Homey Thanksgiving

Patrick and I were graced with the presence of our first visitor a bit earlier than expected, since my dad flew here for Thanksgiving as a nearly last-minute surprise! It was the first time I didn't have Mom around to serve the traditional dinner, so I was kitchen manager and handled most of the meal!

Planning on just the 3 of us, I didn't want to buy a whole bird. I searched the grocery store for a roast-sized lump of breast meat, thinking that would be about perfect. I finally thought I found what I was looking for when I visited the freezer department (no "bone-in" label on the package) and chose the smallest one I could find, at about 3.8lbs.

....however, when I opened the package, the thing had wings, skin and a chest cavity. They chopped off the legs and tore out the guts, and decided "turkey breast" was accurate enough a description. No big deal, except I wondered with the weight including bones and other non-edible parts, whether we'd have enough meat! Especially because we invited a 4th person for dinner. (Patrick's coworker spent the day alone at school, and we couldn't send him home without a proper Thanksgiving supper!)

We managed to have just enough meat for dinner, and leftovers for sandwiches the next day. Everything else turned out well, and by the way my dad & Patrick scarfed down both pies in 36 hours, I think they would have considered dinner a success even if the house had burned down, as long as the pies turned out.

Cranberry muffins and potato-chive pancakes made a tasty Thanksgiving-leftovers-breakfast the next morning to fuel us for a day at Yosemite (pictures to be posted later). We surprised Dad with a literal taste of home. :) I was excited to use those cookie cutters for the first time too!

A day later we were on our way out of town to a Christmas tree lot, but Dad spotted one here in time. We almost chose a 4-footer since that size was much cheaper, but decided for our first tree we'd go aces and get a 6-8 ft. The vendor was really cool and gave us our tree at 50% off for being the first customer of the day! So we spent just a little more than we would've for the small one anyway!

It was a drizzly day so the tree needed to spend some time in our garage drying before we could decorate it. Instead, we headed over to the campus to show Dad where Patrick works.

We got out of there once we realized there may be cause to worry Dad would destroy the place, (or at least our reputations). :P

Sunday we took Dad to lunch at a popular and delicious burger joint. On the way, we pulled over so Dad could get a closer look at some pencil trees. Now you can have a closer look too.


The afternoon was devoted to decorating! The small tree we've used the last few years adds some Christmas cheer to our kitchen & dining room.

I put the lights on thick. One of the strands didn't work so Dad returned it for us and bought some extra boxes. The tree ended up with 6 strands, and it looks great!

The monkeys from our wedding cupcakes and a custom ornament really make this OUR first tree!

Lovely!

We didn't have a topper for our tree, so we used ornaments Patrick made as a child and a decorative window gem I received from my sister a long time ago, to create a herald of angels. After my dad left, I ran across a Patrick the Starfish key-chain he gave me a few years ago, that I just HAD to add. :)

The Thanksgiving holiday was cozy and bright, and we finished it off with a delightful breakfast at a local cafe before driving Dad to the Fresno airport on Monday. Next trip there will be to take Patrick & me home for some more cozy & bright holiday time!

Interest piquers of the random sort

Patrick will probably be a little irritated at me because I'm supposed to be writing a Thanksgiving blog and posting pictures of winter scenery. But I've been wanting to do a "miscellaneous" entry for a while, and now that I've accumulated enough pictures, I decided to go for it.

The photo that sparked my desire for a random post. Our first week in town while we were still in the Holiday Inn, we saw this beauty on the road. I'm pretty sure Patrick committed the sin, "Do not covet." :) Click on the picture to get a better look at the license plate, Transformer fans.

We carried our potted plants indoors once the temperature dropped too much for their health. I knew we'd probably bring in some spiders with them, but a few other species hitched a ride too. The following morning I saw this guy half-way up the wall! (See below for height reference- it's the black spot in the upper center of the photo, near the corner of the wall.)

Rainy day on the UC-Merced campus last week produced 2 rainbows! (The second one is a little harder to see, but it's between the 2 trees on the right.)

I'd never seen a persimmon before, but they're in season at the Farmers' Market. We decided to be exotic and try one. You bite into it like an apple. Despite looking like an orange tomato, the texture is completely different. It's a bit like a waxy/gummy pear, and the flavor is sort of sugary. Not my favorite fruit by any means, but it's not too bad either.

The bathrooms on Patrick's floor at the university are covered in checkered tile. I couldn't decide if I felt smothered or if I liked it. Maybe I'm a masochist in the making.

A lot of places in the area cover piles of loose materials like gravel with tarps weighted down by tires. But the first time I saw one (and I still think so), it looked like a tarp with a contemporary polk-a-dot pattern. I thought maybe it was a farmer with style. :)

Another Farmer's Market find. A yam purchased for Thanksgiving dinner. But I realized when it was time to peel it how very much it looked like a piggy! Even one of the black holes near the "snout" looks like a beady eye. :)

Gorgeous sunset from the view of the road we take out of the college when I pick Patrick up from work.

Don't worry, Patrick, dear! That's the end of my spontaneous post. Thanksgiving/winter pics are on the docket! :)

Fall in Yosemite

Fall was even more apparent in Yosemite, as you can see from these pictures from a month ago. We had a laid back day exploring a few main attractions/roads in the park, and the weather was perfect for it!

(By the way, if you didn't know, you can click on the photos to see a larger version.)

In the valley:

These yellow leaves fluttered in the wind and floated to the ground like snowflakes- it was like walking through magic.

The following pictures are at Glacier Point, which we managed to visit just in time before the road was closed for winter!

Half dome (although I also call it the Grim Reaper). The hiking route to the top is closed for winter, but we need to get in shape first anyway!

At Tunnel View:Patrick's panorama. I love it! El Capitan is on the left, Half Dome is in the center background, and I think that's Bridalveil Falls slightly right of center.

This is a highlight, but I plan on posting additonal photos on Facebook sometime soon if you'd like to see more. Even better, just come for a visit and see it all with your own eyes! :)

Fall in Merced

 The quad at UC Merced looking at the Science and Engineering building where I work.

 The sunset from our back yard.

 

 Same sunset as above.

We aren't used to seeing palm trees and fall colors at the same time.

Our garage finally cleaned up!

Job Update

Atalie recently brought to my attention that now I am the one slacking on writing blogs.  So, I just thought I'd give you guys a glimpse of what I'm doing at work:

One of my first views of Tahoe NF in early October.

A picnic area in Sierra NF near one of our field sites.

Drilling holes in granite to mount a sensor in the stream (Sierra NF).

The first snow of the season in Tahoe NF.  In a few months, the snow will be around 5' deep.

Phil (the guy I'm taking over for) and I installing a snow depth sensor in Tahoe NF.

Up in Tahoe NF getting ready to drive back to Merced.

When I'm not in the field maintaining or installing equipment, I'm usually back in Merced at UCM calibrating or trying to get instruments working and, if needed, ordering parts to make that happen.

Who you gonna call???

A few people in Patrick's department wanted to round up a group effort for Ghostbusters costumes, and asked him to join the charade for the graduate college Halloween party. Other associates, such as myself, were invited to be sideline characters, which I was all for. Originally I planned on going as the Keymaster, thinking it'd be economical. But when I heard someone else was vying for the position...

(Henry, the Keymaster)

...I selected someone else....

Mr. Stay Puft, the marshmallow man!

Patrick was a charm and helped me spend a lot of Saturday assembling the costume (and assisting me into it!). I had the creative idea of using a vacuum bag for the hat, but I needed a more mechanically savvy mind to construct it for me. :)

We met up with the rest of the group before the party so the paranormal crime fighters could finish work on proton packs and iron-on patches for their jumpsuits.

Glow-sticks inserted in the packs and in the ends of the "guns" generated a neat effect.
By the time the work was finished, the team looked pretty serious and very sharp!


One of our wedding presents was a celebration cookbook (thanks, Aunt Cheri!) that gave us a cute idea for our snack-to-pass. I wish every spider I ran into was an adorable little Oreo spider.


When I heard there was dancing at this party, I knew I'd look ridiculous, and hence, had to commit to at least one song on the dance floor. Needless to say, I attracted some attention, and a dance partner! I didn't disappoint him, letting him know it was the sexiest dance he'd ever have. haha :)


I was also poked, photographed, told I instilled the desire to body-slam, and asked how I felt coming with the Ghostbusters when I represented all that they hate. It was a rather deep conversation for a Halloween party, but the guy was dressed up as a political statement.

Our group pretty much stole the show when we arrived to the party! I'm happy I went as Mr. Stay Puft, as it ended up being a hit, and a lot more fun for me! Plus, where would the Ghostbusters be, without monsters to fight?

Hidden Trophy

After signing our lease, we were given an inventory sheet to complete, documenting the move-in condition of the house. While examining the condition of the back fence and sprinkler system, I realized that one of the two prominent bush/tree things was covered in limes upon closer inspection! From the house, they totally blended in with the leaves, making them a huge and absolutely SPLENDID surprise!

I suppose it wouldn't make much difference to some people, but we buy limes quite frequently for beverages, guacamole & other Mexican-influenced recipes, and desserts. Plus, it just feels exotic and exciting to us born city-slickers to harvest our own fruit!

At first, we picked limes on an as-needed basis. But we quickly discovered they're rock hard off the branch, and yield a lot more juice, with much less effort, after they've sat out for a week. The bush/tree was rather unruly looking too, so we decided to start pruning it a couple weekends ago and simply take all the limes from the branches we chopped, allowing them to ripen. We got a large serving bowl's worth:


(I think there was close to 30 limes in this bowl, although some were fairly small.) The tree was still smothered with limes, and continued to lean strangely from wayward branches. But since our yard waste bin ran out of space, we waited another week to finish the pruning.

Sometimes we don work gloves, but they aren't always a match for the seriously wicked thorns along the branches. As you can see, some of the needle-sharp spikes are several inches long, and even if they aren't, they'll make up for it with extra fine tips.

Lime trees aren't just sharp- if you're not careful, they could become sticky! Our yard & neighborhood is home to many, many snails. Most of the ones on the tree stick to the leaves, but I just managed to see this tiny guy clinging to a lime destined for the house. I'm not a fan of these gooey varmits typically, but this li'l one was so small, I couldn't help but think he was kinda cute. (That's the tip of my index finger, for scale.)

Like I said- smothered in limes. These are what we pulled from the snipped branches after we finished the pruning!

...which filled 3 large mixing bowls, and then some!

We were a bit overwhelmed! Needless to say, lime juice has taken a more prominent position in our diets than before, and we've begun to freeze bags of juice too!

Washing them all was a tedious process, but between ants, snails, dirt, and the occasional bird poo on the rinds, I thought it was necessary. Many tiers of limes in this photo: the bowl in the foreground, a sinkful under suds, top & bottom of dish rack, and a bowlful on the table in the background, and basically sprouting out my ears!

As they await consumption, they serve as decor. Patrick patiently stacked about two-thirds of that latest harvest on a large platter in our dining room.

Some of you are probably sick of hearing about our darn lime tree, as we've already been bragging about it for awhile. Sorry, but all the same, too bad! hehe :) We are enthralled, and are likely to be for quite some time still. :)

Oh, and as a head's up: next year you may have to deal with even more of our ranting-and-raving. The second tree/bush in our yard has wasted-away fruit and pits underneath it we haven't identified yet. We think it may be a plum, nectarine or peach tree, or at least we're crossing our fingers for that, until we find out next season!