Drip drip drip

Raining again.  The North Country is offered a choice of snow instead, up to 12" in some areas.  Winter storm warning.  We're supposed to have a range of about 20 degrees F across the state, from about 32 F along the Quebec border to low 50s on the coast and south.

No turkey for us, two people with the nearest relative in the next state over and buried under his last year post-grad.  Wife will roast a chicken, instead.  Although the folks across the street told us to come over if we feel like -- they'll have 20-30 of their offspring unto the fourth generation, and say they wouldn't even notice...

Rain will play hell with their annual touch football game in the street, though.

Over the river and through the woods...

Noticed a noticeable absence of mini-vans in the driveway next door and assumed that the horde was off to Grandmother's House for Thanksgiving dinner.  Then I stopped to think.

That's a "blended" family, second marriages (or further) for both, with four kids his, two hers, and one theirs.  Or some such distribution.  How does the modern American family define "grandmother" in those cases?  With four (or more) to choose from, some of which may be inimical to the second (or third) spouse while still grabbing frantically at the grandchildren-by-blood?

Gah.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

Okay, there I am in couch-potato mode in front of a TV football game, and this ad comes on.  I'm used to muting and ignoring ads.  Except this one caught my eye for some reason, subliminal commands flashed on the screen or something. 

An ad for surgical stents.

You know, those springy tube-thingies they insert into your plaque-clogged arteries to open up enough room for blood to pass through.  Like that's consumer discretionary spending...

Ads for prescription meds are bad enough.  Ads for artificial joints, well, you usually have some time to think that one through.  But frigging stents?