We're Thanksgiving Lunch people---so the potatoes are boiling, the stuffing is baking, the gravy is warming, the pan is ready for the corn, the tray of rolls is ready to go in, and it's almost time! 🍗🥔🥖🧈🥧☕

THANKSGIVING COOKING DAY TWO ARE WE READY (I am drinking coffee and eating pumpkin bread to fuel up)

Cranberry-raspberry jello salad is in progress: it has to cool (stirring occasionally) in the fridge for a couple hours until it's thickened enough to add the raspberries.

Pumpkin cheesecake is done! Spice cake is done but the middle sank alarmingly; I couldn't decide if I should redo it, so I made a double batch of the cream-cheese frosting; if cake's fine, I'll freeze one batch, and if it's not fine, I'll have frosting already made for a second attempt at the cake.

Gift Ideas Day Five: www.swistle.com/2025/11/26/g...

FASHION & ACCESSORY PEOPLE, HELP: I like to sign up for the teens on the gift tree request because they seem to get overlooked. A 14 y/o girl has asked for "big red ash nylon shoulder bag" but I can't find anything like that in stock anywhere. All suggestions appreciated!

Has the communal cooking begun? I have taken the first steps! Golden raisins (for the spice cake) are soaking in boiling water; Oreo crust (for the pumpkin cheesecake) is in the mixer (waiting for Paul to wash the baking dish); butter and cream cheese (for pretty much everything) are softening

Gift Ideas Day Four: www.swistle.com/2025/11/24/g...

Not everybody needs to be a strawberry. There’s room for cranberries in this world too. You can be weird and sour and only tolerated by people around the holidays because they grew up with you. I know you can. You can be fun when mixed with enough vodka. I believe in you. You can live in a bog.

Gift Ideas Day Three: www.swistle.com/2025/11/23/g...

Gift Ideas Day Two: www.swistle.com/2025/11/22/g...

Gift Ideas; Also Some Library Talk; Also Some College Kid Credit Card Talk; Also Some Christmas Puzzle Talk: www.swistle.com/2025/11/21/g...

Had to open it in my browser, in desktop view instead of mobile, to get the options to appear.

This was indeed the case in my Gmail. I would add that Settings opened to Quick Settings, and I had to click "Show all settings" to get General.

They were limit 5 per customer---but I was able to order 5 and Paul was able to order another 5, so we could donate 10 four-packs to the food pantry.

Amaz0n has Kraft Mac cup 4-packs for $2.34---less than half price. These are the ones that only need water (no butter/milk), and my local food pantry wanted them even though the best-by date is May'26 (less than the usual 6m) bc they're so useful. www.amazon.com/dp/B000YG6TL...

Does anyone know if either Aerie or Aeropostale ever do gift-card sales/bonuses? Like 10% off gift cards, or get a free small gift card with purchase or a larger gift card? I don't know if I should wait, or if I should just get that errand taken care of.

I have half a dozen emails this morning from retailers wanting to get Black Friday started today

This morning on NPR a reporter referred to the exploited children in the Jeffrey Epstein case as "underage women." In other situations, where young boys have been exploited, I don't think I have ever once heard those children referred to as "underage men."

I think I’m just not going to respond anymore to foolishness about how LLMs are a true substitute for thought. It’s an utter waste of time. People who commit to that idea will find out that it’s nonsense in time, and they aren’t going to listen until then.

I would love to share the original video, but is there any way to do it without giving the shares/reactions to Some Random Unrelated/Uninvolved Guy Who Posted It?

The reason why most women my age couldn't care less if Bill Clinton goes down with the ship is that we were teens & young women when the Anita Hill and Monica Lewinsky scandals happened. It's rotten to the core. All the way down. Your "lost" era is not ours.

oh wow that’s crazy oreos with bits of of oreos. in them Real Bits of Oreos

Too Early Until It's Too Late (Christmas Prep): www.swistle.com/2025/11/12/t...

I haven't been online today; have I missed anything

It is time once again for my least favorite time of year: the time of gift bags that look like Santa's pants. I do not want anything from inside Santa's pants.

I saw a "suggested food-pantry donation items" list being forwarded around that included "lean meats," and canned vegetables because they were "low calorie." Listen.

everything is bonkers right now and we need a timeline cleanse. let’s play a game. if I handed you a blank check but you could ONLY spend it on an Advent calendar, what absurdly pricy collection of little treats are you buying yourself?

Line-a-Day Journal: Loop Two www.swistle.com/2025/11/10/l...

[through gritted teeth, visibly trembling] I must strive to maintain a sense of whimsy

I felt hope this week for the first time in a year, oh heavens forgive me

People were donating to food banks in communities across the country. Many SNAP recipients who were struggling felt the momentum. They too need healthcare & many didn't want us to cave. 7M of us didn't march to cave. We didn't win every election last week to cave. Shame on the cavers. Vote them out.

Again apologies for all the reposts, normally I try not to do that, but I am devastated

Millions of Democratic voters on Tuesday: Fight these guys. Fight them. Senate Democrats: We heard you loud and clear and we will give in

correct.

I'm so sad and angry I'm so sad and angry I'm so sad and angry I'm so sad and angry Everything was for nothing---all the protests, the votes For nothing, because our representatives are against us

They should not have fucked over all of our federal employees and hurt so many people for literally nothing.

so much suffering and sacrifice only to to agree to terms that will beget more suffering and sacrifice.

Shutting down the government is a big deal. People have been hurt in big ways as a result of the decision. To have that suffering be for nothing—to re-open the government without actually having protected people’s health insurance and economic well-being—is unconscionable.

I’m sure my small girl brain is simply not big enough to understand this but it sure seems to me like “the GOP promises a vote to protect healthcare” and “the GOP promises no vote to protect healthcare” are going to net you approximately the same number of GOP senators voting to protect healthcare

if they were going to cave anyway they should’ve done it a week ago to spare SNAP recipients the agony.

i’m ready for something different than whatever the fuck this is

They saw us tasting hope after Tuesday and they REALLY did not like that, huh

Trump is 30 points underwater. Dems swept the special elections. People know the GOP is responsible for the shutdown. So the Dem Senators pulled out their big guns... and shot themselves in the foot.

did anyone else's vision go suddenly white like you were staring at the sun or was that just me

We protested; we protested again in record numbers; and we voted in record numbers; and we WON. And our leadership looked at all that...and folded, for nothing.

Please forgive all the reposts, I am so upset

in any case it is wild that voters just sent a huge message and a bunch of senate democrats are all, “it doesn’t look like anything to me”

Democratic organizers did our fucking part. We gave Democrats a clean sweep on Tuesday so Chuck Schumer have leverage to negotiate. Instead, either because of malice or sheer fucking incompetence, he is letting his caucus fold like fucking cowards.

if the Senate has an ACTUAL leader she would be in a back room somewhere telling Kaine and King that they won’t even be able to get a seat on the holiday party planning committee for the rest of their natural lives if they don’t slink their narrow asses back to their own side of the aisle