What's Better Than Turkey?

Well, lots of things, actually.

But we have something extra to be thankful for this year. Joyce the cat is back a week after she disappeared. JieJie is thrilled, even though Joyce loved to wait around for her to drop scrambled eggs at breakfast. Mei Mei is thrilled, just because five cats are better than four and she is thrilled most of the time when animals are anywhere in the vicinity.

I went out to the garden pick some mint for minted peas, then strolled over to the remains of the tomato plants, wishing I had come out before the frost to get those last few tomatoes.

I heard a tiny meow coming form the storage shed. I opened it. No cat. I called Joyce. The tiny meow became very insistent. I kicked over weeders and cultivators and a trash can and some tomato cages. Still no Joyce.
JieJie came out. I told her to get Daddy. She ran to the door but couldn't open it. She started screaming into the open kitchen window.

Daddy came out into the dusk. JieJie said she was scared. We finally deduced Joyce was in a crawl space that had a hinge but did not seem to have an actual way in.

Daddy said, "I need a screw driver."
Mommy said, with her usual excellent grammar and a few expletives, ' There's a shovel, bust the thing open!"
And there was Joyce. Thinner, quieter, but appparently safe from the elements and the rottweilers and the speeding cars and the rabid raccoons.

Joyce drank lots of water, ate lots of baby food, and tried to hijack the turkey. She's sitting at the side of the keyboard right now, getting in the way.