Thanksgiving in San Francisco, 2007

Memories made Thanksgiving 2007

Cara, Stephanie, and I had the blessing of sharing Thanksgiving with Charles and Quynh in San Francisco. The weather was incredibly beautiful, no rain, no fog, temperatures in the 60's for all 4 days. We arrived on Thursday morning, settled into our lovely room on the 11th floor of the Sir Frances Drake on Powell Street in Union Square. This is one fine hotel, recently renovated yet maintaining its classic, historical charm. Then we went to Charles's home on S. Van Ness for dinner. Q and C prepared a bountiful traditional feast. Charles had brined the turkey and it turned out moist and tender. Q made a smooth butternut soup. They served sweet potatoes, white potatoes, french green beans, and a luscious cranberry sauce ( from Cooks Illustrated). We had blackberry and pumpkin pies with whipped cream for dessert.
Friday was crazy day on the streets. We did a walking tour of Chinatown, Lombard Street, Coit Tower, and a tiny fraction of the many, many upscale stores of Union square. In the evening, C and Q made another fine meal for us of salmon with mango salsa and all the great leftovers from Thanksgiving. Charles's college friend, Ted, and his wife, Robin, and baby Jack joined us for dinner, also. Charles honored me with a short piano recital. As always, his gift of music moved me to tears.
Saturday we drove north and hiked for awhile in the redwood forest Awesome sights, smell, and sounds. Then we drove further north into Sonoma County and explored a couple wineries. Q and C will be hosting their wedding reception at Trentadue Vineyards in Geyserville. It is so beautiful there. One of their unique wines is a smooth chocolate port. Very nice.
Sunday we explored the streets and neighborhoods again, did a little shopping and headed down to the wharf. We enjoyed the street entertainers, the sea lions, the gulls, the people. We enjoyed an Italian dinner at Pier 39 then walked over to Giradelli Square to share some hot fudge sundaes. Yum. We then enjoyed a movie, Enchanted, which is a parody of the disney fairytales. It was uncomplicated and fun.
C and Q were so gracious in accommodating us and showed us a splendid time. I'm very impressed with their driving and parking skills in the city of hills. We had to say goodbye on Monday after a luscious brunch in Burlingame. All of us Albuquerque girls would love to spend another week exploring fabulous San Francisco. Check out my slideshow above. You can click on the photo to slow it down.

Special Olympics 2007

Special Olympics 2007

Click on the picture to open the web album. Cara really enjoyed the weekend in Las Cruces for the Special Olympics State Championship games. This is the 3rd year she's participated in this extraordinary opportunity. We drove down on Friday, enjoyed opening ceremonies. Her team, sponsored by our church, Calvary, has only the four players so they compete in 3 on 3. They played 2 games and took the bronze medals. Then everyone enjoys closing ceremonies followed by a rip roaringly fun dance. The 1000 or so special athletes from all over New Mexico had so much fun. Smiles were everywhere. We're so thankful to our coaches and all the other volunteers who work to make this possible.

Fall observations

I have been reminded today of how grateful I am for all I've been given. On my morning walk with my dear friend, Jan, I praised the Creator for the honking of the Canadian geese circling overhead, the awesome silence of the stately sand hill cranes, the occasional surprise of a flock rising from the fields, the intense beauty of the golds and reds of the cottonwoods, the wonderful aroma of fireplaces, the crisp cold air on my nose and ears, the crackling of the dried cornfields in the breeze, and for my friends and my family. God is so good!

My grandbabies dress up

http://picasaweb.google.com/udubalum/Halloween07?authkey=ZkpA4aCJsko

6 months Post Op Visiit

I had my 6 month xray and exam with the spine surgeon today. All screws and plates are in place and the bones seem to be fusing very well. Praise God. I will start another round of Physical Therapy now as I'm still in alot of pain with spasms.

Recipe Contest

Well, my Quick and Easy Gingered Salmon just won this month's recipe contest on a food website. Yahoo to me. This week we're working on Talapia recipes. It's tough trying to be so healthy.