Snow!

It finally snowed here yesterday, and is at it again tonight. It's barely a ground cover and the grass (and our unraked leaves) still peek through. Still, it's pretty. We had a nice, relaxing Thanksgiving here. Our friends, Jenn and Brian visited from Portland and it was, well, comforting to have old friends in our home. It made it feel more like our home to me to make those kinds of memories here.

True to conventional turkey lore, there were some mishaps. I overfilled the turkey pan with the fancy gravy I tried to make (to give John his props, he did try to warn me, but I said, "no, it's fine, it will spill and just burn off.") and this created, literally, the smokiest environment imaginable for the next several hours. When I had to open the oven to check the turkey (forget basting, we only opened the oven as necessity dictated) we had to clear the room. We cooked all morning with all the windows and doors open, and it's cold here. So, we all lived, the turkey was dry, my green beans wilty. Jenn made yummy stuffing and brussel sprouts, though, and I made a good torte. Also I liked my bread. Maybe I'm a better baker.

We went exploring and found a cool frozen lake to walk on. It was unnerving to me, but I did it. While there we met a local, older man who came out to check if the ice was thick enough for ice fishing. He wore heavy orange overalls and had a distinctive accent (Eastern European? Scandanavian?) He walked out onto the ice with a little hatchet and hacked away until he hit water. He said it needs to be about 4" thick to ice fish. I thought this was all really cool. Then he slipped and fell down and started crawling his way back to shore. He'd hack at the ice with his hatchet, get a good hold, then pull himself. He was only about 10 feet out to begin with. I asked if he wanted a hand, but he didn't. He just continued to hack his way back to the side.

Mary Lu genuinely seems to like the cold. She seems to get a kick out of freezing wind blowing in her face. Juan is less of a fan. He likes the snow, I think the arrival of the snow will keep him in good spirits for at least a few days. He was notably unimpressed by the lake. He had fun sitting and having John push him on the lake once, but that was it. As for me, I like the snow, and the seasons. No, I don't like to be cold, but I don't like being hot either come to think of it. Right now the only thing that really gets me down is the constant putting on and taking off of coats, mittens, hats, etc. Auggh!

Over the holiday I did learn that Oroville is most likely a place best enjoyed when there is outdoor recreation to be had. As it was, it was too cold to spend much time just walking around outside, the mountains aren't yet open for skiing, and so we spent a great deal of time at home or in the car. Jenn and Brian were good sports. I guess this is something I took for granted in San Diego, as there was always something going on, and I didn't really need to plan. I'm confident that Oroville can be exciting too, it may just take a little more help on my part.

Ok, here are a couple Thanksgiving photos, including one of Brian flying Juan through the house which Juan got a big kick out of. Juan and Mary Lu got a big kick out of Jenn and Brian in general, and I got more free time than I can remember since Mary Lu found Brian SO much more fun to hang out with than me. Juan spent a good deal of the holiday carting around the cooler pictured here. He was being a tow truck, or possibly "Mack" from Cars.