Your Turn

I'm tired today--too tired to even post pictures, and yet I still have to post something because it's November and I am posting every single day this month. But today, today I need your help, because I'm tired and I don't feel like being creative or thinking about some story to share or writing about my thoughts on anything like that. I want you to share something with me. I'd love to know a little about the people who read this site. Some of  you comment and I follow links back to your sites and learn a little that way, but the majority of you do not comment, have never commented, and yet I know you're out there. I see in my stats there are readers in Canada, Korea, Japan, France, and all over the states. So who are you?

If you would be so kind to just answer the three following questions so I can get an idea (feel free to invent and answer any additional questions):

1. Where do you live?
2. What's the weather like right now?
3. What was the highlight of your weekend?

and here's a bonus questions, just because:

4. Do you celebrate Thanksgiving, and if so, what are your plans for Thanksgiving next week, or what is your favorite Thanksgiving memory?

And, just to be fair, I'll answer the same questions:

1. Hell's Kitchen, Midtown, Manhattan, New York
2. It was a gorgeous, cool, crisp fall afternoon, but the sun is setting now and the temps are dropping a bit.
3. All of Friday night was pretty great. Drew and I met the friend of his at a place in the Lower East Side called Mama's, where we ate a buffet-style dinner, fed the juke box all night and drank lots of beer to keep warm. I really like his friend a lot--she reminds me of some of the girlfriends I miss in Chicago. Her boyfriend met up with us later in the night after he got off work and we continued drinking until we decided to go back to their place in Brooklyn where they have their very own karaoke machine! They also had a a whole plastic pumpkin of leftover halloween candy, a full bar, and a big bag of sun chips, and a doxen dachshund who waddles around the apartment carrying his food bowl in his mouth, so it was all pretty great. This afternoon's been pretty awesome, too--I jogged in Central Park, baked a pie, read the New York Times style section and nursed a White Russian while Drew did some writing. So, yeah, I guess the whole weekend was a highlight.
4. My sister's coming to visit for 4 days over Thanksgiving. And just before her visit, my friend Chad is coming from Chicago for a couple of days befcore he goes to Conn. for Thanksgiving, so it's going to be a whole week of guests and fun and exploring the city and I'm really looking forward to it!

Your turn.

(When you're reading the comments, make sure you click the little arrow at the end of each page of comments to take you to the next. I almost missed it!)

Comments

[Brenda]

1. Vancouver, BC, Canada
2. Grey. It's stopped raining.
3. Going to brunch with my little brother who's in town right now. We found a sweet cafe in my neighbourhood that I hadn't gone to before.
4. Canadian Thanksgiving was last month, and I went home to visit my family, and made the mashed potatoes.

[Gary]

1. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
2. Perfect fall weather. Blue sky, sunshine, crisp and cold. Perfect for wrapping Cedars against the winter winds, raking the final leaves, and breathing the air. Later cold enough for the first season's fire.
3. Ibid.
4. Sure...but it was a month ago. And we had everybody over as usual and it was great.

[redfish]

I've never commented before, but here goes: I'm from Des Moines, IA. It was grey today, but unseasonably, gloriously warm(67!). I just got home from a Bible study with two church friends. It was nice to sit and talk without kids hanging all over us. That probably sounds dull. I enjoy my life, but I also vicariously enjoy your White Russian-sipping, celebrity-spotting big city life too.

[S]

1. Leuven, Belgium
2. Drizzle all day
3. Saturday evening, great show (myspace.com/sevensoulmotion)
4. nope, november 11 is a holiday though (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armistice_Day) it's a Sunday, but no panic, we don't lose the day off, we can just take it on another day! (Belgian law, sweet right?)

[Megan]

1. Los Angeles, CA
2. It's cloudy and grey, 61 degrees according to my desktop weather widget. The sun tried to come out a couple hours ago, but failed.
3. I went to the ASU v. UCLA football game at the Rose Bowl yesterday, which was exciting because ASU is my alma mater and UCLA is where I currently attend grad school. My friends and I sat next to a guy from Brazil and his two friends from France. We explained to him how football worked, and they were shocked to hear that the game lasts 3 hours, even though it really only lasts 60 minutes. They left during the third quarter, citing boredom. Later we found a Dairy Queen in Burbank, and caught the early show of American Gangster. Not a bad day.
4. I'm flying home to visit my family in Colorado. My mother just gave birth to twins and I'll get to meet my new baby brothers for the first time, and hopefully catch up with some old friends that I haven't seen in years.

There you go!

[Gabrielle]

1. Where do you live?
A few minutes north of Atlanta, GA.
2. What's the weather like right now?
Mostly cloudy, 55 degrees fahrenheit.
3. What was the highlight of your weekend?
Eating my favorite Mediterranean pizza delivered to my door. Pesto, onions, garlic, artichoke hearts, black olives, tomatoes, feta cheese... to die for!

and here's a bonus questions, just because:

4. Do you celebrate Thanksgiving, and if so, what are your plans for Thanksgiving next week, or what is your favorite Thanksgiving memory?
Thanksgiving is all about family and friends, and I'm short on both right now. So sad, I know. We'll do a potluck at work on the 19th, and that will be it for me. This is my 2nd Thanksgiving as a vegetarian, and now I'm more vegan than veg, so it should be interesting. I'll be making my famous Cranberry Orange Relish, which I make every year.

Favorite Thanksgiving memory? The year I cooked a turkey and "fixings" all on my own, and ate a huge feast with my then boyfriend. He brought corn pudding and butterscotch pie, just to please me. We stuffed ourselves silly and watched "Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer" on TV - he sang all the songs (he knew the lyrics by heart). I was 30 and he was only 21, but we were crazy about each other. The next day we woke up late and ate leftovers.

[GrizzBabe]

Long-time lurker; first-time commenter. Or is it my second time? Oh hell, I can't remember. Anywho, here are my answers:

1.) I live in the buckle of the Bible belt.

2.) I saw the 7-day forecast earlier today and it's supposed to be in the mid-70s all week. It's the middle of November, people.

3.) Unfortunately, it's been one of those weeks but the highlight has been getting some really good advice from a friend.

4.) For Thanksgiving, my boyfriend is coming to town to meet the family for the first time. Part of me is excited and part of me is absolutely terrified.

[TJ]

Hi! I think I've only commented once or twice, but this seemed like fun, so here's my input:

1. I live in NJ about 20 minutes from Manhattan. So therefore...

2. The weather is about the same as you had today....colder than I'd like. It's dark out now, and the temps are still dropping.

3. My weekend had a few highlights, so here you go :) I met up for dinner on Friday with an old friend and a new friend. I am trying to introduce this new friend (who is a friend's wife and new to the country, not just the area) to my group of girlfriends so that she feels more comfortable in her new home. We had a good time, lots of laughs and gossip, and I am really glad that my old friends have warmed so quickly and easily to this new friend.
On Saturday, I house shopped with my fiance...we found two really well-priced wonderful options, and I've been daydreaming all day about them. Saturday night we watched Ratatouille, which I highly recommend, because it was funny and touching and awesome.
4. My Thanksgiving plans are the same as they are every year. My mom cooks, we have a house full of family. I am going to try and get up super-early for the sales on Black Friday, which I've never done before. But you know how I talked about house shopping? It necessitates going easy on the holiday spending.

Love that you're blogging every day this month, and also am really happy to read that you have transitioned well to NYC! As an almost-NYer, I have nothing but love for the city, and have been so interested to read your impressions (and glad they've been good!)!

[X-GF]

1. Downtown Long Beach, CA
2. It's in the low 60s. Cloudy, looks like it might rain any minute now.
3. Taking our new beach cruisers out for a test run. Relearning how to ride a bike.

*Keep up the daily posting! Love them!

[lanterngirl]

1. Sydney
2. Gorgeous today! Has been schizophrenic over the last week though.
3.Keating! the musical, about an ex-Prime Minister of Australia. Yep, a musical about politicians.
4. No Thanksgiving. But this is the time of year that it's (mostly) summery and uni is over and we celebrate just because.

[Katie]

1. Boston, MA
2. 40 degrees with a breeze
3. The highlight of my weekend was meeting up with friends for dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant. What's better than eating food with lots of cheese in it and drinking frozen sangria? Not much!
4. For Thanksgiving, my fiance is going to my parents' house with me. It's our first sorta-major holiday together; we've always spent the actual day apart in the past. I'm excited that we get to be together this year!

[Nancy]

1. New Jersey.
2. Chilly
3. I went into NYC friday night to celebrate friend's birthday. There were plenty of drinks and great company.
4. The best part of Thanksgiving is having the whole family (over 30 people) over and eating/drinking the night away. It's been this way as long as I can remember.

[Marisa]

1. I'm from Grosse Pointe, MI, but spend 8 months of the year at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Hopefully it will be twelve months of the year starting this summer.

2. It was rather chilly today, but manageable until about five o'clock when I came out from the yoga class wearing only one layer and a fall jacket. It's gotten too cold to be scarfless.

3. The highlights of my weekend were going home and being able to see my cats and BAKE for the first time since the start of September. I made cheese soufflé, carmelized apple upside-down cake, brownies, good baked potatoes...it was delicious. And spent two whole nights with one cat breathing in my face.

4. For Thanksgiving the past few years, it's been just my parents, my brother, and I. This year is going to be extra low-key, probably without turkey. But I'm also probably going to my boyfriend's dad's Thanksgiving the following Saturday. I've been introduced twice, prior to our dating, and have never had a conversation with him, so it should be interesting.

[Lisa]

How fun!

1. Austin, Texas
2. In the 70's --cool but not too cold
3. Tie between going to the farmer's market and planting spring bulbs in the yard
4. Going to visit my sister & family in Chicago for Thanksgiving. Really excited to go back since I miss Chicago!

[Diana Kimball]

1. Cambridge, MA. One of those college kids. :)

2. It is brisk and blue here. I don't keep track of temperatures, but I do know that peacoats are beginning to feel insufficient.

3. Frozen yogurt with brand-new friends after a whirlwind day. It was cold outside, but inside, the walls were yellow, so it felt warm.

4. I'm going to one of my teachers' aunt's houses in Concord, MA. It will be an adventure, I hope! This is one of those families that believes that Thanksgiving should be a generous time, so they invited me, and I think I love that a lot.

I've been reading your site for ages, so it's lovely to finally write back. I'm also trying to post every day in November, incidentally. (It is hard.) Hang in there!

[leenie]

1- atlanta, ga!
2- booo. cold. (not really, but to me it is)
3- the non-profit i run had a really sweet money making weekend! yay! extra earned income!

[The Senior Senior]

Madison, Wisconsin (at least until August). The weather was eh-ish (grey, low 50s, damp). Last night, I met a friend for a drink to celebrate her good fortune, and we discovered an excellent new place to go - cozy, lively yet still conversation friendly, and excellent drinks.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times. My brother and I will have our semi-traditional pie bake-off. The weekend will also be for polishing my grad school applications.

[Courtney]

1. Also Vancouver, BC, Canada. I'm from Nova Scotia tho!
2. RAINY.
3. Last night we had a big dinner with old friends and such a ridiculous amount of chocolate fondue was consumed. And red wine. It's been a red wine kinda weekend.
4. Thanksgiving was a while back. Looking forward to Christmas tho!

[Kerry]

1. Santa Cruz Mountains, CA
2. Outside:48 degrees, damp and windy. Inside: 70 degrees and climbing w/ fire going
3. Snuggling on the couch with my husband, five cats and bottle(s) of wine watching the Departed.
4.Spending Thanksgiving with family at my mom's-- which means drinking lot and lots of wine, eating the best meal of my life every year and everyone collaborates on some insane art project.

[Rachel]

1. Madison, WI
2. Unusually mild for November
3. Highlight of my weekend: having breakfast with my parents this morning.
4. Yes, I celebrate Thanks, but sans turkey. My plans are to spend a day holed up at my parents, watching the Packer game. How very Wisconsin-y.

[ALH]

1. Chicago

2. It was 50ish today and sunny enough to play in Welles Park for a while and go for a long walk.

3. I had an honest-to-goodness sleepover at a friend's house -- our kids are best friends -- and we ate pizza and watched a movie and ate popcorn and played Scrabble and laughed half the night.

4. After years of playing the I-hate-Thanksgiving card, I'm going with my son and a friend to her parents' house in the suburbs, which I am sure will make me grateful to NOT live out there...

[Lisa]

1. Fryeburg, Maine. Lots of trees and moose. Used to be a city girl, but gave it up a few years ago...
2. Clear, cold 19 degrees right now.
3. Squeezing hug from my son.
4. Geographically scattered family, scattered holidays, I usually work many of the holidays. This year : 1st major holiday with my fiance's family -- looking forward to it.

[ellen]

1. San Francisco Bay Area, but two cities ago we were in Chicago (first Hyde Park, then Roscoe Village), so I always identify with your love-of-Chicago theme.

2. Cloudy and gloomy this morning but it quickly turned into a beautiful, sunny fall day.

3. On Saturday, my husband and I met up with an old friend and had lunch at our favorite (and only one we know of) vegetarian Japanese restaurant. SO good. Also, we bought tickets to a Barack Obama rally, a first for us but we really like him.. STRANGELY enough, we also watched Ratatouille Saturday night after we finished watching The Hoax. Both good rentals.

4. We do celebrate Thanksgiving. We are headed to northeast Texas, where I grew up, to celebrate with my parents. It's going to be quieter than last year because the two young children in the family, my niece and nephew, won't be there... but quiet can be good!

Thanks for keeping a fun and interesting blog.

[Nilsa S.]

1. I live in your last hometown, Chicago, IL.
2. It's balmy and humid from the rains that swept through last night.
3. Falling in love with a venue for my wedding.
4. Thanksgiving is the one holiday I look forward to every year. We rotate between Cape Cod, Maine and Chicago. This year, the family converges on Chicago. My parents and my fiance's parents will meet for the first time. Good times ahead.

[neha]

Hi!

1) San Francisco, CA (the mission)
2) Well right now it's dark and cold, but TODAY it was actually sunny and pretty lovely, which was great, cause yesterday it rained all day and normally one day of rain isn't so bad, but this is California, and basically when it rains no one remembers how to drive anymore so there are accidents all over the place and people are in general sort of depressed except for the ones from the pacific northwest who go on and on about how great this weather is.
3) I went to Friday Nights at the De Young, and there was this great cuban band and I saw a nice Edward Hopper and some cool art from Papa New Guinea.
4) I'm not really a big fan of Thanksgiving food or the holiday or anything, but my sister is coming to visit for the week, so that'll be fun. We'll go see lots of trashy movies and watch trashy tv and go shopping.