happy thanksgiving

Now that Thanksgiving is (almost) over, it’s officially time for Christmas-ness to start. I forgot how lovely the holidays are. 

Woke up early-ish this morning to drive up to the Bay Area from LA. The fog in Tejon Valley was gorgeous. The deciduous trees adorned with fall colors and ranches with white picket fences disappearing into the fog looked like an Ansel Adams photograph. Too bad we whizzed by too fast to take a proper picture. I’m glad Los Angeles is getting some weather. I tire of the constant sun. Cheapens the holidays.

Thanksgiving dinner was at my Aunt Sarah’s house this year. Since Kenny’s family dinner was on Saturday, I convinced him to come with me to mine. It was great seeing my family again and even better since I had someone my own age to talk to. Now that my youngest aunt is engaged and with her fiance all the time, I feel even more isolated. I felt kind of bummed because there wasn’t enough space in the dining room so I (and Kenny) got put on the kiddie table, even though I’m nearly 21. Didn’t help that the kids spilled stuff and my littlest cousin is this shrieking banshee of energy. He’s indefatigable. Also a little sad that the sweet potato buttermilk pie I made came home with me untouched because there were already two pies. I will have to appreciate it on my own. 

It was so cute watching Kenny play with the kids though. Also made my life easier because that meant that I didn’t have to play with them. I don’t exactly dislike kids, but between drinking tea and chatting my aunts and grandmother and trying to keep a preschooler from jabbing plastic planes into my body while he says my butt is really big, I gotta say I prefer the first one. 

When we got home, we came in through the kitchen door and startled a raccoon that was eating my cat’s food. It dashed into my living room and scaled the clock on the chimney and printer trying to look for a way out before running out past us followed by a fellow partner in crime. What an exciting welcome home. Raccoons are pretty cute if they’re not rabid and they’re more scared of you than you are of them. We need to figure out a better way for my cat to come in and out of the house without neighborhood animals following it in. Apparently my brother scared a skunk that was halfway in our cat door and he got sprayed. Gross. 

Unfortunately my allergies are on red alert due to cat dander and guinea pig hay. My urge to play with our pretty calico is dampened by the fact that after a couple months away from home, her mere presence sends my histamines into a frenzy. I blame my father for the inheritance of allergies and freckles.