WhiteOut

Rarely do you hear something that makes so much sense.
If I had it to do all over again this is advice that I would follow.



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A Moveable Feast

Looks good doesn't it?

Probably because I didn't cook any of it.

We went out for Thanksgiving this year and had a lovely meal.  The food was excellent; all the traditional holiday fare plus lots of extras (pumpkin ravioli with curry sauce, might have been the best thing I've ever eaten in my life) and absolutely no stress or clean up.

Steve's Dad, Grandmother, and brother Brandon and family joined us for the holiday.  I have no photographic proof of this, but trust me, they were there.

The Boy Who Lived

I feel sorry for all the future generations that will be able to read all 7 Harry Potter books back-to-back, or have a movie marathon and watch all 8 movies at one time.  Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that they will have Harry Potter in their lives, it's just sad that they won't get to experience the suspense.  They can just pick up the next book, watch the next movie, they'll never take the time to properly mourn Dumbledore or spend months wondering if Snape is actually evil.  They won't get to go to book release parties or midnight movie premiers.  My kids have done all that, they've grow up with Harry Potter and they got to enjoy all the suspense. It was awesome.  (I think their only disappointment was when they turned 11 and didn't get a letter from Hogwarts)

We just saw Deathly Hallows: Part I (if you liked the book you will like the movie, go see it) and now we have to wait until next summer for the conclusion.  I'm glad they decided to make the last book into 2 movies, that means there is still a little bit of suspense to savor.  

Dane as Harry '05

I Dreamed A Dream

One of my favorite books of all time?  Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.  If I could have only 5 books on my bookshelf Les Miserables would be there.

Dagny just finished reading it. She loved it, and is now very interested in the musical. At the moment there's not an opportunity for her to see it, but she did get the next best thing.  This year is the 25th anniversary of the show, and to celebrate they did a concert in London that was filmed and shown for one night only in movie theaters. Lucky for us, we got to go.

Epic is the word that describes it.  It was more than just a concert, it was a scaled down version of the show, complete with full costuming and enhanced by a 200 person chorus. Stunning, absolutely stunning.

Procrastination

I just realized that we are a week away from Thanksgiving  and I have done absolutely nothing to prepare for it.  Haven't even thought about it.  

Yikes.

Positivity

In The Presence Of Giants

San Francisco Giants 

 World Series Champions 

I'd say that calls for a parade

As a rule I am not a big fan of parades, and Steve is not a fan of crowds, so Dane was surprised when we told him we were all going to the Giants celebration parade.  I explained that it was actually more than a parade, it was a party.  A party with more than a million guests.  

The party started at the BART station, where it was a 30 minute wait to buy tickets, it continued on the train where it was standing room only,(I felt bad for the people who were actually on their way to work) and then it got crazy the second we emerged onto Market Street into a sea of black and orange. It was loud and crowded, but not out of control.  People were laughing and high-fiving each other, it was definitely a party atmosphere.   Everyone was there for the same reason and we were all having a good time.  

The parade itself was awesome.  Seeing the players up close and watching them interact with the fans was very cool.  It felt like a celebration of the city of San Francisco as well as of the team, it was actually very moving.  Since this was the first World Series win for the SF Giants in their 50+ year history, there was a lot of talk about all those life long  fans who weren't there to enjoy that moment.  I thought of Steve's mom, who took me to my very first major league baseball game at Candlestick. She loved Bay Area baseball and she would have loved all of this.  It was an unforgettable party and an unforgettable season.

Faces Of The Franchise

Lou Seal and Tim Lincecum

Steve can now say that he "caught" Brian Wilson.  

Wilson with the t-shirt throw, Steve with the catch. 

...and finally

The Sign of a True Fan                

Steve's Halloween 

nod to the Giants

Dagny The Vampire Slayer

There wasn't any dressing up for Halloween this year, it was more like we had a character study.  Dagny became Buffy Summers.  She talked, walked, and acted like Buffy.  It was truly awesome.  To make the whole thing even more authentic, Dagny's best friend became Faith, and Dane was a newly risen vampire.  

I helped Dagny with her Buffy look, but Steve gets the big kudos of the night because he not only made Dane into a vamp, he carved the stakes for the slayers.  

The Chosen One

Buffy and Faith

 Custom pumpkin carved by Dagny

 The newly dead

Vamp Slaying