Thanksgiving for you, Laura! Happy Happy BirthDay week!

Thank you, ladies. Tell me, what are you grateful for? This morning while driving my son to school, I noticed the formation of the clouds. I don't focus much on clouds other than to wonder what they'll mean for my day. But this video made me realize that they are as ephemeral as all the rest and that appreciating what is above us is as important as what is in front of us.

Granny J, what a lovely message. Thank you for sharing every bit of it. I hope your friend does well. And I will think about the sound of your grand kids chatting. It's a delightful treat to listen to kids talking in our midst. I'm sorry for your loss. But I am glad that you can now face such a horrific situation. Our journeys are hopefully long, even if it takes a long time to examine part of it. Thank you and be well. This is truly such a lovely comment.

Happy Thanksgiving! GrannyJ: I concluded from my father's difficult early life (and his siblings' rather easier ones) that the nicest, best people I know are the ones who faced big problems when they were young. And now (like learning a new word), I see the truth of that everywhere.

I am esp grateful this Thanksgiving. I can't put it all into words. But I will cite my few and deep friendships -- one with my lifelong best friend from second grade, and several others I don't want to minimize by caging them in with words. The e-friendships here and on a few other blogs, as we sorted out some very puzzling, hard-to-believe chicanery and learned a lot from readings others suggested and that we noodled around.

Grateful that we have a very able and wise team trying to minimize war and help our country do better.

Very grateful for all of this, and more.

Thank you Granny J. A blog is only as good as the wonderful people, like all of you, who visit it. And Ottoline, I love the cake! Did you bake this??? I also like your thanks and gratitude as written here. Old friendships and E-friendships: they take different forms but are memorable in their own special ways. Thank you all!

not enough coffee yet to write clearly, but I reckon yall get my point inspite of the booboos.

FWIW, my sister sent me a link to a Global Women's Event on Valentine's Day 2013. Not sure how I feel about it or what it really means but yall may be interested.

http://www.vday.org/vday-launches-one-billion-rising

Ginger and V-A, I too often wonder about women's place in this world. The disregard that men often hold us in, even when they purport to love us, or like us. Except for Stockholm Syndrome, we are important to ourselves -- and the Women's movement has helped that sensibility grow. I feel that each time I hear Gloria Steinem speak and offer me new illumination.

I think interest in exposing the Palin Hoax has withered due to direct, successful MSM suppression of any discussion of it, esp in the context of GOP dirty tricks. Because to expose it opens too many other cans of worms, like enabling by GOP VIPs, why did Schmidt/Wallace remain mum, McCain, ties to the fundies, corruption in AK, etc. Also, we got so busy with the election (pre- and post-, all pretty riveting), Petraeus/Benghazi and whether a real other shoe will drop there. And a big thing is the supposed FBI attn to Dairygate. I guess we all wonder whether any kind of justice will prevail there. If yes, the pregnancy hoax should find a way to unfold. If no, then my guess is the hoax will remain protected.

So: not much point for us little bloggers to flail around on this topic -- let's see what the big guys are willing to do, or will not do.