Great News!

Noah will have a little sister (likely), or a little brother!  In May, around his Dad's birthday.
I am totally excited and I still can't believe I'm a grandmother.  And I can't wait to find out, will the new baby have his/her mother's amazing blue eyes, or his/her father's hazel/green/brown ones?  Will he/she look like Noah, which is mostly his Dad, or will he/she look like her/his mother?  Exciting times - and yes, I know, main thing it's a healthy baby and not a preemie like his/her brother.

And Noah and his Mom will come visit this weekend.  It'll be so much fun to have him here, and I love spending time with both.

And I will host Thanksgiving this year, the first time in a long time.
It will be like I had it 40 years ago, with few changes.  My mother-in-law was an amazing hostess, who set a gorgeous holiday table, so did her mother, as well as her sister-in-law.  And since I first experienced Thanksgiving in New England, a New England Thanksgiving it will be.  I am sure Thanksgivings are similar all over the US, some families experiment with their recipes, change things around, some families serve Kielbasa and Sauerkraut along with the turkey, some families will have Lasagna or stuffed shells, all depending on their heritage.
My son-in-law Jim tried the stuffed shells one Thanksgiving, along with all the traditional dishes, and only Nicole and he ate some, the rest of us being traditionalists.
But, I might just give in and add some stuffed shells, since Matthew, when asked what he would like on Thanksgiving said 'Stuffed Shells' with such enthusiasm that I think I may just make them to have him walking away happy from a Thanksgiving table, and not feeling like he had to be urged to eat things he wasn't happy to eat.  I know Jackson will probably follow suit, and Jim will not have to be urged to try!

Note to self: refill the ice trays!

Other than that, today is a typical November day, drizzly, foggy, and a little bit rainy.  My yard looks like I made no effort whatsoever with the leaves, which so isn't true.

Erika went to parent-teacher conferences, and she told me, that the teacher of Jessica told her that cursive handwriting may not be taught anymore.  Or if taught, no great importance would be put on it, since in today's age you only needed cursive for your signature.  Amazing!
(for the Germans:  cursive is handwriting)
And so true, when was the last time you needed to write something?  I don't mean lists, there it doesn't matter if you print or write.  A postcard?  Just a few notes, doesn't matter again, if handwritten or printed.

Who writes letters anymore?  I know I really haven't, especially since my mother is gone.  And when she was still alive I wrote e-mails.  I took to e-mails like a duck takes to water, I loved it.  And I heard just this morning that young people think e-mail is too formal, the founder of face.book was saying it - young people are annoyed by dredging up a subject, and then ending on a formal note, like 'love...'.    Hence his new enhancements to his service.

Well, those are the thoughts for today.