Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 1:00 a.m. in "The City."

We had a marvelous day yesterday, unless you count my trying to peel my thumbnail while peeling carrots. I had undertaken that task as part of the preparation for the vegetable broth that Mary will be incorporating into the vegan roast for our Thanksgiving dinner. No real damage, at least nothing that time won't cure.

At any rate, it all began yesterday with some serious planning and purchasing. Here is a pic of the cookbooks and the shopping list involved in the meal planning.

This was not an easy plan to conceive nor carry out.

Speaking of my carrot peeling, here is a pic of the broth that took the best part of four Mason jars to hold. .

It smells even better than it looks!

I also made a pumpkin pie, however, I inadvertently left out one of the ingredients. Mary assures me that although it looks a bit strange/weird, it tastes just fine.

I'd never tried this recipe before.

Since we had the oven on for the pie we also use it to complete one step in making that broth. Plus, used the oven to bake homemade croutons for Mary's dressing.

I had to ask the question, "Why do we need to dry the croutons before we soak them again?"

As we were already hard at work in the kitchen, we also brewed some additional broth for other parts of the meal. It is in the slow-cooker now and will probably be there overnight. Once again, the smell of food cooking is much better than those artificial air fresheners of which everyone seem so fond.

I got to spot both parts of the train runs on the RSTL yesterday. At 9:30 a.m., MMRR locomotive # 2025 was espied heading south, towing one, CHC, 17 DBTCs, one GTC, and four DWTCs.

Later @ 12:00 p.m., that same locomotive was seen heading north towing four CHCs, three DBTCs, and two DWTCs.

We have a current temperature of 25° that feels like 16° according to my handy-dandy wind-chill chart. That's because the wind is blowing steadily @ 10 mph! The NWS has forecast that the overnight low will be 22°, regardless of the wind. Today's high will reach 32°, but with the wind-speed reaching 11 mph, the wind-chill will be around 19°. The sun will rise today @ 7:46 a.m. and set later @ 5:15 p.m.

I hope that everyone gives thanks to the members of the military stationed around the world, helping to keep us safe. Many will have to enjoy their Thanksgiving dinners in mess-halls or tents. Also, be sure to give thanks to the people who help make today a pleasant day for all of us, people like public-safety personnel, doctors and nurses, and anyone who makes our way of life what it is. Be sure to say thanks to all of those that you hold dear too.

Today, I'll be watching football and assisting as needed in the preparation of our vegan Thanksgiving feast. Proper planning and preparation for any meal makes that meal more enjoyable for all involved. As an example, Mary couldn't decide what to make for dinner last night, so I suggested that she use some of the left-over vermicelli noodles, add some tuna and peas, and fortify the dish with some additional ingredients, She took it from there and it was delicious.

Our lunch was the remainder of the stir-fry I'd made the other day, augmented by the addition of some leeks and tamari. It too was great.

That looks like enough for now. Ciao.