Thanksgiving in San Diego pt. 1

Two Sundays ago, enough snow had fallen outside that I was able to build a five foot tall snow woman, just for fun.

A blizzard was forecasted for the following Tuesday, when we were to fly out to San Diego for family holiday time.

The  last thing I did before we headed to the airport was to take the hat and scarf off Miss Snow.

We flew out ahead of the storm, which five hours later closed down the airport, stopping all holiday travelers from leaving SLC.

Whew!

 

Such a typical San Diego scene.  Red tiled housed surrounded by palm trees and eucalyptus trees scenting the air,

 

We had arrived in San Diego after a brief layover in Phoenix, just long enough to enjoy a stunning sunset.  Laura was waiting for us at her condo and we enjoyed just getting settled in that day. 

The next day, Wednesday, Bernie and I went out to check out the Indian market area (love seeing all the Indian foods and fashions!) then we drove a short way out to a winery.

We found a few vintages that we liked...and bought a few bottles...then had to figure out how to get them back to SLC, since mailing any alcohol to Utah is prohibited. 

 Hmmm. 

Where there is a will, there is a way...smile.

 

The view of the vineyard in San Diego's autumn.  The grapes had just been harvested a few days before. 
The winery is quite near the San Diego Wild Animal Park, just in case you visit the area and want to swing by.


Thanksgiving day we drove to Mission Bay, just a few minutes from Laura's condo.

Slowly I am beginning to enjoy palm trees as a botanical form, especially when they are "blooming" and setting seed.  There actually were golden yellow palm dates to be seen on the ground in some places.

We side tracked off the bay's shoreline to walk through the Hilton Hotel.
Laura tried out a pool side chair; what a great design;  it would ward off both sunburns and overly chilling waterfront breezes.

Scenes like this one may explain why I found the long flight to Hawaii have little allure. 
The one time I went, I kept feeling like I was still in San Diego!

More confusion: The turkey was not yet cooked, but apparently Christmas had arrived. 
Christmas in Sunny Southern California: never quite a Wintry Wonderland event.
The embroidery on a sweatshirt in the hotel gift shop explains why us San Diego natives often feel out of sync with the east coast.
While the folks in the East Coast colonies where busy rebelling against British taxation, the folks on the West Coast were busy planting vineyards and establishing sunny missions under Spanish rule. 
It is hard to wrap one's brain around the idea that while Valley Forge was being endured for "our" freedom, other folks were enjoying sunny day amidst flowers and humming birds.
No wonder the Friars never considered pushing east for more land!

I've actually stayed at this Hilton twice.

Both times the Bird of Paradise bloomed in the slightly chilled air.

I remember this view from the first time we stayed: it was the week before Christmas and that pole in the distance was the center of light strings that formed a Christmas tree at night.

That first visit we didn't have a chance to take a leisurely walk along the waterfront.

We arrived late, and left early that time.

That first visit was on our wedding night, and it marked the beginning of our honeymoon.
We spent our first two honeymoon nights in one of these bay front rooms. 
Bernie graduated from Bible college the day after our wedding; there was a lot of events associated with that ceremony so we didn't get to explore the hotel much at all. 
A few years later for an anniversary we booked a weekend there again, and STILL didn't get enjoy the ground much.   Some day we really need to go there when lollying around the pool would not require a jacket and long pants to stay warm.

The beach was uncrowded this visit, save the resident shore birds. 
Wonder where that one non conforming bird was heading? 

Now this is the really curious part of our little walk down memory lane:

Remember we are here on Thanksgiving day. 

The park is basically empty.

Except for people in Middle Eastern garb!

The air was filled with the scent of Middle Eastern foods being cooked and enjoyed by families seated on blankets or inside of tents.

As we sauntered around the park, taking pictures of scenes and watching hawks dive through the trees, more and more such garbed people arrived. The men played soccer, the women tended their children.

 I took one picture and was challenged about doing so by a young Middle Eastern man standing nearby.

I told him I was photographing the scenery and moved on.

This graceful young mother playing with her children was a sweet reminder that there are such domestic urges in all cultures.

Little girls had head coverings, and older "girls" had head coverings that sparkled in the sunlight. 
(Some women wore full face covering, while others did not. Interesting. How do they feel about each other? Yet as in the picture of the women by the play ground, they seem to mix together just fine.)
I had to think this was a special gathering for everyone, that is was their own kind of Thanksgiving played out in their own cultural style.
I hope I was right.
I wished I didn't find such gatherings to be troubling. 
I really wished I didn't.
(Post note: The San Diego Mosque was "home" to a few of the 9/11 bombers, and more and more Middle Easterners have moved to San Diego since that tragic event.   One of the terrorists actually lived near to the Middle School that my children had attended. I have a difficult time understanding how these non-English speaking people can afford to live in one of the most expensive cities in America, where, honestly, we could barely afford to live ourselves.  Why are they coming to America?  I think my concerns are not without both historic and economic merit.)

Storm (first of four!)

 

There were cute little bird tracks in the snow dusting the deck right outside our kitchen door this morning.

I've never seen birds hop around on the deck in this area before.
Was he trying to get out of the snowfall?
After three days of southerly winds with gusts up to 40 mph, the wind changed directions, blowing in from the northwest, and snow began to fall at six o'clock last night.

At 8 am Sunday morning, Bernie went out to get the Sunday paper.  Or should I say "went out to try to find the Sunday paper."
It is under all that snow, somewhere.
 Keep shoveling honey...I'll make you some coffee for when you find it.
Our darling up-the-street neighbor came  by, pushing his two little daughter in a stroller and walking their dog at the same time on his way to get bagels and coffee at the bagel shop a block away from us.
He told Bernie to wait on the shoveling; he would be getting his snow blower out after he came back with his breakfast treats.
(I'm going to do some baking later today.  Our neighbors will be getting a thank you treat from my kitchen for sure!)

The misty fog cuddling the base of the mountains is the perfect view to enjoy while coffee sipping.

Care to sip your coffee outside on the deck? The deck chairs look especially soft (if cold) this morning.

It is always so lovely out there, watching the birds, and listening to the fountain splashing in the background.

The bush on our property line is nearly buried now; the second of four snow storms is due later today.  There will be another much bigger storm in on Monday morning and then a huge storm due on Tuesday, with blizzard like winds and snow forecast. 

(Oh-oh.  We are to fly to San Diego that day...)

So how much snow DID we get in 14 hrs?

See for yourself!

Stay tuned for updates; the snow is already starting to fall again.

Oh it is so wonderful to be home to see happen!

Just so darn cute!

Bitsy has natural picture posing talent.

Red background shows off those baby blue eyes to their best advantage.

We don't call her "Bitsy Blue Eyes" for nothing!

She and Tate get their pictures taken alot.
Don't they look sweet sharing the cat perch together?

Bitsy gives kisses to Tate.

Tate gives kisses to Bitsy.

Bitsy decided Tate's tummy needs a good washing.

Tate seems to be OK with that.

(I laugh every time I look at this picture with that goofy expression on Tate's face.  It must tickle a bit to have a tummy bath like that.)

He's all clean now.  Time to sit on top of him.

Tate apparently didn't agree with that arrangement! 

One potato, two potato, three potato, four...

Early last summer the garden center had red potato seedlings. I planted a few in the yard just for kicks.

We had had fun growing potatoes in straw beds years ago in San Diego...maybe planting them in real soil would give us a crop worth talking about.

After all, are we not just one state down from Idaho, famous for growing potatoes? Wouldn't it be probable that being nearby would mean we would experience a great degree of potato growing success?

I had dug up a few by the time Bernie came down to snap a few photos of our "harvest". His back was tweaked out, and there was to be a hard freeze, so I "pioneer-woman'd" up and did the necessary spade work to lift our taters out.

(BTW: My grad school, TWU, are the Pioneers. And we are still undefeated this football season!)

May I just say that digging up potatoes planted in straw beds is a whole heck of a lot easier than digging them up in heavy soil?

I'll bet you already knew that.

I dug and re-dug the dirt, determined to unearth every single blessed spud.

This was fun for about, oh, say, four minutes tops.

If more potatoes had popped up after the first turn, I might have enjoyed the activity more. As it was, I also realized that I would have been wise to have put on a pair of gardening gloves. Dirt beneath my nails: not pretty.

So there they are, fresh from the dirt, with a few other veggies plucked against the upcoming cold.

That lone shallot and yellow bell pepper sure made for a meager crop. When I think of how much good soil we hauled in to the vegetable plot, and all the watering and feeding we did....sheesh. What a rip off.

See? I really did dig out every blessed potato, and I didn't care how little they were. They were MY potatoes!

Take note: I will concede to Idaho's glory and purchase potatoes from them at the grocery store or road side stand in the future.

Lord knows my family didn't risk everything leaving Ireland to come to America back in the late 1800's so future generations could still be digging potatoes.

Especially not as woman with an advanced degree from TWU. Pioneers make for a great mascot, but I do not aspire to play out the role when really I don't have to. I maybe blond, but I'm not that dumb!

(They do look nice all scrub up though, don't you think?)

Give me lens to match my mountains....

The sun was streaming through a slit in the heavy clouds and lighting up the snow capped Oquirrh mountains across the way.
(Oquirrh is pronounced OAK-cure by the way.)

I think I would have needed both a more powerful wide angle telephoto lens to really do the scene justice. Do they even make a wide angle telephoto lens? Guess I need to find out!

The neighbor at the end of the street called out that he thought the scene was pretty amazing too, but I wouldn't be able to capture it without a specific filter on my lens.

With a little help from Picasa via darkening the photo and sharpening it, it came pretty close to the cold blueness shot with pinkish white light overhead.

The picture look a lot better enlarged. Enjoy what I often enjoy seeing at the end of my street in the winter!

(Not sure if the top pictures posted...here they are uploaded again.)

This one will never be found on the MGCC blog.

Have you ever heard of "Italian Wedding Soup"?

It is a pretty well known soup; almost every soup cook book includes a recipe for the it. The recipe frequently includes bread, onions, various meat balls, there are minor variations, but the recipe is always carefully documented.

Sort of like a wedding: Every wedding is a little different, but in the end the event is officially documented.

Tonight I made the lesser known variation of the soup, the one no proper Christian cooking blog would ever dare to post.

I made what I call an "Italian One Night Stand Soup".

Italian One Night Stand Soup, (unlike an Italian Wedding Soup), is not a documented recipe.

It just sort of "happens"...one thing kind of leads to another, and there's lots of things involved, spice, a glass of wine, some oil, a ripe tomato and oh yes, a sausage.

Exactly how did the Italian One Night Stand Soup all come together?

Who can really say?

Let's just say as I peered into my food storage and freezer, some things just caught my eye.

I flirted with them, trying to decide what to do with them.

Then I just got carried away.

There was V-8 juice

Beef Stock

Red Italian wine

Parmesan cheese

Peppers (bell, black, and red)

Italian sausages

Top Ramen noodles (yeah, a one night stand tends to involve odd cultural mixes I hear.)

Sun Dried Tomatoes

Garlic

Onion

Cabbage

Mixed vegetables.

Butter

Olive Oil

Oregano and Basil.

And then, of course, it was cooked for one full night.

Well, like most one night stands, it turned out hot and memorable, but I promise it will never happen again.

It couldn't possibly happen again.

In fact, if asked about Italian One Night Stand Soup, I plan to smile my best Mona Lisa smile, raise my eyebrows, and deny that I know any thing about it.

How could I?

After all...I'm really not an Italian, nor have I ever actually had a one night stand!

Baby Steps

Not much is going on around here, which is fine with me. Bernie has been playing with the new camera more than I have and took these shots of our neighbor's front yard.

They switched out their front yard lamp light for an orange "pigtail" light. It is just perfect with all the fall colors in the yard. Next year I'm going to try to grab an orange light too when they are seasonally offered for Halloween.

Speaking of orange....the FOCIT (Faithful orange cat in training) is doing quite well in his studies. He now "snoopervises" all tasks, especially floor cleaning, and is exhibiting several other "orange cat" traits. It is quite interesting to watch his personality compared to the other cats.

Missy continues to lounge on the deck. Poor Hart; inside Frenchie attacks him about once a day, and for some reason if he heads outside after that attack, then Missy lays into him.

Frankly I am surprised he hasn't packed up and left home.

Our goldfinch feeder has caught on with the goldies at last.

Tate enjoys keeping an eye on all the birdie doings. We had quite a bit of snow yesterday, with a lot more to come on Wednesday. The bird feeders are being used a lot this morning, with wood peckers, chickadees, doves, finches, toehees all gobbling seed like crazy.

The tomato plants and petunias pots are hanging out in the garage beneath a window to soak up sunlight until the storms pass through.

Yes, the frost (and the snow) is on the pumpkins here, but I'm not quite ready to pull up the dabs of summer/fall colors just yet.

Like I said: Not much going on around here. I did figure out how to download pictures for the first time from the new

camera.

Baby steps...just taking baby steps to learn how to really use this thing.