Happy Thanksgiving! We had Drew's family over for the holiday and we did manage to get everyone to fit. Originally, Hannah's family was going to come as well, but her grandpa can't sit for 4 hours to travel here. It would have been super crowded then! We would have needed a card table in addition to our dining room one. Our new table even fits opened with six chairs around it with room for Drew to get around. We divided up the food responsibilities and shared making the turkey. We had two family friends of Drew's parents that live here in Southern California over for appetizers earlier in the day. They brought us a potted plant of sage, rosemary and thyme. It was a good thing because I had no sage for the turkey. We certainly got plenty of herbs into the turkey in the end. Amy and Hannah had a hard time telling which end of the turkey was up! Everything came out well and we had a good visit with everyone. Mary, Amy and Hannah spent a little time shopping in Studio City and everyone but Drew and I explored Hollywood a little. As you can see from the sunset photo, it's still quite warm here. It's a little weird that it's almost December and we still have windows open and fans on. Apparently Los Angeles hasn't yet gotten the memo that it's fall. You can see where I put up some enlargements of photos I've taken in Alaska, Yosemite and from our views. I think it looks nice on the wall. Our dining set actually matches the wall really nicely. The upholstery has a multi-colored palate with mauve as a dominant color. It also picks up the orange accents of our things in the living room nicely.

If you've been wondering what landmarks we're near, here are a few. Yes, we're close to Hollywood. We're close to Universal Studios, which neither of us have been to yet. We're near Little Armenia, too. That's where the Eastern Orthodox church is, which you can see from the freeway. When you drive through on 101, you can really clearly see the Capitol Records building. These are the images I saw on the way down to my interview at a high school in southern L.A. on Wed. It would be to take over 2 US History classes and 3 World History classes while a teacher is on leave. If I get the job it would start after Thanksgiving and go at least through January (the end of the 1st semester). It could be until the end of the year, however. It would be kind of a nasty commute because I'd have to go through all the major L.A. freeway traffic. But the school was nice and the small community it's in seemed nice. I think I impressed the Social Studies Dept. Chair and both she and the principal seemed happy that I have taught AVID. They have a small AVID program which it sounded like they want to expand. So I'll find out whether I got the job this week. I also have an interview at Beverly Hills Unified this week but just to be a substitute! I guess that's Beverly Hills for you!

We did finally get a dining room table, too. Just in time before our family comes to have Thanksgiving with us. We got a good deal at a furniture store near us. Here's a picture from their site. We only got six chairs. It will be delivered tomorrow. And I'll add more photos.

It's November, Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. As you may know, it is a cancer with one of the lowest survival rates and lacks research money. Please consider donating to Hannah's fundraising page here: Hannah's Fundraising Page

In other news, we made a trip back to the Bay Area for Drew's cousin, Anna's 30th birthday. It was a surprise party. She thought it would just be a quiet family dinner. But several of her friends came as well as family. We had a good time. We also got to see some friends in the area while we were there. Hannah's friend Laurel has a little redheaded baby who she could pretend was hers for a few minutes. It was nice to be "home" for awhile and see everyone. Of course, Halloween just passed. Hannah used what she had last year to be adult Anne Shirley to be Julia Ogden, the Victorian era coroner on Murdoch Mysteries. She also has an interview for a long term substitute position next Wed. We'll let you know how it all goes. Next time we see both our families will be for Thanksgiving... which we will be hosting here! Stay tuned! More photos of Anna's party at the end of this album: Birthday Photos and Hannah's Halloween costume at the end of this one: Holiday Photos