Thanksgiving's over. Let the X-mas season officially begin. Back to work after a four-day weekend. The drive down to NJ wasn't too bad, considering it was the day before Thanksgiving. The real slow spot was on I-84 near Waterbury, CT, just as it was in the summer when we went down there, and just as it was when we drove home on Saturday. Tricia didn't have her baby while we were there, but she ended up going to the hospital early Sunday morning and having a baby boy, Timothy Jude, on Sunday at 5 a.m. Big kid, too, 8 lb 6 oz. Congrats to the happy parents.

We had a good time down there. Hannah had a blast playing with her cousin Danny, and Deb and I got a taste of what things will be like in a year or two when we took the kids to McDonalds while Matt and Tricia were at the hospital. Trying to keep them both sitting in their seats while Deb ordered the food was a huge challenge; then Danny started asking for his mommy. Somehow we got through it--mainly by eating quickly--but it gave me an interesting glimpse into the future.

Didn't OD on tryptophan this year. I ate my share, but managed to keep it to a light gorging.

Meanwhile, the Leafs are on fiyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, as the great VH used to say. They've won five in a row over pretty decent teams--Vancouver twice, Atlanta, Ottawa and the Rangers. Deb and I are going to see them playing in Boston at the Fleet/Bank of America/Some Other Bank in 2005 Center on Thursday.

Looks like fixing the Honda won't be quite as expensive as we thought, so we're going to do that and hopefully keep it going for a few more years. Our mechanic, who we trust, feels it's the best option, instead of going the Escort route. I hope he's right.