We are hosting a Thanksgiving dinner for family and a few friends. The guests will be here in a couple of hours. The cooking is midway. Everything is prepped or roasting in the oven.

Happy Thanksgiving all. 

Saturday our guests cleaned out their refrigerator and cleaned up their kitchen. They had to throw out everything as their power had been out since Tuesday. 

Their power returned on Sunday 

We also had a brunch for some of our AA friends on Saturday. It was very long running with our guests not leaving till mid afternoon.

We have had a bomb cyclone here in Seattle. Big windy, rain storm. We are ok and missed the worst of it. 

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a "Bomb cyclone" is a term used to describe a mid-latitude cyclone that has undergone bombogenesis, which occurs when it rapidly strengthens in a 24 hour period. 

Hundreds of thousands of people are without power, especially in the suburbs. We have a couple friends staying with us as they have not had power since Wednesday and probably won’t get it back untill the weekend. 

We are back home from NYC. I am tired, but we had a good time. 

My husband and I have different approaches to vacations. It bugs him that I can be happy exploring a new city. I said "Exploring a city is a great treat. Without a map, without an app." He caught my wittiness and shook his finger at me. 

My husband is a planner. He is very good at it and I appreciate that. And sometimes I like to have my calendar cleared, and only a single question on my mind... "What's over there?"

 We are in NYC for a few days. Doing all the tourist things.

My mother-in-law is out of the hospital. The hospital also does not know what's wrong with her. This week she will have more tests with her regular cardiologist. 

During the hospital stay, my mother-in-law's dog stayed with my brother-in-law. Apparently the dog is not properly potty trained. 

Should another crisis happen, neither of her sons want the dog. Her sons have also come to the realization that another crisis is inevitable-- their mother is 87 and in declining health. They need a plan for when it happens. 

My mother in law is in the hospital. She is recovering well and is in good spirits. Most of the complications have to do with her dog and arranging dog care.

The Republican victory is complete. They will win the House, the Senate, and the presidency with a popular vote. There are no meaningful allegations about election fraud or the electoral college problems or gerrymandering or fake news. There is no way to twist the situation such that if one or two details were different, then the Democrats would’ve won.

The election results have hurt my husband. he is finding projects to pass the time. 

Mentally, I have set aside my old concerns and my old way of thinking. Grief and frustration with the results are pointless. I must find a new way forward.

As Tommy said... the people have spoken.

I will use this as an opportunity to get off Facebook and other social media. It's insidious how they invade your consciousness. Even after deleting Facebook, I catch myself pulling out the cell phone and thumbing over to where the app once was. 

This blog doesn't count. It's slower. Contemplative. One must put effort into speaking and listening. 

This election is different. My acquaintances are donating more and volunteering more than past elections.  Right now, my husband is participating in call bank to encourage people to get out and vote.

The Halloween decorations are away. The Christmas (Yes Christmas) decorations are out. My husband's argument for this is that we will be traveling over end-of-year holidays, so he wants a few extra weeks beforehand to enjoy them.

Over the weekend I was discussing the situation with SJ, an old friend. She observed that my husband always has to have a project-- always has to have a plan and something to do. SJ and I, on the other hand, love having an empty schedule with no commitments, no plans. So my husband and I can balance each other out, we are a good ying and yang for each other. Yet we will drive each other nuts. 

Sunday night we had dinner with an old friend. In the past, he was my boss when I worked at the big-tech company. We both left that company at about the same time. He started his own business. I got a job at a smaller tech company. 

It's been five years since those transitions.  What an amazing about of time. We are both veterans in our current jobs. Yet it feels like yesterday that we worked together. 

By and large things are going well for him. His business is growing. His children are off to post-high school education, are close to landing full time jobs. His wife has a bad knee, but will undergo surgery to replace it. 

Today it's windy and raining hard in Seattle. Perfectly normal November weather. Our new house takes the weather different than the old. The old house had a fantastic HVAC system with vents in every room. During inclement weather, you closed the windows, set the temperature, and that was that. The new house isn't vented. Every floor has separate mini-split heating and cooling. Rooms will get a little stuffy. You must open the window a crack and hope that the driving rain won't come in. 

Halloween. We only had one child stop by-- a neighbors. We blame the rain and the fact that we live on a quiet street. The streets a few blocks away were very busy.