An early Christmas present from an auntie: this belonged to my grandmother, a string of vivid lilies all in a row. It's hard to see, but those are sparkly rhinestones inside. It's choker-length, and I plan on wearing it over and over to all of the the holiday parties that clutter my calendar.

This thing is effing awesome. Clearly invented sometime in the 1940s and spotted at my great-uncle's house, it contains the mess of paper towels, waxed paper, and aluminum foil in such a way that you don't even have to look at them. I love this. No more wrestling with that damn spiky strip on the bottom of the box. I need one of these.

Something they do really well in the South is comfort food. I have now had five meals in a row featuring fried chicken. Here was the menu that soothed us after the funeral:

1. Fried chicken, pieces

2. Fried chicekn, tenders

3. Deviled eggs with paprika

4. Deviled eggs with pickles

5. Salad (meaning marshmallows and stuff mixed with Cool Whip)

6. Ham

7. Biscuits

8. Rolls

9. Pimento cheese sandwiches

10. Deviled egg sandwiches

11. Ham and cheese sandwiches

12. Pork roast

13. Dessert table

a. Little peanut butter things with caramel cups inside them

b. Brownies

c. Sheet cake with chocolate icing

That's what I ate, anyway. There was more. Between this and Thanksgiving, I am a full and happy Mouse.

Phooey, micies. We lost my sweet great-uncle this weekend. I'm flying down south for the funeral, so no blogs until Wednesday, probably. Henry was a dear man who, just like his wife (who we lost a few years ago), "plowed it plumb to the fence."

I'll miss him.