Thanksgiving was NOT a good day.  First it rained cats and dogs and a few other animals as well and the parking lot at school is gravel and had lots of very deep puddles.  Then there were all sorts of PTA ladies, (I do not like PTA ladies who are mostly non-working American moms from Michigan who vote Republican), running around school all day preparing for the annual Thanksgiving dinner that I decided not to go to this year because Grace isn't here and because I am a little disgruntled with the US right now.  So these cheerful mothers decorating, organizing and chatting really pissed me off.  I left my favorite sweatshirt in the gym after Pilates and then had a rotten lesson with the 2 girls I tutor who were not being cooperative.  To top it all off I stepped on my best earphones and snapped them in two.  Yesterday was better for me but Northern Italy is under water.  The weather has been unusually warm and dry so after 3 days of rain the rivers are over-flowing and the little snow in the mountains has melted and adding to the problem.  Bridges have been wiped out and low lying towns are cut off by flooded roads.  There are two "tour boats"on the Po river in Torino that take a handful of Japanese tourists up and down about a mile each way on Saturdays but apart from that just sit tied up to the bank.  Whoever is in charge of them obviously didn't think to secure them for the flood because they broke loose and headed down the river for the falls but were stopped by a bridge.  The fire department tried to raise them but failed miserably when one of the boats sort of imploded and was sucked under the bridge and swept away.  Guess the Japanese are going to have to find something else to do on today.  I made a mini Thanksgiving dinner last night for GP and MIL.  Somehow just isn't the same without the Macy's Day Parade and cold Maine weather and the smell of turkey that's been cooking so long it's permeated all the furniture and curtains, and mostly family!  So I guess it was just dinner.  I'll be in a better mood later.  xxoo (poor)me