A feast for the belly, the eyes and the spirit was the order for my holiday weekend.
Thanksgiving was darn near perfect. I woke up late doing my final house tidying in my PJs and made the final “turkey arrangements” with Dad. We spent the rest of the day slowly filling the house with amazing aromas as the the bacon-covered turkey turned gold and my dad stirred his “world famous” (or at least soon to be) artichoke green chile soup.
Friends and family began to arrive at 3pm and the rest of the evening was rich with laughter, wine (leading to more laughter) and glorious quantities of food. If you think you had a lot to eat on thanksgiving imagine this: 5 pies, 10 people (we could each eat half!). They were: pumpkin, coconut cream, apple pear, pear cranberry, and pecan. It turns out we have some very talented bakers in our sphere! The evening ended with all of the dishes washed (they wouldn’t even let me help) and the senses full.
The feast for our bellies was just the kick-off to our anniversary weekend (has it been 5 years already?!) in Fort Bragg and Mendocino. We ate up the beautiful expanses of ocean and cliffs, imagining what life in a town with a population of 800 must be like (Mendo has more, but we traveled through many smaller coastal towns). To us, that life is a part of the fantasy. It’s where Puffin Ranch could be. Where life would include a craft and homegrown sustenance, and handmade goat cheese would reign superior to blocks of Costco cheddar. But alas that fantasy has a Santa Cruz-sized price tag. So we strolled, we window shopped, and enjoyed slow time together (like slow food–the best).
With our senses full we came home (through a deluge of cleansing rain) and began the first week of year six. What dreams, friends and foods will enrich our next half-decade? I can’t wait to find out.
P.S. Apparently my finger is on the pulse. Sunset Magazine’s December issue included an article on visiting Mendocino. This was their photo (below), taken from nearly the same vantage point as mine (above).
