On Thanksgiving Day Alex put on a scavenger hunt for Astrid and Pippa to help while away the time before dinner. Using puzzle-maker programs he found online Alex put together 5 word games. When solved, each word game gave a clue that led the girls to a location in the house or around the garden.

The first clue led Astrid to a bigfoot game - but which one? With a couple of choices they had to go through each box to find a prize and the next clue


Some of the clues were easier than others but it kept them occupied for quite a while.


The last clue led them to the spaghetti tree and a final prize of silly string. If you look closely at the tree you can see spaghetti growing on it

It was great that Ben, Kirsten, Astrid, and Pippa drove down from Palo Alto to spend Thanksgiving with us. We all had a fabulous time because of our beautiful weather here in San Diego.

The original plan was to buy a pre-cooked meal from Whole Foods or Jonathon's of La Jolla but I couldn't imagine serving a whole meal cooked by some store on Thanksgiving Day. So with some planning and a lot of cooking ahead we were able to eat a home-cooked meal with not too much work on the actual holiday.

The day started out with fresh croissants with lots of butter and jam, mimosas, and coffee served on the patio. The croissants came from Williams and Sonoma as a gift from Janet and Klaus. All I had to do was take them out of the freezer the night before, let them rise overnight on the kitchen counter, and pop them in the oven about 1/2 hour before ready to serve. Wish I had a picture but alas, it's not to be.

Soon after breakfast Alex took everyone to Mission Trails for a good romp around to help burn of excess energy and work up an appetite for dinner. While they were gone I started prepping for dinner, getting the turkey in (simple roast turkey with rich turkey gravy), setting the table, prepping some veggies, etc.

We don't have a dinner table so Alex made one with some saw horses and left over polycarbonate from the patio cover (another entry). It looked so pretty with all the dinner ware, especially after Kirsten did her decorating bit with the leaves and turkey confetti.



This is the turkey that Pippa made out of a pine cone and some colorful paper. It served as one of the center pieces for our feast.


Charlie turned out to be quite popular with the girls - he was chased all around the yard with silly string being shot at him.


We had dessert out on the patio around the fire pit. Rred velvet cake courtesy of Janet and Klaus from Williams and Sonoma, pecan pie from Trader Joe's, home made apple pie from Danielle, and fresh whipped vanilla cream to wash it all down with. Kirsten bought some caramel with sea salt bark from World Market which I was eating all day and is so good.


Winding down at the end of the evening after a drink or two (or several, but who's counting?). I'm still wearing my favorite apron!


Danielle, Pippa, and Charlie hamming it up for the camera


I'm not quite sure what Charlie was trying to show here but Astrid was sneaking up behind him for a final spray of silly string


The next morning we were a little on the slow side to get going but Pippa and Alex managed to get some quality time together while others were still in bed.


All in all a busy day but a lot of fun.

Well, it certainly isn't Alex!

Boo enjoys asserting her authority over her peeps. Here she is putting Alex in his place by using him as her pedestal.


As I took these photos I kept calling her to get off and she totally ignored me.


Here she is in one of her more adorable moments - posing on her fluffy pink blankie. Work it baby!

I'd like to welcome my Dad as the newest reader of my blog. He has recently moved close to my brother in Vereeniging, South Africa, and will have occasional access to a computer to check up on me. This of course means that I will have to start posting again so he has something to read. Alex and I visited Dad a few years ago and here are 2 of my favorite photos.



Enjoy my blog, Dad. You've got quite a bit of reading to catch up.

EDIT: Dad's name is John.

A week ago Ann and Diana came over to toast our newly finished bathroom and they were really surprised that we had already started on the masterbath. We had a great happy hour (or more) with some appetizers and plenty of wine.



As usual things quickly got out of hand and after toasting our new bathroom with champagne everything went downhill.



Well, we weren't really that bad... but almost.

We recently bought a new bed to replace the one that Charlie took when he moved in with Danielle. We decided on a queen size bed from IKEA and it is now ready for the arrival of Klaus next week. We have so much planned for him that I'm sure he will be collapsing into bed every night with a great sense of relief that the day is over.



Although it's a tight fit we have set up a chair for reading or just for throwing his clothes on at the end of the day.



We hope Klaus will be comfortable while he's staying, and working, with us.

Janet and Klaus appear to have a resident opossum. Here he is stealing the seeds that Klaus had put out for the birds - in broad daylight no less. He is so brave.



This is our resident opossum from a few months ago. As with all other critters that find their way into our yard he was given the name of Fred and became an instant member of our family. Boo however, was not too keen on the addition to the family - wish I had a picture of the hackles on her back and the big bushy tail.

Yesterday Charlie moved into his own studio apartment. He's going to be living in a huge apartment complex, gated, tennis courts, massive swimming pool, jacuzzi, parking, etc., with his girlfriend Danielle. It's a couple of blocks from Mission Bay, walking distance to the beach and to his work. And what is Danielle like? I haven't actually met her yet and she's currently on vacation and won't be home until next weekend. Alex and I hope to have them over for dinner in the near future. Some photos of the apartment show how small the place is but they both have good ideas to maximize the space.

Here's Charlie opening up the box of pots and pans we picked up at IKEA. And the first, almost full, cupboard with the plates and, most important, the wine glasses.



While we were unpacking and making up the bed Charlie kept texting and sending photos of what we were doing to Danielle. The kitchen is tiny but plenty big enough for Charlie and Danielle to cook a healthy meal together.



They are going to save and buy a love seat for the sitting area and some bar stools so they can eat at the kitchen counter.

Falcon is not keen on the snow - this is one of his favorite spots. Falcon is getting old and has arthritis so Klaus and Janet do everything possible to keep him warm and comfortable and he is always covered with a blanket during the winter months



Have you ever seen a cuter dog?

After viewing the last post of the snow in England I thought you might like to see the snow that Janet and Klaus experienced in DC last week. These are photos taken in front of their condo in McLean Gardens.



I love the winter wonderland effect but I don't think Falcon is too happy with it.

My cousin, Sylvia, sent over a couple of photos of snow scenes taken from her home. Sylvia, and Harry her husband, live along the southern coast of England in Portsmouth.

Taken from an upstairs window, the first photo shows a nice sprinkling of snow. I'm not sure if the snowman has been drinking or needs a drink.



This is taken from their front door. Looks so pretty but so cold.



For some great photos of the snow from my home county of Gloucestershire go to BBC Gloucester. Photos 5, 7, 39, 47, show my local areas.

EDIT: Sylvia actually lives in Chandlers Ford, near Southampton.

Well, dear readers, you might have noticed that Bookwoman is no longer an avid reader of roundaboutsandiego.com - she's moved on to bigger and better sites. Facebook seems to be my main competitor. She's been sucked in by the silly super-pokes, filling her safari landscape, and who knows what else she's getting herself involved in. Her witty comments and grammar corrections will be sorely missed.

I'd like to thank Janet for plugging my blog on her Facebook page. Let's hope I get a few more readers - I'm looking forward to all the upcoming comments.

We were 7 days into the new year and Alex could no longer keep his new year's resolution. Shame on him!

We made only one resolution each - not to drink alcohol for 1 month. That was it. I can hear you all now, "Why?" "What on earth were you thinking?" "What are you trying to prove?"

We decided to do this to help with the new year weight loss, to save some money, and yes, to prove that we could do it. Except one of us can't. I've lost 2 pounds so far in my 9 days of no alcohol and hope to lose a few more before I hit the bottle again on February 1st.

Janet and Klaus harvested some oysters, grown in their own cages, at the Northern Neck. Look at the bucket load Klaus has.



Hamish wanted to help them but I think the water was a little too cold for him.



Klaus shucking the oysters wearing his special chainlink gloves that we bought them for Christmas.



The oysters are almost ready for cooking.



And here is the finished product - oyster stew - which I heard was very good.



I hope when we next visit I get a chance to harvest and cook some oysters.