Happy Thanksgiving!

Today has finally arrived. A day to sleep in, cook for hours, finish eating in 30 minutes, take an afternoon nap, try to be interested in the football games on and most importantly be thankful for all that you have. We just hope our turkey is moist, the mash potatoes are smooth, and that everything is ready at the same time. At least we will be with family who we love and will love us no matter what.

Here are some fun Thanksgiving Facts from InfoPlease:

• The first American Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621; the colonists celebrated it as a traditional English harvest feast
• The poet and editor Sarah J. Hale had begun lobbying for a national Thanksgiving holiday and during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln, looking for ways to unite the nation, discussed the subject with Hale. In 1863 he gave his Thanksgiving Proclamation, declaring the last Thursday in November a day of thanksgiving.
• In 1939, 1940, and 1941 Franklin D. Roosevelt, seeking to lengthen the Christmas shopping season, proclaimed Thanksgiving the third Thursday in November. Controversy followed, and Congress passed a joint resolution in 1941 decreeing that Thanksgiving should fall on the fourth Thursday of November, where it remains.
• The turkey is actually a type of pheasant and they are the only breed of poultry native to the Western Hemisphere
• Wild turkeys can fly for short distances at speeds up to 55 miles per hour. They can also reach speeds of 25 miles per hour on the ground. Domesticated turkeys are too big and have lost this ability.
• According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 45 million turkeys are cooked and eaten in the U.S. at Thanksgiving

Jamie and I have alot to be thankful for, so much to look forward to and we couldn't be happier.

Happy Thanksgiving :)

Preparing for the Holidays

Well, the weekend was nice, quiet and uneventful. David flew home on Tuesday, so we had the house to ourselves. We went to go see Madagascar 2, Jamie worked in the garden a bit, I went with my mom to get ready for Thanksgiving and we did a lot of relaxing. This was our weekend to take a step back and enjoy the weekend before the holiday season officially begins on Thursday with Thanksgiving. In four weeks we will be in England. Which means we have 3 shopping weekends left before our Christmas begins. So the next 3 weekends will be filled with shopping, shopping, eating, and more shopping.

We are looking forward to being with Jamie's family and I've been mentally preparing for the weather. It has already snowed there; here is a pic from the BBC (the snow covered the ground but didn't stick around long).

Today's forecast in Hull is a high of 45°F and a low of 39°F. The sun rose today at 7:44 am and will set at 3:52 pm (yes, that is 8 hours and 8 minutes; Orange County's sunrise is at 6:32 am and sunsets at 4:44 pm, 10hrs 14min, we get an extra 2 hours of light). When we land on December 20th it will be the shortest day of the year. Which is probably a good thing, because I'm going to be craving a warm bed and a good nights sleep.

Jamie and I are both starting a list of all we want to see, eat, drink, and watch while we are there:

• Seeing family & Friends (of course our number one priority)
• Christmas Dinner
• Christmas Cake
• Pret's Christmas Turkey Soup (soooooooooo good I crave it all year long)
• Weetaflakes & Alpro Soya (this one is for me)
• M &S Tea and a Scone (I haven't found an American scone that is as good as the English)
• Fish and Chips (Jamie can't go back without having some)
• Sausage Rolls
• Fresh Bread (strange but English bread tastes different and is amazing)
• Doctor Who Christmas Special
• Wallace and Gromit Christmas Special...

The list continues...Let the Holidays begin!

Hot, Windy and Too Close

Our weekend started off great. Jamie and I took Friday off of work and decided to do a hike with David in Laguna Canyons. We started a little later than we had hoped and could feel the heat building as we made our way down the trail. The hike along the ridge was fine but the drop into the canyon was brutal. No wind and the sun beating down. By the time we finished the hike the winds were starting to pick up.

After our hike we went down to San Juan Capistrano to look at the mission. I haven't been there in about 5 years and Jamie was interested in seeing it. It was a beautiful, clear day and since it was a friday, hardly any people were there. The gardens were lovely, nice and green. A far cry from the canyons we had just hiked in. The mission was founded in 1776 and is the 7th of 21 missions founded statewide. The great stone church was completed in 1806 and was destroyed by an earthquake in 1812. Jamie was pretty surprised with how big the complex is. It's so peaceful and relaxing.

I'm glad we did the hike on Friday morning because Saturday was a completely different day. We left the house around 10:30 am and could already see the smoke building in the distance. With the Santa Ana winds starting there is a high risk of fire, especially with so many careless people about and the all too common pyro just waiting for the right conditions. The fires have been close enough to raise an eyebrow and make you think of what you would take with you if it got close enough. But it would have to burn through miles of dense city before it would get to us. The fires were very close to three of my Aunts and a few friends. Luckily they weren't evacuated but were definitely worried. The air quality was pretty poor and the wind and heat made it pretty miserable to be outside. We had planned to go out to Riverside for a hike but as soon as I heard about the SAnta Ana winds I questioned that and I'm glad we didn't go. It would have been far too close to where the fires were. So instead of being outside we went to go see the new Bond film, get some In-n-Out, and basically stay inside and cool. Unfortunately not the most fun filled weekend we've had but nice and relaxing to say the least. Sunday we had a bbq with my parents, carne asada and chicken. Delicious.

Here is the view from our house, the smoke building in the sky.

The Celebration

Another weekend has flown by. The weather is definitely starting to change, we have piles of leaves all over our front yard(blown over from the park). We got rain last week but it looks like Santa Ana winds are suppose to start on Wednesday and start to die off on Sunday :(

But luckily, Saturday was a beautiful day. We all got together for my mom's birthday at Sweet Basil. We had a party of 15 and were lucky enough to get the whole back patio to ourselves. The food was amazing and the portions were just right. The nights have been a bit cooler lately, but they had a plastic covering all along the patio which kept the temperature warmer.

A small treat for the Birthday Girl and then it was back to the house.

The cake was amazing as usual, my mom's favorite, white cake with buttercream frosting and lemon mouse filling. It's pretty sweet though and even Jamie couldn't finish all his frosting. My mom on the other hand had no problem!

We had a relaxing Sunday, we went out for a bit but watched movies in the evening. David came back from his trip around 5:30pm. Conviently, just in time for dinner. Luckily, we made a whole Shepherds Pie so there was plenty to go around. He had gone to Vegas on Tuesday and Wendesday and then was planning on going to the Grand Canyon, but Thursday morning we got a text that he was in San Francisco. He decided to drive the 600+ miles from Vegas to Frisco. He stayed a few days and started to make his way south on Saturday. He had a great trip and got to see quite a bit. Next weekend we are planning on doing a bit of hiking but if the Santa Ana winds start up we may have to decide on something else.

Happy 60th Birthday Mom

Happy Birthday!

I hope your day is filled with happiness, laughter and as little work as possible. I'm so lucky to have you as my mother and my best friend. We love you more than anything and can't wait to celebrate this Saturday.

Olvera Street

Saturday afternoon we began our journey to Olvera Street from Santa Ana Station to Los Angeles' Union Station via Metrolink. This was the first time we decided to use public transport to venture into LA. The ride was relaxing, much more enjoyable than driving (although we were delayed 30 minutes because of another train). The biggest problem is the lack of service, there are only four trains going to Union Station from Orange County, every four hours. How I wish our transportation system was much more convenient.
Union Station is a beautiful example of 1930s Los Angeles. It was one of the last great train stations built before cars and planes ended a long lasting era that brought millions of people to settle California. The interior is beautiful; it transports you to another time. I'm sure many people arrive and depart at the station without taking a second look at the history and architecture that are around every corner. Both Jamie and Dave were pretty impressed with it.
Olvera Street is right across the street from the Station and is one of the oldest streets in LA. It includes the oldest adobe house in the city, built in 1818. It's a small street filled with Mexican merchants and restaurants. Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is one of Mexico's traditional holidays reuniting and honoring beloved ancestors, family and friends. This celebration dates back more than 3,000 years. Life was seen as a dream and it was believed that only in dying could a human being truly awake. It's an important time to keep good relations with the dead, to come to terms with mortality, and to honor beloved ones which have gone before us. The tradition is filled with the skeleton motif, mainly to remind and emphasize that both rich and poor, king and peasant, will all end up the same way in the end, just bones. The procession was the best part of the evening...

I've enjoyed learning about Aztec culture and tradition. Luckily, through school we read some of the works from classic Aztec poets translated from their language, Nahuatl:

I comprehend the secret, the hidden:

O my lords!

Thus we are,

We are mortal,

humans through and through,

we all will have to go away,

we all will have to die on earth...

Like a painting

we will be erased.

Like a flower,

we will dry up

here on earth.

Like plumed vestments of the precious bird,

that precious bird with the agile neck,

we will come to an end...

Think on this, o lords,

eagles and tigers,

though you be of jade,

though you be of gold,

You also will go there,

to the place of the fleshless.

We will have to disappear,

no one can remain.

Poet: Nezahualcoyotl of Texcoco; Fifteen Poets of the Aztec World by Miguel Leon-Portilla.

The drums and dancing were amazing, so much energy and passion. We made it back to the train station on time for the last train. We'd definitely take the train again and will be returning next year.

Lastly, Halloween was a lot of fun. We started off the evening carving pumpkins. The kids began coming around 6 pm and we were out of candy by 8:15 pm. We then turned out all the lights and quietly watched TV in the dark, hoping no tricks would be played on us.