November 23

Puck started his morning by bobbing his head to several songs sung by his Aunt Kitty, which she had emailed to him.
“Play again?” he asked over and over, with a big grin.

Then it was to the house where Francis was busy cleaning out his fish’s abode.
“You killed him!” Linnea exclaimed.
“No, I didn’t.”
“See? He’s floating.”
“No, no,” said Francis, a little concerned. “There. See? The current was holding him down.”

Meanwhile…
Carrie got into her scrubby clothes which once again made her look like a dancing Irishman, to clear out the garage.
Linnea and Puck chased each other around in circles.
And Francis lit a fire in the backyard and got to the yard work. He then came back inside some time later:
“Collette, can you make us some cheesy noodles for lunch?” he asked.
“Boil some water, Francis.”
“I don’t know how.”
“Step one,” Linnea cut in. “Put water in pot. Step two. If you’re older than two, turn the knob on the stove to turn on the heat…”
“Three year-olds couldn’t do that.”
“If you’re older than eight…”
“Ten. I think ten.”

In the afternoon, Mom and Collette went shopping for Thanksgiving fare. Linnea tagged along to be sure that her usual ice cream was added to the grocery cart. This time, it was a gallon, each, of chocolate and vanilla.
While they attended to this business, Francis had been dropped off at the salvage yard for half an hour to inspect second-hand Honda engines.