Happy thanksgiving

It's cool and gray here in central IL but the house is warm and dry. The birds are content and Kid is being good for now. I will be going out for my meal, quality time with quality friends, and no clean up. Work is busy and overtime every weekend right now, is helping me pay down debt load and the truck got much needed back tires. Hopefully, soon I will be putting some of that overtime into the work on this old house, but it's nice to be ahead on the bills and I will soon be down to 4 years on my house mortgage and am paying extra every month on that which makes me feel more secure too. There's not much on the Black Friday sales that even interests me, but I will look next Sunday while I am in Springfield for the yearly Christmas party with my doll club. And my gift exchange is part done, the sweater knit, finished and washed, now to make a top and pants that go with it. I have a nice selection of lace weight yarns for doll knitting and have 2 other sweaters going, 1 will be a gift if done on time. Jake is off with his platoon, headed to Japan right now, and he's doing well and is usually in good spirits, his jeep is here, IL plates and insured, and locked up, it needs new back tires but I don't know if I will get that done before he is home again. I will get some stuff into the gas tank for winter and start it now and then but don't need to run it and neither does any one else. It's so great to have a solid roof and be started on the attic changes/expansion project. Right now I am not getting much done up there but I will progress a little at a time, on a schedule that I can handle and not be beat tired and not add to my debt load. I need to finish up the insulation work and have the insulation for that, need to do some wiring work and will have the materials for that soon, and then it will be ceilings, and wall coverings and build that new bathroom. I hope this year my tax refund will build the bathroom walls, last year paid off a debt and that was a good decision but this year I want to be able to put the refund into my attic project. But I am making good progress with so many things, compared to where I was this time last year. So, it's a year I have a lot to be thankful for and to be looking forward to the coming year.