Thanksgiving 2008

The week began with a visit from the Lancasters - this time everyone. An active bunch, we went to Paradise Cove to play on the beach.
I've grown accustomed to beach frolicking in late November and seems downright exotic and just a little weird.

Pleasures of a cul de sac: stick play without traffic. Also, no sidewalks here. People here jog and stroll on the edge of a 50 mph road nearby - NOT FOR ME (not for the unfortunate woman either who was hit several months back).

The Kwongs joined us for dinner, which they brought - both handy and tasty. Reminded me of my mother, who sprinkled curry powder in her beef stew and also served on rice. Since then, rice & gravy have been an unbeatable combo for my palate. That evening of 3 families demonstrated the structural weakness of our "great" room: looks nice but not so great for simultaneous & different uses of space. It's always satisfying to see my family's belongings, like the coffee table below. Memories need a material hinge.

Speaking of memories, holidays are not complete without baking rolls (thank-you, Edith Schaeffer!), which Michael (our sleepyhead) woke himself up early to take part in. Jack had sensory integration dysfunction, so tended to avoid the stickiness of dough, the way other children avoid noise or strong colors, etc. This year, however, he jumped right in and is doing well in gymnastics.
This year, all rosettes. Topped with sesame, caraway, and poppy seeds with a healthy dose of sea salt - kinda a pretzel effect; the remaining dough turning into either orange rolls or cinnamon buns:

This year we were joined by Vishal and Ruth Mangalwadi. Vishal is a philosopher/social activist who organized farmers in India and has had quite a colorful life. We first met at L'Abri back in 1980 or so?
R & V somehow raised a family without ever having a permanent home. They are based in SoCal now, as their daughter is a nearby medical resident. (Carolyn's killer smoked salmon/cream cheese dip in the foreground).
We all went to the Philen's for Thanksgiving. I'm quite stingy with holidays, so we roasted our own turkey on Saturday (Trader Joe's had kosher birds, so came brined!), also inviting some stray students up for round #2 of turkey dinner.

The Kwongs introduced us to Sycamore Canyon of Pt Mugu State Park, which connects to the Pacific Ocean; the longer trail passes a waterfall. This is definitely not the LA of my childhood.
Anyway, we never hiked as much as I imagined we would living in Switzerland. I've spent years in beautiful hiking country (upstate NY, Switzerland, PNW) without doing much hiking, so things are not likely to change much?

Tree, menorah, Gucci.

The courtyard of the upscale Topanga Mall. Christmas is probably the least Christian (most pagan?) of events in the church calendar (see Spengler for more on this), and probaby the most enjoyable, as a result. We bought baby presents and (given the economic climate) felt self-conscious and guilty walking around with shopping bags. This is going to be an interesting yuletide, no? Back to basics.