stuffed

Have you eaten enough yet today? Boy, I have. I'm in my aunt's beautiful home in North Carolina, hiding in my room upstairs with the dog, both of us recovering from the day so far. There's been food, people, dogs, two loud little girls, and more dogs. Oh, and did I mention food? Man, I'm full.

If you're like me and are taking a break from the fam and looking for distractions, I'm here to offer a few:

- Like the top photo? Check out Lunch Bag Art for more gorgeous drawings done by a dad on his kids' brown paper lunch bags--and color me envious!

- Let's Eat, a podcast from NPR's Hearing Voices all about Thanksgiving, turkeys, and food. Very good, thought-provoking stuff if you don't feel like moving and aren't yet sick to death of the thought of food.

- If you're feeling guilty of gluttony on this Thanksgiving Day, spend some time at FreeRice.com, where you donate rice to the UN World Food Program simply by answering questions about a variety of subjects, from simple word definitions to (my personal favourite) fine art.

- Need some mental stimulation? Try the Post crossword. My parents and I completed yesterday's in the car coming down here!

- Tomorrow is the first annual National Day of Listening. While you're with family, try to sit down and encourage older members to reminisce. You can just listen, or you can choose to take notes or record. Don't know what questions to ask? The website has a great step-by-step guide, complete with Question Generator. I'm wishing I'd done something like this when my grandparents were alive.

- If you lack the energy to do any of the above, at least check out Marc Johns' artwork. Clever and ironic, his humor and simplicity puts him somewhere between Gary Larson and Edward Gorey. Quite a nice place to be, in my opinion!

Well, I'm pretty sure I've been stealing wireless from one of my aunt's neighbors (sorry!). The connectivity is spotty, so I think I'll post this before I lose it! Enjoy the rest of the holiday, y'all.