Tilt-a-whirl: All Them Chickens...

It's got to be weird to come Home, when Home isn't where you grew up. It happens a lot to kids who grow up in a series of houses but not so much to people who have been used to a place for 25 years. That was the case for Erik last year, when the new Home was Here. Now it is all that more comfy and it has been lovely and special to have Erik & Vicki here with us for the Thanksgiving Holiday week. They were forced to stop working for a little bit and I was forced to do the same. We self employed people Just Don't Do That enough...

There has been time for all sorts of adventures and we began it all with a game of Tee Ball that escalated into Whack-a-Ball, Souza Style. The Schnickle has developed quite the stance and his Grampy got him to keep his eye on the ball so that he did not have to say Oops, all of the time. :o)

His Mama took two jobs, that of pitcher AND third base coach... When someone points those long ET fingers at you, you had better listen! :o)

We took the twosome on an adventure day, which turned out to be quite magical. We headed up Sly Park Rd toward Jenkinson Lake (I wish that I had gotten my camera out for a picture of the WOLF) and then on up up up into the Sierra, where the mixed forest turns to fir trees that look like our Christmas Tree. It is an amazing drive because it is just so isolated but with a road that must have been built to accomodate the logging industry. There were smoldering piles of logging debris all over a certain area and as we came to the top of the pass, we could see smoke on the other side of this great granite divide, at this time of Control Burns. (gag) The Photographers had a field day and I finally brought my camera out of the car to show you the view.

As we drove higher into the Sierra, we passed Silver Lake, the Kirkwood Ski Resort and then we finally made it to little Caples Lake. We had been reading all summer about the draining of the lake, the expensive fish rescue and the repair of the little dam. We did not know what we would find when we arrived but it proved to be spectacular. It is kind of like walking on the latest cooling lava flow on The Big Island, knowing that it is a once in a lifetime experience.

The light changed so much while we were there and by 3 PM what appeared to be snow clouds and the accompanying chill came over the place. What a magnificent experience...I can't wait to come back in the summer this coming year, when the water and the fish are back where they belong! A fishing hole worthy of a Wisconsin Boy.

The contrast of the Carson Creek as you round the bend from hiway 88 to 89, on the way to Tahoe.

We changed all of our old traditions this year, vowing to pack a lot of holiday into our time with both little families. On Wednesday, we headed up the hill to Camino and found another tree farm that was open the day BEFORE Thanksgiving. We picked out an ELEVEN FOOT Silver Tip that would have cost us an almighty FORTUNE in the Bay Area, had it cut and stashed safely in the back of the Big Ass Van, while the four youngsters traveled in another of our vehicles. We then headed to High Hill Ranch for some pie shopping and the most enormous apple fritters on the planet, to soothe Erik's loss of San Francisco in his life. (they live in Connecticut now) We had our snack and deposited our wet coats and the wet tree on the front porch and called it A Day!

Our family style cooking of the Thanksgiving Dinner was my favorite. The kitchen is big enough for shifts of chefs and everyone took a turn at creating their addition to the groaning board. When dinner was done, the tree was decorated and then the wee one was bundled off to bed with visions of pumpkin pie in his eyes...he is quite a fan of the pumpkin pie, I must say.

This evening we will go into town for the annual tree lighting festivities and to see the famous Stage Coach once again. The little guy can't get enough of this time of traditions that we are making as fast as we can...I am thankful for my family and the privilege of having us all together at this time. I can't wait to see the pictures that the REAL photographers come up with, from our adventures and New Traditions.

Now, to go knit.