It's Thanksgiving Day and I'm not cooking. I made pies yesterday and a lovely family has invited us to share their meal today. It gives me time to make up a list of weird or wonderful things that aren't essential to life but that I'm really thankful for:
1. Guacamole. Seriously, can you imagine life without it? It's the food of the gods and a taste of Texas home far away in the North.
2. Facebook. The pix of my grandkids, the funny things my friends post and the chance to reunited with old friends make it a grand place that's almost as good as real life some days.
3. Google. Oh yeah. I don't have to remember anything like that guy who played in that movie with that girl who has the hair over one eye. Only a tiny sliver of information will get me the answer. No more waking up in the middle of the night with an answer which had been covered with ten layers of newer information in my brain.
4. Wikipedia. So what is the capital of Moldova and where the heck is Moldova anyway? The answer is right at my fingertips.
5. Convertibles. Mine is a red Miata but I'm open to other kinds. The freedom of driving down the highway with your hair in the wind and the sun shining down from above is priceless.
6. Macaroni and cheese. I don't know who thought this one up, but it puts spaghetti and meatballs in the shade. And in Texas, it's a vegetable! Oh yeah!
7. The comic strip "Pickles." It makes getting older something you can deal with because no matter how difficult the process is, it's more difficult for Earl and Opal. A youngish editor canceled it from our local newspaper and the geriatric community almost had him run out of town.
8. Cheesecake. I haven't met one I didn't like.
9. Cary Grant. No other actor measures up. The only sad thing is that he never got to play Bond, James Bond. Maybe in heaven.
10. Harry Potter. When things are really tough, it's a world I can disappear into again and again. No one (except for the Dursleys) pays income tax, waits around in airports because their plane flight was cancelled or worries about missing their favorite television show.
So there you have it in no particular order. Any more ideas?
