I Want to Thank You...

For a change, I returned to work after a holiday feeling well-rested. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday - all of the family without the drama of Christmas. We did miss my siblings and the "kin" and decided we were due for a trek to Coeur d'Alene . Maybe next year but for now, I am thankful for my little family - Mark and our three beautiful daughters. I'm grateful for traditions and, in my family that means a Thanksgiving hike. I recall the walks in Henry Cowell State Park when I was little, with family and friends that varied from year to year. The smell of the redwoods, the feel of a banana slug when we dared touch it. The aroma l of the turkey roasting (when the oven timer was set correctly) when we walked through the door. The fight for the showers when we knew we had ventured too near the poison oak.
In our family, we have added a mid-hike snack and photo break. The food pack seldom varies: Ritz crackers, oranges (preferably mandarins) and (ugh!) Easy Cheese. Yes, that nasty stuff in the can that they SAY is real cheese. Once a year, I am required to buy it to appease the crowd. Any guest (there is always at least one) is included in our family photo, an expected addition to our Christmas card. Also required, training the guest in the "thinking pose" - I think he's got it! Devil Dog (Vince) seems entranced with the blinking light on my camera timer.

TURKEYS, REDWOODS AND SURFERS

This has been a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and I am appropriately grateful for where I live and the people I live with.

After making pie crusts and an apple pie on Wednesday night, I put the pie punkins in the crock pot to cook overnight (BTW, whoever invented the Crock Pot should be knighted). On Thursday, after an early rise and some more meal prep, including turning that punkin into a couple of pies, we (the dog, the girls, Mark and I) loaded into the Xbox and headed to Pepperwood to the old bridge where we took our Thanksgiving picture about seven years ago. We had the late great 100-pound Grizz with us then and Mark wanted to recreate the photo with Vince in Grizz’s place. Nice walk, if a little short. Photos were taken. Lunch was eaten – a traditional Thanksgiving lunch of Ritz and Easy Cheese on the river bed. We returned home to the heavenly smell of turkey. Food prep was completed. Guests arrived with more food. Turkey was carved. Grace was said. Room was saved for dessert. Tryptophan coma to follow.

Yesterday, the girls joined the hoards at o-dark-thirty for the Black Friday traditional storming of the stores. I, on the other hand, took advantage of a weekday off to comb the thrift stores which I don’t often get to do. I came home empty handed which seemed a little odd – I almost always find SOMETHING I can’t live without but I’ve been going through a purging mode of late so I suppose nothing looked important enough to bring back. Not a bad thing. I did find that the ridiculously early holiday decorations and news stories were getting me a bit stressed….How can I already feel behind and it’s just Thanksgiving?! I’ve had to prioritize lately, putting homework near the top and moving anything else that can wait down the list. Unfortunately, if I wait until the end of the semester to shop and get at Christmas cards, nothing will get out in time. So, I calmed myself by hitting a couple local stores for gifts which put me mentally “partially done”. Sounds silly but it worked.

Today, back at homework but managed to treat myself to a trip to the beach. I checked the magic seaweed website and it seemed as if seas were up. Cowabunga! I’m not a surfer but I do live vicariously. I grew up in Santa Cruz and, in days when drive-ins were just that, it was common for my mom and dad to take us to Foster Freeze to pick up burgers then we’d head out to Pleasure Point or Steamers in our baby blue 59 Fairlane to watch the surfers while we ate. There was always a pair of binoculars in the car so we could get in closer when the surf was good. I still find it one of my favorite pastimes. So, I headed up to Camel Rock. There was not a parking spot to be found, it was so crowded. That was a good sign. I drove up to Lufenholtz and managed to find a spot and walked back and down to the beach. Surfers were running out so as not to miss a single wave and the waves were awesome, at least to my eyes. Got some good pictures. There are times I would love to be out there….then I see someone go ass over tea kettles into the salt and remember body surfing as a teen and that sandblasted sinuses thing when you got tumbled. Nope…I’m good on the shore with my lens.

Oh, Hope did a beautiful job on our family Thanksgiving page so please check it out.