We have many things to be thankful for this year. One of the big ones is that we have Harley in our lives. And on our table.

That light green plate was Harley's, although to be fair we never really expected him to either stay on his perch or stay interested in his own plate. I don't think we've ever invited him onto our table like this before, since we usually eat on the couch, but really — who could resist all those interesting things?

Harley's favorites were corn, bacon (!) and possibly beans from the succotash, pomegranate and a nibble of feta cheese from the salad, mashed potato, almonds from the green beans, pecans from the brussels sprouts, and possibly the brussels sprouts themselves. I can't say he tried everything, but apparently he ate quite a bit: he sat on his perch and dozed for an hour after dinner.

Now he's chatting, laughing and making "kiss" noises on his perch. Lately he's been saying "hello," "you're so funny," "hey!," "oh!," "special," and "what are you doing." Earlier today he said "hello pretty boy."

I hope Harley is glad he's here.