I've spent the past several days not wandering and exploring so much as I have spent them on painting, animating and playing housewife for my busy circus-performing, exam-studying housemates.

In preparation for a large Thanksgiving party, I ventured by train, another train and a bus into the boondocks south of the city. In the land of dead grass fields and car dealerships also lie many warehouses. And in one of these warehouses is the sole retail outlet of USA Foods, the "All American Grocery Store" in Melbourne.

They mostly do business online so the store itself is not much larger than a typical bedroom--and it was packed. I don't know if it was because Thanksgiving is coming up or if the place is always like that, but it was hard to maneuver through the narrow aisles just to get my two cans of pumpkin.

In addition to the Thanksgiving feast, we're celebrating a birthday, a university graduation and, to a lesser extent, my departure. I'm expecting a good show of friends and acquaintances for the celebration; maybe around 25. Thus, I've been doing a significant amount of shopping and preparation. Yesterday I made two enormous loaves of bread to turn into stuffing. Today I'm working more on the birthday decorations (she wanted it to be fairy-themed) and final touches to the pinatas.