La Cieca (pictured) begs your pardon for her unexplained absence from the site for the past several days. A little over-enthusiastic pre-Thanksgiving revelry seems to have brought on the mother of all autumn colds, so severe that finally, yesterday, your doyenne checked in with a a handy walk-in medical clinic where she was assured she was thankfully free of influenza. The long and the short of it is, I’m feeling much better now and looking forward to catching up with the news and gossip I hope you’ve been missing. Look for a fresh posting Sunday a.m.