Thanksgiving Weekend in Livermore

We never remember to take a photo before the turkey is carved!  It still looked appetizing when Frank carried the platter of sliced meat to the table on Thanksgiving afternoon.

The huge turkey platter is the very same one that Frank, as a child,
brought home on the bus as a Christmas present for his mom.

Dan, Carrie, Vivian, and Snoopy had endured an arduous, heavy traffic laden, drive up from SoCal the night before. That behind them, the weekend turned more enjoyable. We had ten for dinner: Frank, Alex, me, Dan, Carrie, Vivian, and a family of four. The added family was a mom, dad, and two kids who were friends of Dan and Carrie from Southern California who were stranded in San Jose during their travels up north due to some car problems. They joined us at the last minute, were a great addition, and we still had tons of food to spare. We ate the standard combination of turkey/stuffing/gravy/cranberry-sauce, sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes, corn casserole, and broccoli casserole.

All that is missing from this scene is the turkey and people sitting down to eat it.

Vivian, who is 7½ months old, was all bedecked in her Thanksgiving finery, complete with her turkey cap. She made sure she practiced her standing and pre-cruising skills near our large ottoman in the living room.

Vivian's shirt reads "mommy is THANKFUL for me".
Grandma is very thankful for her, too!

Think Vivian will be walking soon?

Vivian, had her first cookie ever at Grandma's house, shaped like a turkey, of course.

"Hmmm... What is this? "

"I think I like this!"  It was the first time Carrie let Vivian have anything with sugar.

Here is the vintage Hallmark Cookie cutter used to shape the turkey cookie.
I have a collection of Hallmark cookie cutters spanning all the holidays.

The cookie recipe came from Aunt Maxine and it is one I have used for years. She got it from her son Glenn's nursery school in the early 1970's. It's a classic.

Not very fancy but very yummy! A holiday tradition for us.

The food processor I used to make these cookies is also a classic! It is a Robot Coupe food processor that I take out from the bottom of my island cabinet several times a year only to make these cookies at the holidays. I came across a 2005 blog post by someone with a photo of my very same processor. I kinda got a kick out of that post. That processor was abandoned in someone's garage but I still use mine several times a year for these cut-out cookies. The Robot Coupe had its start in the 1960's in France and paved the way for the introduction of the Cuisinart into the United States in the 1970s. (See this Wiki link.)

My trusty Robot Coupe is on the left. The one abandoned in a garage in New York in on the right.

We did activities other than eating over the weekend (though not many). Carrie ran a 10K Turkey Trot Thanksgiving morning and I forgot to watch the Macy Thanksgiving Day Parade as usual. Alex was content to do puzzles while watching videos throughout Thanksgiving Day. The rest of the weekend we just relaxed. We took a stroll in downtown Livermore. Dan and Carrie went to a movie and did some wine tasting while Frank and I watched Vivian. Frank and Alex went bowling. Dan played the piano a bit. We played a game of Farkle. Vivian had a quite lengthy phone conversation with Aunt Maxine, yammering away in baby dialect with voice inflections and all.  She was very vocal in the tale she had to tell but its details were very much left up to the imagination and interpretation of the listener.

With the occasional encouragement to "tell me more", Vivian "talked" for quite a while.
Dan and Carrie will have no phone time when she is a teenager!

The weather was gorgeous. Frank and Dan kicked back some out on our back deck. Carrie got a stretch of some uninterrupted time to work on her photo album on our computer.  

No. I do not know what they were looking at, but I thought the picture was a funny one of father and son.

We are very thankful for family and the good visiting time we had this Thanksgiving 2014.

Frank, Dan, Carrie, Vivian, Alex, and me on Thanksgiving Day 2014.
There is a sneak peak of our not yet decorated and first ever artificial tree in the background.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS! 

Puppy Patio Palooza

The Saturday before Thanksgiving had been a busy day for Alex. In the morning Frank picked him up and took him to the Great Train Show at the Pleasanton Fairgrounds. Then, in the afternoon,  I took Alex to Livermore's first ever Puppy Patio Palooza. Although rain was threatened all day, the sun came out bright and shiny for the four hours of the dog event in downtown Livermore.

This is the logo for Livermore's first ever Puppy Patio Palooza.

We shared the sidewalks with dogs strolling about with their owners.

Most dogs were very willing to pay attention to and be petted by Alex

Many pups willingly approached Alex to be petted.

In the morning, the tree artists had removed and donated their tree sweaters. I'd bid farewell to the German Shepherd sized afghan that I'd installed late September. I donated it to the Valley Humane Society for use as a canine comfort blanket. 

The afternoon was more focused on noticing sweaters worn by the dogs. Alex and I admired the costumes of some of the pooches.

These dogs are ready to see Santa Claus.

Some owners were quite willing to have Alex give their pups a quick smooch.

One family let Alex have quite a tête-á-tête with their pup.

At first this pup was leery.

Then it was curious...

... and finally settled down quite companionably next to Alex.

During one early summer evening this past May, Frank and I had taken Alex to Danville Doggie Night and we'd had a great time. It was fun to have a similar experience available closer to home.

Ponder Post: Judging a Book by Its Cover

I just finished reading the book Switch by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. I like the books these two brothers write, but I especially love the covers that look three dimensional yet are not. You have to run your fingers over the red parts of this cover to convince yourself that the red embossed tape is not really on there, just an image, complete with that bent upper right corner on the top label. You can't get that experience from an e-book!

This book was written in 2010.
I am not known for my timely selection of reading material.

These labels were once so ubiquitous I think most everyone can recall them.

The Heath Brothers' 2007 book, Made to Stick, had a 3-D illusionary aspect to it too, only with a piece of slightly wrinkled grey duct tape. I'd read and liked Made to Stick and reviewed it in my post for April 19, 2014. Aside from the cover, I'd liked the writing style that was simple to follow and gave tons of examples to convey the content. But, I digress from the book at hand.

The duct tape image on this book cover is so real looking.
It also conveys that a person must be able to relate to an idea for it to stick.
Who has not crossed paths with duct tape at some point in one's life?

Switch addresses the topic of making a change, at a corporate or a personal level. It is presented in a style very similar to Made to Stick. The metaphor throughout Switch is that of a rider on an elephant traveling along a path. The rider is the thinking part of the equation, the elephant the emotional part which can often overpower the rider. The rider makes PowerPoint presentations and delivers intellectually convincing facts but the elephant inspires at the gut level. The path is a clear vision of not just where to go but how to get there. I attached a summary sheet from the book outlining that to make a switch it is necessary to

Direct the Rider  ➔  Motivate the Elephant  ➔ Shape the Path

Revealing the summary sheet does not at all spoil reading the book. The variety of examples throughout and the conclusions of the many cited experiments are fascinating. I very much enjoyed reading this easy-flowing, non-fiction book.

A summary page from the book Switch is sprinkled with bracketed
 [phrases designed to help the reader recall the associated examples within the book].

In my recent November 18, 2014 post about three books, I mentioned that one can not judge a book by its author. I suppose one cannot judge a book by its cover either. Liking both of these covers did not assure I would like the books but it was fun to have that little optical/tactile illusionary pleasure along the way.

I suppose that to judge a book you just have to... are you ready for this?... read the dang thing!

Ponder Post: Gang Attire

A few days ago I was making the rounds of several Jo-Ann's Fabric and Craft Stores in order to accumulate enough yardage of a discontinued fabric that I wanted for drapes.  One of them was located in a sketchy neighborhood so Frank came along. As we were on our way I glanced over as he was driving and noticed he was wearing his Disneyland sweatshirt. I said, "Is that really the right thing to wear into a tough neighborhood?"

Frank answered, "What you do not want to do in a tough neighborhood is inadvertently wear the colors or mascot of the rival gang. I am pretty certain that there is no Micky Mouse gang."

I conceded he had a point.  We got my fabric with no problems.

Ponder Post: Three Authors, Three Books

If I only post about books I'd recommend then one might get the impression that I am batting 1000 for my selections. Not so! This post is about three books that were well written by highly acclaimed authors but that I would not want to be responsible for recommending because they were such downers. These were not bad books and I finished each of them; but, just as one cannot judge a book by its cover, neither should one judge potential enjoyment of a book by its author.

I would not recommend Summer Island by Kristin Hannah.

I usually love Kristin Hannah's works. I have read On Mystic Lake, Distant Shores, Home Front, Firefly Lane and liked them all. Maybe it is because I resented that the book reviews on Summer Island were misleading. Per Tulsa World – A fascinating story of love, healing, forgiveness, and renewal...certain to strike a chord in the hearts of mothers and daughters everywhere. Well, the chord it struck with me was discordant. It involves a dysfunctional family where a mother walks out on her two daughters and achieves a successful career. There is a bit of a mystery in why she does this and so I kept reading to see what the extenuating circumstances were; but I did not enjoy the unpleasant interactons between the mother and her two adult daughters. Characters were somewhat realistic but I did not like them.

Although I am not quite as harsh about this one, I also would not recommend Mercy by Jodi Picoult because it made me feel strangely ill at ease.

For me, Jodi Picoult is an uneven author but her books make you think. I liked My Sister's Keeper and Change of Heart but disliked a couple others by her. Her books typically address a controversial topic. In this book the topic was mercy killing but that was not forefront in my mind while reading. Mercy had a second underlying question, a bit of a twist on the commonly touted theme that in a successful marriage each person contributes more than 50% effort. Mercy claims in a marriage that love is not equal – that one partner loves the other one more. This made me uncomfortable in sort of a lose/lose way. I did not want to be the person who was loved less. Then I again I would feel guilty if I were the partner who loved less. This internal conflict nagged me throughout the book, distracting me from the euthanasia question at hand. I was uncomfortable while reading Mercy and for this reason would not recommend it. I will admit though... the opening chapter is GREAT!

I completed The Glass Castle a memoir by Jeannette Walls. This book was a page turner but I would not recommend it because the environment is so depressing.

The author grew up extremely poor with well-meaning, highly intelligent, but somewhat mentally imbalanced, parents. She overcame her impoverished conditions to become a well-known author and I kept reading to find out, "however did she do it?". Knowing she triumphs over her adversities is uplifting in one sense, but being bombarded page after page with the hardships she endured because of not necessarily ill-spirited, but certainly incompetent, parents did not make for enjoyable reading. Her writing style was great and riveting and I am going to check out her other two books Half-Broke Horses and The Silver Star.

Happy Birthday, Frank!

This past Monday, November 10th was Frank's 66th birthday. On Sunday, November 9th, we got a dozen donuts and, after bowling and dinner, celebrated with Alex .

Singing a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday to You brings a smile to everyone's face.

We had to count to three twice to be sure the time was perfect to blow out that candle.

Yay! Applause! Applause! Happy Birthday! Yay!

On his birthday phone call from Robin, Jeremy, and Autumn, Jeremy pointed out to Frank that he shared a birthday with the birthday of the United States Marine Corps. In all of Frank's 66 years he had never known that bit of trivia. This year was the Marines' 239th birthday. The Marines' celebration and cake cutting ceremony were formalized, standardized, and recorded in their drill manual in 1956. Per Wikipedia, 

By tradition, the first slice of cake is given to the oldest Marine present, who in turn hands it off to the youngest Marine present, symbolizing the old and experienced Marines passing on their knowledge to the new generation of Marines.

I guess in the Chambers family, the parallel tradition to this is Alex and Frank sharing the blowing out of a candle on a donut.

Frank got multiple cards from me hidden about the house, two pet themed cards from Vickie, and a humorous but annoying phone tree card from my sister. The retirement card from me was to celebrate him about to get his first Social Security check on December 1st. 

Frank is a stout Harry Potter fan and I am a stout Frank fan.

The retirement card was to congratulating Frank on successfully negotiating the Social Security maze
for himself and with all its intertwined implications for Alex.
The phone tree card from my sister was cute... and a bit exasperating.

Inside the left card reads, "Older yes... but wiser, not so much."
Inside the right card reads, "Happy birthday and and many s'mores."

Frank's request was that his birthday dinner include sweet potatoes. He did not care what else, but whatever it was, to had to be served with sweet potatoes. We had ham. Instead of cake for dessert, we had his favorite, pumpkin pie.

One candle is enough! It is the thought that counts. Having fewer candles increases
the odds of 100% extinguishment and subsequent wish fulfillment.

Frank gets mentally prepared.

Frank takes a deep breath.

Success! Happy Birthday!

Frank and Vickie relaxed in front of the TV with Monday Night Football in a lopsided game where the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Carolina Panthers 45 to 21. Frank's best birthday present was that his fantasy football team TheSteamers (with a previous record of 2-7) beat Dan's fantasy football team, TheOneAndOnlyDan (with a previous 8-1 record).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FRANK!

Day 3 - Disneyland

On the third day of our Park Hopper ticket, we went to Disneyland for a second time. As it turns out we did not need to spend the surcharge for park hopping privileges since we stayed entirely in one park each day. My Halloween post described the fall ambience in Disneyland on our Thursday visit. This post will narrate the attractions we rode there both on Thursday, October 23rd and Sunday, October 26th. We'd spent a full day at California Adventure on Friday, October 24th.

We have to do the not-so-tame rides because they are the ones Alex loves best. Splash Mountain has a lovely bucolic scenic tour through the land of Brer Rabbit in a log hewn boat. At the end there is a 45° plunge over a 53 foot drop. I once said to Frank, "Why do they ruin a perfectly good ride with that awful cliff at the end?" Obviously Alex thinks differently. We rode it once on Thursday and again on Sunday. In retrospect I wish we had done it at least one more time but soggy clothes and falling evening temperatures dictated we hold off. I'd worn jeans on the Thursday ride in the early afternoon and they did not dry readily. Back at the hotel late that evening, I peeled wet underpants off my still ice cold butt. It was like I'd worn a wet bathing suit all day.

This is our Sunday plunge. In photos from previous years Alex's expression is a bit more apprehensive.

Alex also loves the Indiana Jones Adventure. A rickety jeep jolted and careened us through ancient temple ruins where we encountered snakes, bugs, flames, decaying bridges, and boulder booby traps. With every sharp turn and sudden drop off Alex squealed with glee, the dark and foreboding environs not bothering him one bit. This one we rode many, many times on both days!

 As we wait to enter Indiana Jones Adventure our clothes are still wet from Splash Mountain.
Our jeep sputtered and stalled while crossing this rickety bridge
 but the flames still did not dry us off!

Frank and Alex rode the Astro Orbiters in Tomorrowland. We had never done this one before and Alex seemed to enjoy it, displaying no fear of heights. I decided to forego the dizzying, circular motion and watch instead.

This year was our first time riding these circling rockets.

Frank and Alex each rode individual rocket ships.

While I waited for Frank and Alex, I looked at the control panel. It did not seem very high tech especially for a land touting to be of the future - basically up, down, start, and stop. I was somewhat more impressed with the instructions on the operator's seat, though. They seemed more complicated than the control panel with multiple heights and multiple angle adjustments. I wonder, does the operator get trained on both?

I compared the control panel for the ride with the operation instructions for the chair.

We also had our quiet waterway rides. One of Frank's favorites is the narrated Storybook Land Canal Boats where we drifted through the mouth of a whale and exited into a landscape of miniature versions of houses and castles of storybook characters: the Three Little Pigs, Aladdin, Alice in Wonderland, Toad Hall, Cinderella, Ariel, Pinocchio, just to name a few.

Alex liked the part when our boat tour guide pointed out where Alice went down the rabbit hole.

It is rare for the Sailing Ship Columbia to be in operation on the Rivers of America in Frontierland. It is usually the Mark Twain paddle wheeler that carries passengers around Tom Sawyer's Island. Frank had always wanted to be aboard the Columbia and we got our chance. We went below decks to the maritime museum and saw the living conditions of 18th century sailors. One of its cannon was fired during our voyage. We got to gaze up at the azure blue skies through the rigging and sit up close to the extensive ropes and dowel pins involved in the sailing operations of such a ship.

The three masted Columbia in the background is quite regal looking.
My two guys in from aren't so bad either.

The sky was a beautiful backdrop to the very impressive rigging.

The ropes were neatly knotted and braided in their resting places. The woodwork was highly varnished.

There are many small, tame attractions in Fantasyland and we took a turn or two on each. Alex and I like Peter Pan's Flight where, in a gondola car similar to the Columbia sailing ship, we flew over Never Never Land and the town of London amidst twinkling stars at night. We checked the box by riding other minimum wait attractions there – Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Pinocchio's Daring Journey, Alice in Wonderland, Snow White's Scary Adventures and the Casey Junior's Circus Train. Then we moved on to a roller coaster speed ride Alex loves, the Matterhorn Bobsleds. As we zipped past a roaring abominable snowman, beneath waterfalls, and into pitch black winding cave pathways, Alex took it all in stride. For speed rides, I do OK on this one but Frank, not so much. Alex just laughed and laughed and clapped. We could hear his voice and applause echoing through the dark caverns as we careened along.

Our bobsled makes a bit of a splash for fun at the very end.
But the Matterhorn is more about the high speed journey and not the about the end. 

After the Matterhorn Bobsleds we headed off on the Monorail to Downtown Disney for a mid-afternoon lunch and some recovery time at the Rainforest Cafe.

As we waited in the monorail station, I snapped this image of the Matterhorn.

Alex was Joe Cool as he settled back to enjoy his monorail trip to Downtown Disney.

The meal took longer that we anticipated but the food at the Rainforest Cafe was very tasty.
Besides, it was good to take a bit of needed rest and to recharge for the remainder of the day.

After lunch we returned to Disneyland and  repeated some attractions we'd liked in New Orleans Square –  Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. We journeyed through the Hundred Acre Wood aboard our oversized beehive shaped vehicle enjoying  The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh in Critter Country. We did not repeat Splash Mountain after lunch, though. As the sun was setting, on our way to ride the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, we were serendipitously diverted by a parade. We skipped looking for Nemo and instead watched the parade under the glowing lights of Main Street, USA. The evening was upon us and we were all contentedly willing to tarry a bit. We decided a parade was a good memory on which to end our third day at the Disney Parks.

Alex had a front row seat for Mickey's Soundsational Parade
as can be seen by the white traffic control cord just above his head

At the parade's conclusion we headed back toward our two room suite on the 5th floor of the Anaheim Desert Inn and Suites. Frank got Alex settled in and I make a quick detour to bring back a gourmet meal of McDonald's for our in-room dining pleasure. The roof of our hotel had a viewing area with seats where guests could watch the fireworks at Disneyland in comfort. We had just a short walk around the corner and up one flight of stairs and we were there. Enjoying them that last night was a great pre-bedtime activity and a we could say we ended our visit with a bang!

We had a great rooftop view of the fireworks from the comfort of our hotel.

The next morning we headed to the airport for our flight home. It had been a really awesome trip.