we had a good holiday. we drove down on thursday morning, and KPIG was playing Alice's Restaurant which was a tradition in our family in the 70's and early 80's. my mom always played Alice's Restaurant on thanksgiving .. and i'm not sure when she stopped but at some point it was no longer played. i got a little happy-teary in the car singing "you can get anything you want, at alice's restaurant"
we got down there only an hour or so before dinner (we eat early in my family) and my mom had typed up menus and put them on every plate (i will type the menu up at the end of this entry), which was cute. my step brother and his girlfriend and her parents were there too. we ate a lot.. before eating we all took a few lines of a thanksgiving poem that mom had typed up. this is a thingi n my family. at christmas we will all take parts in reading outloud from Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory.

after dinner we then went down to the beach and walked for an hour(ish).. to walk off all the yumminess, before returning to the house for dessert. we ended with going out for Harry Potter. (which i thought was a little disjointed but I enjoyed it anyway. and my parents went on and on about this new fangled special effects that movies have)
I slept like crap that night. I am SO VERY PRINCESS AND THE PEA. it sucks. i travel poorly. flannel sheets? too nubby,i can feel all the texture on my skin and i can't sleep. bed too small? too soft? too hard? not enough weight &blankets? yea. stupid. i take melatonin and do my best to find what works. i changed the sheets in the middle fo the night and i slept after that.

Friday we drove up to San Juan Bautista and walked around hte mission and surrounding museum. went to a very bad mexican dinner in a very beautiful restaurant. and headed to La Pastorela put on by El Teatro Campesino which is headed by Luis Valdez (of Zoot Suit and La Bamba).
the Play yet not a play, is put on in the mission of san juan batista. they rearrange the pews so that the play takes place down the center, through the sides and in in the middle of the mission. as well as up at the altar. . it's a combination of mexican culture and heritage and catholicism. with song and mostly in spanish, and amazing costumery and drums and angels and devils and .. it was amazing. i recommend trying to get down there (they have a few cute hotels) and seeing it before the run ends in mid december.

saturday was a day of mini-hike, slow moving.. and hten a small engagement party for family and family friends in the area. his fam and my fam finally got to talk. we were in a small adorable italian restaurant in our private room.. wine and great food and lots of laughing and hey, when you get married people start giving you gifts! i was so glad his family and mine got along so well. .. and mom has great friends.
breakfast with both familys today, and then the drive home.
and now .. the fire, a movie, a dinner.. (i had a nap when i got home. hot damn i love my bed)

monk fits in well with my family. it's a great feeling.
my mom was adorably worried about the engagement party going well, about all of it, and her relief was palpable and also cute. she gave us 8 balloon wine glasses with a different silly xmas ornament in each one.

i haven't had an xmas tree larger than maybe 2 feet tall in all of my adult life. this house is perfect for a damn tree and we're getting one.

this week is another karaoke. then two 30th birthdays again next weekend. one of which is a pajama party and i'm all over that. i'm sure i'll curl up on the bathroom floor and just go to sleep.

ok, thanksgiving menu... which was typed up in a pretty cursive font by my mother:

Thanksgiving Dinner with the bleep, bleep, bleep and bleep/bleep families.
november 24, 2005
(*non-dairy)

Appetizers
Flaky mushroom turnovers or *brushetta
Artisan cheese tray (warm fig brie, pt reyes blue, Vermont Cheddar, cowgirl creamery chevre), *crackers
*Concord Grapes

Salad
*Carmel Valley Greens with Bosc pears, maple dressing, gorgonzola on the side.
*Whole wheet and sweet french rolls with sweet creamery butter or *Umbrian olive oil

Entree
*Tender roasted organic kosher turkey - brined and herbed
*Grilled fish of the day (grilled salmon)

Side Dishes
Holiday stuffing wtih cranberries, celery and mushrooms
*Hericots Verts Amandine
Acorn Squash baked with vermont maple syrup & butter
Creamy mashed potatoes with gorgonzola
*Rosemary & olive oil oven roasted potatoes
*Fresh cranberry/orange relish
*Cranberry Jelly

Dessert
*Tart tatin
Traditional pumpkin pie
vermont maple walnut pie
*Fruit basket
Fresh whipped cream and vanilla ice cream

Beverages
Selection of california, french and spanish wines
Martinelli sparkling cranapple juice
filtered water
assorted juices
fresh-brewed coffee
assorted herbal and leaf teas

the turkey was pretty much the moistest i've ever had, and the mashed potatoes came in second to amy's.
and the cranorange relish was very refreshing and yummy.

i want to go to the mountains for new years with just a few good friends. i feel the need for that kind of time.