It's never too late.

And I mean flushed in the non-bathroom sort of way

Weighing my pockets with stones of longing

Especially when those days are Saturday and Sunday.

They always come crawling back

I've been in a bubble for the last few days. Less than an hour after I got home, I went to Perkins (yeah, not my favorite either) to meet Tara and Hillary. I got the best chicken noodle soup of all time, and we were loud and made plans written out on a napkin for the next day. That was Tuesday, around 11:00 p.m.

Wednesday morning I showered and went out shopping with the girls. Well, I watched them shop, mostly, since Hillary needed a gown for her vocal recital, and we were at Dillards. I don't buy things from Dillards as a matter of principle (racial tracking policies at all that) so it was kind of awkward being there. Maybe they changed their policies. There was a black woman working there. I finally bought some new clothes at JC Penney, and when I told my mom they weren't second hand she was so excited that she offered to pay me back for all of them. The mall made me nervous, so I was happy when we left.

The three of us (Zoe still being on her way to the state) ended up at Hillary's mom's place, listening to Nickel Creek and drinking white wine and snacking on pickles while we microwaved our makeshift Thanksgiving dinner. It turned out deliciously, though... we had turkey and gravy and mashed potatoes and corn and garlic bread and milk! We even ate around the table. It was an excellent stand-in for the bum/disappointing/screwed-up family versions in store for us this year. We toasted before eating. "I love you," we said, and then clinked glasses.

Then we watched a Mandy Moore movie and ate Oreos. What can I say? It was Hillary's house. Strange things happen. There was some rolling on the floor and some goofy phone calls before we went our separate ways. I really do love those girls something special.

Since then I've been hanging around the house, getting settled. Mom and I took Boo out for a walk today, and she showed me something that nearly made my appendix rupture I was laughing so hard. My dog is apparently friends with a golden retriever up the street named Mikey. So we took him over to visit. (Just as a side note, my dog is also a homosexual. We have taken to calling him "Mo" when it is the most obvious.) So here's how playing with Mikey generally goes: Boo sniffs Mikey. Mikey sniffs Boo. Boo jumps up on Mikey's back. Mikey jumps up on Boo's back. Repeat steps 1-4 for a few minutes. Then, Mikey grabs Boo's leash in his mouth and drags my dog around the yard until he (Mikey) gets tired. It was seriously the funniest thing I've seen all year. This is not something you can train a dog to do, so I am convinced that Mikey is naturally a comic genius. I can't believe Boo lets him do it, too, every single goddamn time they play together. Probably because he's in love. Digger, the basset hound from next door, came to join in on the fun and Boo got violently jealous. We had to drag him away, coaxing him with love maxims like "Play the game," and "Don't let him know you're interested." He finally calmed down when I admonished, "Be cool, Man!" and I think he realized his barking was pathetically transparent. We commiserated back at home about the woes of overenthusiasm when crushing on someone. Especially when everybody can see them dragging you by the leash all over the place.

After the walk, we went and bought me a space heater. FINALLY! I can be in my room without wearing a winter coat or being in bed. I foresee an increase in productivity.

Tonight Jared and Caitlin got here, and we had a big dinner with beef roast and candied squash and bread and red wine. Gretchen ate with us, and we reminisced about when she was one of our three moms. I got to see Stephen earlier today, too, and talk about dead languages and philosophy. He's grown up to be a cute (tall!) kid. I kind of wish we'd exchanged e-mail adresses or something because he sounds really interesting from the way his mom sold him this afternoon.

Anyway, after dinner we all danced and sang along to songs from 1961 and the Everly Brothers and played a raucous game of Catch Phrase and then danced some more. That's what I like about my sister being home--we do a lot more dancing and singing around the house. Jared fits in well, with his crazy "I'm so white it hurts" jigs. The fire crackled, and the politics wound down, and my sister said "I love you" a lot, and now it's time for bed. Back to Sweets & Treats tomorrow for 4 hours of chocolate and a green apron. Then, it's Thanksgiving, afterall.

Homecoming without the hangover at 1:35 a.m.