Well, I have an entire weekend open, and I’m not at all picky.
If anyone wants to get together for some tunes, please let me know!
Nico
Got turkey? Alas I have to work this weekend!
Have a good Thanksgiving Nico
MarkB
I don’t know, Mark… since I’m in the states until Christmas, I may just hold off Thanksgiving until the American one…
Then again, maybe I can find somewhere down here that caters to all the retired Canadians.
(Psst.. if you weren’t working, would you really come down to Sarasota, FL, just for tunes with me 
)
Depends on the weather Nico! Heard that there has been some bad storms down there lately. In my younger days I have been known to do things like that on the spur of the moment..like Paris for a weekend and other European cities, leave Friday and come back Sunday night all on a whim.
MarkB
As a typically ignorant American, I actually didn’t know about the Canadian Thanksgiving. I thought it was strange when MarkB said “Got turkey?”, like why would someone just up and say that? Then when MarkB wished Nico a good Thanksgiving my head just went into such a spin–I was thinking "Like is it November?, “Have I lost my mind?”—it took a while to get reoriented! Don’t scare me like that! Watch out for alligators down there!
Is the Canadian Thanksgiving based on a particular story? What is the exact date of Canadian Thanksgiving?
It’s this weekend. The second weekend of October. It’s based on the same story as the American one I guess, but since we like to be accurate, it’s at a time that actually reflects the ending of the harvest.
Sarcasm aside, I actually prefer the American thanksgiving, at least because then (theoretically) you get a repreive on how early Christmas decorations come out. After all, when they wait 'til after Thanksgiving to put up Christmas stuff in Canada… well, it’s not that much of a wait.
Tim Burton must have been Canadian: Scary Christmas? We get Christmas decorations up for Hallowe’en, so why not!
They don’t even wait till after Halloween to put out Xmas decorations
in America anymore. I was in Target in late Sept., and they were
already starting to put up the displays.
Too true. I’ve noticed that already, so I may have to re-evaluate which one I actually prefer.
Ahh well, anyone around in Florida? I’m lonely!! Piping in my hotel room is fun and all, but my worst whistle for some communal music!
Have you tried PMing Joseph Smith? He’s about the same distance I am, only a little more east. Maybe he knows some people in the area.
There may be a session at one of the pubs on St. Pete Beach, too. I think there is one on Sunday night at Annie Moore.
Oh, I know, it’s just unbearable. I haven’t seen any yet, but then I never go anywhere . Each year I just start dreading that first time I’m going to hear “The Little Drummer Boy”. I’m usually standing by some horrible plastic poinsettias and ugly wrapping paper and it’s early October and I just feel like I must be loosing my mind.
Nico, here in Iowa people could still be harvesting corn in November. It would have been drying in the field, so nothing is green anymore and any feeling of autumn is long gone. I wonder why the American one is so late? I know I could look that up, but another day perhaps. 
Nice to see you, Lamby. Wondered where you had gotten to.
Well, I had been aware that my posts aren’t much appreciated by some, but until Nano posted that little snark the other evening I didn’t really see why. I think I was just a little unnerved at the extent of it. There were complaints by others in the past, but I hadn’t really expected it from Nano.
I see Lamby as a fun girl. She wears costumes, she’s silly, she’s an obnoxious authority on horrible weather, carnivorous reptiles, and the very best manners. She’s a part of my personality that I like, but she doesn’t get much air time because I’m shy.
I guess I didn’t realize that a lot of people here don’t like her very much, and that bothered me. I think I realized that she may make people feel badly. I’ve been finding it difficult to get into the spirit of things.
Come on, SheepThighs, quit looking for simpathy. I’d give you a hug, but I’m alergic to wool. 
I’m surprised no-one picked up on Halloween decorations. People here are starting to put up orange lights and decorations and little dioramas with a Halloween theme, but just as involved as Xmas displays.
The other holiday switch is that in Canada we celebrate Remembrance Day in November. I think the US does it in May (?). Ours is based on the end of WWI - the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Thatth a lotth of eleventhes.
Thank goodness we can all agree on Daylight Savings Time … or can we? 
djm
Hey! I’m hypoallergenic! And also washable.
Danged freakin’ cuddly, too.
As for looking for sympathy, I think that angle has already been worn out by a certain someone else. People would just tell me to get a life, as you did. :roll:
Thanks for the offer of a hug, though.
If you’re in for some tunes Lampchop, you should come over, too or soemthing. I have nothing but time!
Oh and djm, as The Simpsons pointed out so well, the USA actually has TWO celebrations of veterans. Memorial Day is in May and celebrates the Memorials I guess, whereas Veteran’s Day (formerly Armistice Day) celebrates the same thing as Remembrance Day, and is on Nov 11.
But we still need another.
Then I propose SPONGE DAY. This could become socially significant. Sponges wear out with no notice and need to be replaced. Having a day set aside each year to intentionally replace our sponges would alleviate the fear of not knowing when our sponges will fail, bring order out of chaos, and bolster the economy of sponge-farming coutries world-wide, ensuring the income of sponge farners everywhere. A sponge anthem will be required. The wearing of square pants will be mandatory. Pineapple anyone?
djm
Ah, fresh or canned?
Well, here’s](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_147.html%22%3Ehere%27s) an interesting article about how it became an official
holiday (Lincoln declared it so after the war), but nothing about why
it was done in November. Maybe Abe was just following George
Washington’s example of a day of thanksgiving (in Nov.) for the
new Constitution (note: nothing to do with Pilgrims).
Apparantly, FDR raised a ruckus when he tried moving it up a week.
Fresh. You’d have to be able to live in it under the sea.
djm
So, how bored ARE you? I do drive, and I’m relatively agreeable . . . are you . . .
bored enough to want to see alligators?
Or, better yet . . . ooooh! . . .
One of my favorite Florida activities . . . the Peabody Ducks. I take people to see them every now and then . . . most people don’t believe I’m actually serious until they get there.
Right next door to that is my most favorite Florida activity . . . Bok Tower. This is the only carillon in Florida. It plays throughout the day. And, I can assure you, you could bring your pipes and play there–lots of room outdoors, you’d not bother anyone, and everyone would love it–and I do believe it would be spectacular.
And right on the way back would be Joseph Smith’s house . . . perfect for gate-crashing . . .
Down in the lobby of your hotel, there is going to be a rack of attraction brochures. See anything that interests you?
I should have seen Peabody Ducks coming…