Thanksgiving again

and a lot to be thankful for, a job that pays my bills and buys a few extras in life, a house with a dry roof, a small town that I love being a part in, some great friends, Jake home and working a part time job he really likes.
A co-worker left last night, leaving me to put in close to 11 hours, but her home was on fire with an electrical problem being the likely cause.  Today I am replacing the main disconnect, our utility company found the problem before it created a fire and took my house.  The house does have good and safe wiring, but that disconnect below the meter I would have never worried about, knew all that stuff was part of what was replaced/redone when the house was re-wired, due to an electrical fire.  So, I never worried about it or those wires from it into my breaker box.
I am going to be replacing the box outside and the wires coming in today, Ameren will come do a temporary disconnect so I can safely do the work and son Ben should be here to help make it an easier job.  We are going with #2 wire coming into the  house, should easily hold the load even when the heat, or air cond is on and we have tv going and so forth.
It could have been my house, but it wasn't and she has insurance, which not all here do.  And everyone got out safely. 
Jake is heading back to college and he could be called back into the Marines, but for this weekend, he is home, here for chili and corn bread tomorrow after he cleans the sale barn, and then to his dad for a few days to be well fed and have some quality time with people who matter.
People on the east coast still are a long way from recovering from Sandy storm, many still with no electric, heat or jobs.  I am a long way from that with a slowly improving house, a stable job and my power outage today will be so I can make the house safer, not because I cannot pay the bills or because the house is gone or so badly damaged I no longer have a home.
I think of my only daughter, her 38th birthday is Sunday and I hope and pray her life is going well and that she is happy. But I stay out of her life, and out of the lives of her children, love them all but know the conflict does no one any good.  I am not perfect but her childhood was not the nightmare she has created in her mind and I am not to blame for the direction and choices she has made as an adult.
I think of Mike, and hope he is doing better, both with his health and his finances.  Time has eased some of my hurt, and I have found a lot of good memories to look back on.  I hope this Thanksgiving finds him surrounded by those who love him and whose life makes his richer.
I still relish and treasure my way of living, still dating that guy 8 blocks away, still glad I live in my own home and the only men who have lived with me have been ones I have given birth to, for more than a handful of years.
So far this fall our weather has been mild, and I have 1 more window replaced and the east and west soffits replaced or repaired, small bit of progress but at least I am making progress.
Yes, this blog is very much I and me, guess because it is mine.  But my life and world is not all 'me' stuff, it is a more stable and richer life than it was a year ago.  So, yes, I have a lot to be thankful for this thanksgiving season.

Hunting for cables

I own 1 and only 1 usb to usb cable, and have loads of almost every other kind of cable for tech devices.  That 1 and only 1 cable was last seen here and in Jake's hands and now we have NO idea where he set it down.
I need it to connect my laptop to my desk computer and move all my music files to the desk computer, Jake is getting my laptop so he does not have to replace his non working one at this time.  But I do not want to put all my music in the other computer, 1 cd at a time and spend days doing that, days setting up the files I have already set up in the laptop.
I probably also want to move a bunch of photos.
So, that will not get done today, probably will not get done tomorrow and I will probably buy a portable, external drive and move stuff into it and then move it again into the desk computer, and I need 1 anyway.
So, I am starting to put my music, cd by cd into the desk computer, oh, such fun...
But I did get out and vote, and on the way home last night I made the Wal-Mart run so now my bamboo shoots are in a small glass pot with glass pebbles and up where I can see them from the kitchen table and they will get light from the east window and from the plant light up there.
Rain and gray today and I am so glad I have a dry house, a warm house and a job with good benefits that pays for all of that good stuff.
Jake fixed split pea soup last night, so it's done now and I will sneak some into a container and into my lunch bag for work, he won't mind, he 'sneaks' off with my cooking too.
And hats seem to be the knitting projects, using up some small amounts of yarns that are great for hats but not enough for much more.  Jake asked for a knit cap and so that got it started, now I am close to done with #2 and have plans for more, along with a scarf for Larry, he asked and I have yarns that will work and some great patterns for men's scarves. 
Things here are good, even on my blue days, and I can replace that cable, will order one when I order that portable hard drive, already have 1 on a wish list.