Thanksgiving 2012 - California Style

Living in California requires more than a little bit of adjusting.  Take holidays for example; flight costs go through the roof and, before you know it, a February trip Eastward starts sounding like a pretty good idea.  Both Ali and I were sad that we didn't venture to Maryland for Turkey but we resolved to make the best of it!

No goofin' around either!  Professional grade all the way - turkey, green bean casserole, stuffing...the works.  We were poised to deliver on our vision too until...

T'was the day before Turkey and all through the house, not a creature was thawed not even the bird...

We're happy Safeway.com customers.  We love the convenience of home delivery (especially considering the topographical variability of the seven San Francisco hills).  Part of the Safeway.com terms and conditions provide the shopper/driver the flexibility to substitute unavailable items with similar product(s).  In most cases, this certainly isn't a big deal.  ...until the delivery is scheduled for the day before Turkey and the unavailable item IS THE TURKEY.  It officially became a big deal at 6p on Wednesday when the replacement item proved to be a 14 lbs frozen turkey.  Rut-ro!

Fortunately, Safeway also prepares rotisserie turk's on Thanksgiving!  I'm happy to report that Thanksgiving dinner went off without a hitch.

On Friday we drove up to Sonoma to further enjoy the holiday break.  One hour drive time to/from wine country makes for a convenient weekend escape.  ...it's a little bit lost on me though because I'm not a wine drinker.  Nonetheless we had a real nice Thanksgiving weekend.  Here we are at the Sunflower Caffe.

AND...

Once we arrived back in San Francisco, Ted (the 14-pounder) had thawed. I baked an extraordinary Sunday dinner and we'll be eating turkey for the foreseeable future.

Happy Turkey, everyone, happy turkey.  Let the Christmas holiday season begin!

Relocation Domination: The Bandwagon

Having just relocated to San Francisco, I find myself asking a familiar question: who do I root for now?  Fortunately, I've walked this path before. It isn't, however, a smooth road.

As a child, my allegiances were so clearly defined: 'Skins, O's, Cap's, Bullets, and Blast.  Life was so simple back then. There were no Nationals, Ravens, Warthogs, or MLS for that matter.  Oh, how I yearn for those olden days!  Since then, the trials and tribulations of life have...complicated things.  First the Ravens arrive in Baltimore and later NISL goes bankrupt (again), and later I relocate to Boston.  Still, my allegiance remains in tact.



...and then it happened.  Things changed.  Slowly at first and then faster.  Before I knew it, all of "my" teams were miserably bad.  They had betrayed me.  Meanwhile, the Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins, and Celtics were all winning championships!  I had had enough!  First I dropped the Orioles in favor of the Red Sox. To this day, it's one of the best decisions I've ever made.  After I started rooting for the Sox, it
wasn't hard for me to dawn the Celtics green and Bruins yellow.

The only affiliation which I still waiver is the Patriots/Redskins. I don't know why?  The 'Skins are still bad and a turn around isn't in site.  I'm certain Dan Snyder will find a way to screw-up RG3's best
efforts.

Now I find myself in a new city with a 2-outta-3 baseball team and a promising football program.  An interesting factor in the battle for my allegiance is that SF doesn't have a pro basketball or hockey team.  By that account, the B's and C's are safe.  My recent subscription to MLB.tv and NFL Ticket serve to further (un)complicate the issue.

It is cool, however, to go to work and have a front row seat for the Giants Championship parade last week. Time will tell, my friends.  Time will tell.