrot souffle (spelling?!), and smashed potatos.

Dessert was an overstuffed Dutch apple pie with a crumbly golden crust.

As soon as this feast was semi-digested and we were able to waddle to the car, a trip up to Apopka was in order.

We had an invitation from Valda and Howard of Jenks Manor to partake of their turkey. They thought it unacceptable to go the entire day without at least a bite of the bird . . . but, I will admit here it was the deviled eggs and the lemon pound cake that really got me to make the drive up there . . . well, that and the good company of course!

I hope all ye socks enjoyed feasts of your own today. We all have so much to be thankful for, don't we?!

Happy Thanksgiving Meme & Tag

OK, ye socks, I have been tagged by my friend Judith in an online Thanksgiving game started by our mutual friend Julie.

Now that I'm "it," I'm supposed to give two reasons why I'm thankful this year, and then tag another blogger.

So, here goes . . .

1. My family. I'm thankful my Mayflower ancestors had the courage to make that historic voyage to graft our branch of the family tree onto American soil. They and every one of the succeeding generations all the way down to my little niece and nephew have been and are a continuing blessing.

2. My health. I'm thankful not to be burdened with any chronic illness or impairment. I could be in better shape, 'tis true. Maybe, I'll make a New Year's resolution to work on that . . . but for now let's focus on the holiday at hand!

Finally, I do hereby tag my high school classmate Michelle! Ha, ha! You're it! No tags back!!

I can be so childish during the holiday season, no?!

The slightest hint of winter in the air

Let me preface this post by saying I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

That being said, Christmas has its time and place.

It comes AFTER Thanksgiving, not BEFORE Hallowe'en!!

Does pointing that out make me a Grinch?

I hope not.

But, it seems that the temperatures are only starting to drop and all the merchants in this little corner of heaven are already putting up their Christmas displays.

What really irks me about the whole situation is that I know the displays aren't the result of any real Christmas spirit, but out of desperation to add to their bottom line in this economic downturn.

Give it a rest, and give us a break!

Last full day in Mount Pleasant

And, it was a good one.

Not only was it Mom's birthday, we celebrated it by skipping cake in favor of a big steak dinner! I guess, you have to take you calories where you can get them after Thanksgiving . . . Actually, my brother-in-law and I were hoping for a big old rack of ribs, but Publix up here apparently doesn't carry such delicacies. So, he'll have to wait til his next trip to Florida for an education in Cracker grillology.

Of course, it wouldn't be a fall Saturday in the South without some college football. I was actually more than a little irritated by the quadruple overtime in the Tennessee-Kentucky game, because it delayed coverage of the annual Gator romp over the 'Noles. By the time they switched to The Swamp, it was already the second quarter and I missed Tebow's first big touchdown run.

The South Carolina-Clemson game was actually the most exciting game of the afternoon, and not just for the opportunity to watch The Evil Genius stalking the Gamecock sidelines. It was a real nail-biter, went down to the wire. Fortunately, it turned out the way Keith wanted it, so he can hold his head high in church tomorrow.

All in all, a good day. Kinda dreading the drive home tomorrow. But, all this makes all that worth it.

Not-so-black Friday

The day after Turkey Day, and we're all still recovering from the feast my sister prepared last night.

We had turkey, mashed potatoes, carrot soufle, and some zucchini casserole she made from a magazine recipe. Oh, and Keith made some Easley dressing (not stuffing!), and Mrs. Smith made THREE pies: minced meat, pecan, and pumpkin.

Yes, we are all bloated this morning.

But, mostly we're all just grateful that Alice didn't follow-thru on her threat of dragging us all out of bed during the wee hours of the morning to participate in all the Black Friday shenanigans in thriving downtown Mount Pleasant.

If left up to her, we'd have been at Kohl's at 4 AM!!

Turkey, shoot!

Well, as soon as I got up here to Charleston last night, my brother-in-law Keith took me to a turkey shoot with some of his friends.

I was a little concerned, hoping that our Thanksgiving feast would not be dependant upon our marksmanship skills (or, the lack thereof).

Fortunately, my sister had a back-up plan, because the waiting list was so long that none of us ever got to fire a gun!

Anyway, I hope all ye socks are enjoying the first full day of the holiday weekend.

And, pass the gravy!

Road trippin'

Well, socks, I need to ask for your prayers today, as I'm heading on a road trip up to my sister's house in South Carolina for the long Thanksgiving weekend.



I don't usually hit the highway for the holidays, so not quite sure what I'm getting myself into . . .



Anyway, my postings here may be somewhat sporadic until I return to civilization.



So, if you don't hear from me for a couple of days, enjoy your time off, eat lots of turkey, and join me in cheering for the Gators on Saturday!