Yosemite, Charlie Brown and Thanksgiving

I start out by typing the title of this piece in hopes that I will talk about the things I put there.  I can never be sure that I will because my mind often wanders down another path as I type.  That's how I write these.  I just put my fingers on the keys and ... GO

This weekend Chris and I celebrated our 6th anniversary by going to Yosemite.  Admittedly it was too long a drive for the turn-around  one night stay that we did and I would have liked to go for a longer period,  We are talking about going again in the Spring.  Maybe renting a cabin mid-week and staying a few days.  I have to look into the cost.  Whenever I am on vacation, I wonder what it would be like to live in the place we are visiting.  I think I am gearing up for retirement in my head.  Where will I want to live when I do- and WHAT can I afford?  I will probably have to leave the LA area, as it is far too expensive to continue to live here.  I need to be near water and probably trees.  I used to think I could not bear to be away from the ocean, but I haven't been to the beach in years.  I find when I am in the forest that I feel most peaceful.  I don't know about living in snow, however.  Given my medical challenges, I am not sure cold weather would be a whole lot of fun.  I don't ski, I am about as coordinated as a three-legged elephant.  But Yosemite was everything I had heard it was.  We were blessed with my favorite weather, cold crisp and clear.  It was perfect for walking around, even if my arthritis flare prohibited me from doing too much.  Chris is still having trouble walking but I want to go back in the spring and take the open tram tour.  The buses were wonderful, if packed and we were able to hop ( relatively) on and off to see a lot of the valley.  Next time we will see more, but I got some wonderful shots of Bridal Veil Falls ( I hiked up to the falls) and Half Dome ( I DIDN'T hike there!)

A few weeks ago, our next-door neighbor invited us to join him at the premiere of the Peanuts Movie.  It was wonderful.  I had never been to a premier and I think this was a-typical as it was geared toward children and family fun.  I got a cute little Peanuts lunch box and we had our picture taken on the green carpet, complete with a green screen!   The movie  was shown in one of the large theaters in Westwood that has been refurbished, to reflect the grandness of old time movie palaces with modern touches ( the seats are more comfortable!)  The movie was very sweet and really hearkened back to the original feel of Charlie Brown.  It's funny, my husband's family calls him "Charlie"  after one cousin dubbed him "Charlie Brown" as a baby.  I am "the Little red-haired girl" albeit "suicide red" as I dye it myself!  I enjoyed it immensely.  We had great seats in the first row of tha balcony, which is always my favorite place to sit in any venue.

Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday, is just a few days away and I am gearing up for the work that I usually do to prepare a meal for my "other family" my friends who come every year to share a meal with us.  It is admittedly a LOT of work, but it is my gift to the people who join us and I love doing it.   It's almost like a military campaign.  I have my plan as to what I am going to do and usually it works out ok.  The great thing is my friends don't mind if I say diner at 3:30 turns into dinner at 4:30.  It's wonderful to have a house full of laughter and good conversation-  and pie.  There has to be pie.