Before Thanksgiving

So today is the Monday evening before Thanksgiving.  Not the big crowd this year as in the past.  But Jim thinks it will be nice and restful.  Yea, right.  We are babysitting a grand dog,  Charlie a 7 month old yellow lab.  He is Kate and Sammy's newest addition.  He keeps Bailey company during the day when the kids and parents are out of the house.  What a sweetheart he is with his big paws and already a bit taller than our Riley.  They have met a few times and love love love each other already.  Frank is patient, Penny is tentative and Hannah just stays out of the way.  Riley loves playing with puppies, you need to take a look of a flip video from last year on our facebook page to see how he plays with them, Bailey has him jumping around with what I call the "round butt of excitement"  (they jump around like this).  Jim is a little put off that we number 16 people in our family and 13 in our dog family.... (us 4, Morgan and John-3; David and Amanda-2; Matt and Jennae-2; and Kate and Sammy-2. )  I am so proud of my children for their rescuing some of their pets. 
Kate will drop him off tomorrow before they start off to NYC for Thanksgiving with Rosie and Jorge.  I really hope they get a chance to see the big parade and go to Macy's and FAO Schwartz.  (Is that still a really great toy store?)  Dominic and Xavi will love it.  We got the boys Walmart catalogues the last time we were up at the farm and they pored over them, circling and marking what they might want Santa to bring them. 
So after all the hullaballoo on Thursday, we will head up to Guards Farm to put up the extremely large Christmas tree that Muriel and Bill Harris gave us a few years ago.  And decorate it with our little bits and baubles.  Morgan, Betty, Zoe and Lily will be coming up also.  I hope to get into Rutherfordton or Black Mountain to participate in the "support small businesses Saturday".  Maybe get to the Monogram shop in R'ton, (right past the CVS)  where I have purchased my "F" flag and doormat in the past few years. 
Then on Monday, we take our Riley back to the Vet for further surgery.  He had a grade 2 mast cell tumour removed and we are having larger margins taken.  Wanted him to be able to play and run all over with Charlie, Frank, Hannah, Penny before the surgery.  The last one was a little traumatic for him, it took him a long time to recover.  He was so shocked to have pain running and jumping.  So please wish him well, living the life of Riley.