A happy Thanksgiving

Well, I did it. I hosted my very first Thanksgiving dinner. With the assistance of two of my female co-workers, we put together a meal complete with bird, homemade stuffing and gravy and several other yummy side dishes and hot spiced cider. We even stayed up until 2 a.m. the night before making pies. Thursday morning I got up and figured out how to roast the turkey...it was easier than I thought. People arrived at my house for dinner at about 1 p.m. There were six of us, all from the newsroom and all from the Midwest—except one who is from Hawaii.
We had a really great time, but the one thing missing was, of course, Rick. I missed him. But he'll be so impressed with my newly acquired turkey-making skills, I'm sure. He's scheduled to be here on Dec. 12, which is coming up quickly. I can hardly wait!
Initially I had been dreading this Thanksgiving, since I thought I'd probably be home alone, just petting the cat. But it turned out to be a really fun, festive day spent with new friends. And for that I'm thankful.

Oil spill

Just in case people were wondering, the oil spilled in the San Francisco Bay is not expected to reach the shores of Del Norte County. Our environmental reporter looked into it, and her source said that at most, we may find a few oily birds that flocked north to escape the toxic waters, but that they will likely be resilient birds and will do okay.
The whole thing is such a tragedy, and especially now that I know what plethora of wildlife actually live by the sea, it's even sadder. All the pictures of oil-slick sea birds, both dead and alive, just make me feel sick to my stomach. Luckily, our fair shores of (really far) Northern California will stay beautiful (see below) and be a welcoming place for the many marine lives that make it their home.