What’s a house without a story behind it? Just a structure. So what do you do if you find yourself living in new construction with plenty of character but no history? No story? Make something up.

Making your hurried holiday rounds, as you sprint off Main Street and into the Ladies Village Improvement Society’s Bargain Box thrift shop — recently renamed the Shops at the L.V.I.S. — you cannot fail to notice the octagonal dollhouse in the entryway. It is huge, standing tall at 5-foot-4, with nine rooms, two bathrooms, a basement, and an attic. When you pause to peek inside, you see how intricately it has been decorated, with festive details that change with the seasons.

Lynn King was born on Thanksgiving Day, so, naturally, she likes Thanksgiving. But she flat-out loves Christmas — and her impressive collection of Santa Claus mugs is a testament to her holiday obsession.

Food grown on the East End of Long Island will fill many tables here this week. Traditional Thanksgiving dinners include many of the staples long grown here, and increasingly, a dazzling variety of meat, vegetables, and beer and wine from these parts will be served as well. Though it may be less than a passing thought as we tuck into the first courses, there is a remarkable struggle behind each of the local foodstuffs.

An extraordinary lineup of women running things gathered earlier this month to share the message with high school girls that they, too, can make a difference.

Sympathy for a Cooper Lane couple whose house may soon be over-loomed by an extra-tall utility pole should lead to action by PSEG-Long Island to find another location.

I spent a sleepless night earlier this week trying to remember where I’d left a certain bright-purple file folder that I used to drag out every November, as party season approached. It was our party-planning folder, containing guests’ names and menus from celebrations in years gone by. In the morning, rather to my surprise, I actually managed to find said folder, in a bundle in a box among other folders containing favorite recipes.

Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner standing by a cross-like iron object hung on the wall of their Springs house as photographed by Hans Namuth was on my mind one morning last week as I walked west along the bay shore.

There is no greater pain than the feeling of shame. I know. As a victim of clerical sexual abuse, my tears waited nearly half a century to stream from my eyes.

If everyone who’s said they’ll come comes today there will be 21 in our house, of all ages, an infusion of spirit that ought to see Mary, me, and O’en, the house’s everyday occupants, through most of the winter.

The prices listed here have been calculated from the county transfer tax. Unless otherwise noted, the parcels contain structures.

Hampton Jitney is offering discounts on books of 12 one-way tickets on its Montauk line bus service through Dec. 31. For those who buy five or more books, the cost is $284, or $23.67 per ticket. The regular price for a prepaid ticket is $30.

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Twenty-five years ago this week, Florence Fabricant shared her Thanksgiving Day menu in the pages of The Star, a list some 15 sweet and savory dishes long.

The top two teams in the Wednesday evening 7-on-7 men’s soccer league faced off in the league’s playoff final at East Hampton’s Herrick Park on Nov. 20, with Maidstone Market winning its 15th championship trophy since entering the league in 2008.

The East Hampton and Pierson High School boys and girls basketball teams met in scrimmages this past week, with the Sag Harborites arguably getting the better of it in both cases.

The East Hampton girls finished their season last weekend as four of Craig Brierley’s charges — his daughter Julia, Jane Brierley, Sophia Swanson, and Darcy McFarland — competed in the state meet at Ithaca College.

One day on the Deer Park gridiron, blood flowed in the veins like the river wild, sparks flew, emotions soared, tears flowed. East Hampton pulled it out. Those were the days . . .

Time for the Turkey Trot in Montauk, and Bonac basketball gets going with the Kendall Madison benefit tourney here Friday and Saturday.

I have to admit, without Google I’d be a mental dwarf. I don’t use Facebook, don’t Tweet, don’t follow any blogs. I don’t mind jettisoning 75 to 100 political and other emails that I receive; I feel good after I flush the trash and spam down the drain.