This will be a holiday shortened week in the US markets for the national holiday of Thanksgiving on November 23. 

Trading will be light this week, especially after noon tomorrow. Plenty of room for the usual trading hijinks and shenanigans.

Gold and silver were smacked down this morning in light trade, the dollar rallied, and the VIX dropped. 

In days gone by they used to expect a ‘Thanksgiving rally' in stocks. We may or may not see that again, although in this thin trade I would not be going short the market in anticipation of anything, except perhaps into the close on Wednesday or into the early close on Friday at 1 PM. Or perhaps not at all. 

I am having some fun this week with the ‘InstantPot' which I purchased a little while ago. It is a versatile cooker, but I primarily use it as a pressure cooker, at which it is far superior to the old stove-top types with the wobbling metal weight.

On today's menu was a simple split pea soup, with some very nice hamhocks I had purchased on my trip to the Amish market last week, mixed in with a large onion, celery, and some carrots, with a little seasoning and herbs.

If you let the InstantPot release its pressure quickly, rather than slowly and naturally, it tends to expand the peas quite effectively making for a fairly creamy soup, but with the carrots and celery intact. 35 minutes cooking time and you're good to go.

I cook sixteen bean soup similarly but cut the cooking time way down because I like them to retain their shape.I often add a diced ‘waxed turnip' as they call them here.

I do not use it as a rice cooker, although you can.We have a very nice Zojirushi which the queen and I purchased many years ago. Their price has declined quite a bit since we had purchased it when it was the latest thing with its ‘fuzzy logic.' They do an excellent job. 

We're having the souop with the bread I have been baking. I have not done that for some years, but it is coming back quickly. I am making crusty bread to use for the Thanksgiving day stuffing. Adding a cup of hot water to a hot rimmed cooking sheet at about 450 degrees makes for a very nice crust.

I would not take this week too seriously ‘unless something happens.' The trading will be heavy on the pros, pushing things around, until the volume simply dies off and the juniors are left to mind it into the holiday.

As you can tell, my mind is not so much on the markets.It's the season.And the news is particularly discouraging these days.