Well, here it is -- Thanksgiving time once again. I've been hauling in food for the last few weeks in preparation for our annual feast. This year the Vermont group is scheduled to be with us, adding five more bodies.

It will only count as three actual people at the table and two in high chairs. I will let you know after the fact how it all went.

I'm writing this the week before Thanksgiving and one day after returning from my yearly trek to Portland, Ore., to visit daughter Valerie. My body is totally confused and exhausted at the moment. I was not even accustomed to Eastern Standard Time yet, only to be thrown into Pacific Standard which is three hours behind us. Whew.

I returned to an empty refrigerator and a husband who could not find the bag of chocolate chip cookies in the freezer -- even though they were hidden in plain sight. It's nice to know I'm needed.

Just to catch up on some things I needed to tell you, not necessarily in order of importance:

1. I just received another dime from The March of Dimes. That is a total of four this year. Isn't the idea that we are to send them money and not vice versa? I wrote back and told them not to expect any more contributions since they were just giving it away.

2. On Oct. 29 a woman stopped by the studio to drop off a tube of Revlon No. 485 (Raspberry Freeze) lipstick since I had mentioned a few weeks ago that it was no longer available at my local store. The Man of the House did not get a name or where she was from, so if you were that woman, "Thanks so much!"

3. On Nov. 11 there was a message on our answering machine from another woman who said she saw several tubes of that lipstick at the CVS Pharmacy in Wooster. I appreciate the tip and will look the next time I get up there. Thanks.

4. A couple weeks ago I was summoned to the studio because a woman wanted to see me. The Man of the House told me her name but it didn't ring a bell. She gave me a big hug and asked if I ever saw any of the old gang.

Since I had no idea which gang that might be, I played it coy and cleverly told her I hadn't, but had she seen any of them. Then she said a name of someone she had seen that made it all clear.

It turned out I had met her through the job I left 18 years ago. She held a similar position in Stark County and we used to run into each other at statewide meetings.

It's the second time this year that's happened. The first time, even after being told her name, I had no recollection of where or why I would know her. I was still shaking my head after she left and had told me all kinds of things about her family.

(It would be great to introduce yourself and refresh my memory of why I should know you -- especially if it's been lots of year or you have changed a great deal.)

I now know how my dear departed Aunt Ellen must have felt in her later years when her memory for names and faces was fading. She would never let on and would talk very politely to them. After they left she would turn and say to me, "I have absolutely no idea who that person was!"

Hope you have -- or had -- a lovely Thanksgiving. Be thankful you aren't a pilgrim.