San Francisco, Open Your Golden Gates

Mellow is about to take the biggest trip of his life. Staz and The Engineer have selflessly agreed to take Mr. Mel into their fold where he will relish in being the ONLY cat and he'll have his very own dog.

Mellow is such a great guy. Since the day he arrived at our patio door scrawny and battered last year, I've grown pretty attached to him. He has no fear. He loves dogs, but hates cats. He may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, demonstrated by his propensity to start fights with the other males and always, and I mean always, coming out on the bruised and often bleeding losing end of it (except for his little buddy, The Sheriff).

He desperately needed a home where he would not feel compelled to defend his turf. There are not a lot of cats in their neighborhood (comparatively speaking, we have over 30 around here) and the A-Man is the perfect dog for him. A-Man is blind and pretty much oblivious to cats, A-Man's only complaint may be that Mellow is eating too much of his kibble. We'll see.

Now, about that 8 hour drive up with the cat in the car. I'll have to give you the full report when I return. But he seems ready to go. And the Missus and I are forever grateful to our dearest pals for stepping up to the plate and giving this guy a permanent home. And as always, he comes with a money back guarantee if it doesn't work out.

While in San Francisco, I am looking forward to the Turkey Shoot (a tradition of drinking shots of Wild Turkey the night before Thanksgiving) on Wednesday, a feast beyond my wildest dreams on Thursday, prepared by old friend and über gourmand OddGirl. (wanna see the menu? I knew ya did..)

Appetizers: Crab-Artichoke dip Cheese/Vegis/Dip

Meat:
Turkey - 16 lb bird
Smoked Muscovy duck - cherry or apple wood chips

Sides:
Cornbread & Sausage Stuffing
Garlic Mashers
Fresh Cranberry Sauce with pears and ginger
Canned Cranberry Sauce (I know for some people it ain't the same without the can marks)
Bread side

Vegetables:
Salad
Garlic-Lemon Green Beans with toasted bread, crumbs
Brussel Sprouts

Extras
Sorbet (tangerine or meyer lemon)
Turkey Stock for gravy and stuffing prep
Gravy

Dessert:
Pumpkin Pie w/vanilla whip cream
Cheesecake
Mitchell's Egg Nog

Jesus, I think I'm about to pass out just thinking about it...

I'm also looking forward to some time catching up with old friends and perhaps even sneaking in an adult beverage or 3 with fellow bloggers Pete and Matt, if their schedules permit and I am still ambulatory after that meal.

Here's wishing everyone a great holiday weekend filled with lots of warm yummy food, great football games (Go Lions!), and good times with friends and family. Cheers!