Thanksgiving 2010

This year Jonathan and I hosted our first official Thanksgiving in our house. We started off the holiday weekend by welcoming my parents to our little casa the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. As I pulled into the cell-phone-waiting parking lot I spied an absolutely beautiful Rolls Royce. No one was bold enough to park by this gem so I took it upon myself and pulled into the stall to its right. I thought about sneaking in some photos from my car but realized it was silly, this was a car you wanted people to notice. The driver was more than happy to oblige my photos and gave me a brief run down of the car. Built in the 50s, previous and only past owner was Bing Crosby, all original interior and wood work. The new owner said that the carpet was a little worn when purchased but when they went to replace it, upon removal they found that the "real" original interior carpeting was still sealed in plastic and had only been covered by the other carpet. Pretty cool stuff.

Parents and luggage smooshed into the Mini we headed home where my parents would be the first official guests to stay in our newly completed guest room. It took quite a few weekends/week nights to get the guest room finished for their visit, but it turned out great! (More on this to follow, with pictures of course.) Mr. Jackson let out some home defending barks but quickly warmed up to my parents and was happy to show off his cuteness/playing skills almost every moment of their visit.

We spent Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday running errands and preparing Turkey day dishes. After a coffee pot purchase we headed to the Ranch Market for roasted hatch chillies as well as a little lunch. I'll have to admit lunch was a little lack luster, and I was disappointed that they were clear out of hatch chilies, but the tour about the market was entertaining as always. My favorite sight of the trip was a food turtle. Clever use of a fish head indeed. 

Thanksgiving day's high temperature was darn near record breaking low, matching a temp set in 1924 (or somewhere around there). 50 degree weather was certainly not the Valley of the Sun I was hoping my parents would enjoy, but at least it was sunny. We were joined by Hares and Caetanos and enjoyed quite a tasty feast, accompanied was a glorious assortment of desserts that Jonathan and I are still working on.

On black Friday we avoided malls and made our way to Home Depot and Moon Valley Nursery to pick up some Queen Palms, which are the first of many additions for our back yard. Jonathan being youthful and able to work with both arms did most of the work while my mom, dad, and I, and Jackson at times, aided via supervision. Sure we held a measuring stick here or there, and verified that the trees were straight but Jonathan did most of the digging. Post tree planting and over the weekend that followed we watched many a zombie movie, and toured about Phoenix. We visited some local artist boutiques, checked out Mercado Mexico, and enjoyed some tasty tacos at the much raved about "La Condesa Gourmet Taco Shop" on 16th St. I can't say the carne asada was anything worth repeating, but the fish taco, shrimp taco and pork taco were delicious.

On Monday afternoon we drove over to a rather unique looking church on 7th Ave, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Jonathan and I have dubbed it the Klingon Church as it looks like something straight out of Star Trek which, upon first sight, my parents readily agreed with. The building is impressive when you see it from the road, but even more impressive seen up close. The attention to detail, pattern and flow of the structure and its surrounding landscaping is quite beautiful and exceptionally well done. Not being church goers the only reason we wanted to enter the massive building was the view the intricate stained glass that lines a spire jutting out from the center of the roof, but alas all doors were locked, and we weren't daring enough to attend a church tour.

Just as the weather was making a steady crawl back into the 60s and 70s I took my parents to the airport for their trip back to California. We enjoyed their visit very much and look forward to their next, hopefully warmer, visit to the valley. Jackson was uncharacteristically mopey on Tuesday evening, as he surely missed his new friends and entertainers, but is steadily perking back up. We are thankful to have been able to host our first Thanksgiving with family and look forward to many more!  (See slide show on right for more pics)