OK, THE PRELIMINARIES ARE OVER!

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This Thanksgiving holiday was one of the best I've ever had. We celebrated quietly with the kids and grandkids, then spent some time with the Rubles at my house.

Due to my recent health melt-down, I didn't obsess about the condition of the house. The kids pitched in, Maureen Connor and her daughter came over (and also helped), and it got respectable for the get-together. Thanks, all.

Den was busier than I. He and my brothers and sister spent a great deal of time clearing out Mike's old house and moving furniture to storage. Mike is looking overwhelmingly better physically, and appears to be doing well overall.

The Rubles were in fine spirits, reminiscing about their childhood. I made two pots of coffee, and only running out of creamer stopped the flow. Ron previewed the Ruble-London website, and all are encouraged to send photos or scanned memoribilia to Ron. We decided to set up some monthly game nights as our favorite activity, so, if you have some board or card games, set them aside. I'll be in touch with the sibs to set our first date, and I'll post it here.

Shannon and I had some time together this week, more than we've had in a long time. I'm looking forward to Christmas.

Michelle organized the turbo shopping expedition. We found many items, at a great price. Juanita will be getting some of her gifts courtesy of the resale shops. I even picked up a few things. I'm not planning to go overboard this year. Other than the kids, I'd like to focus on things for the home, maybe some activities we might not do otherwise, and just enjoying the season as much as possible without too much running around. This is a nesting year.

My hair was cut at Michelle's salon in Parma. She's right, the lady is very good. I'm not totally happy with my look at present, due to the water retention of the steroids. By sometime next week, I should get a better sense of how I'm going to like it. On the positive side, I'm apparently maintaining my weight loss (judging from the clothes).