Time to Dig Out the Holiday Movies...

Thanksgiving means the start of my favorite Holiday movies, which I will watch endlessly until sometime in late January, much to the chagrin of my family. I was worried that the move to California might take away some of my delight in these movies. I wasn’t sure if they would feel the same when surrounded by palm trees, blooming rosebushes, and green grass. I’m used to watching them with frosted trees outside, snow on the ground, and freezing air.

So, pre- and post-dinner with all the trimmings, I watched my holiday favorites.

Scene from "Funny Farm"

I started with “Funny Farm,” with Chevy Chase and Madolyn Smith. I love the scenes where the townspeople make Redbud into a Norman Rockwell village filled with holiday merriment—all for a price, of course. The Christmas tree in the town square and the snow-covered countryside did make me homesick for my little town of Walker in northern Minnesota.  It’s a wonderful town with its own cast of characters.

“Funny Farm” gets followed up by “The Holiday” with Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jack Black, Jude Law, and Rufus Sewell. This one makes me less homesick for Walker, but more homesick for England and my brother’s family. It makes me want a cottage in the English countryside some day. Watching Kate Winslet spend the holiday in Southern California does make my current location seem a little less out of place, though.

The grand finale, the movie that will be nearly worn out by the end of the season (not to worry, I have a back up copy), the one that I love the most and can just about recite by heart, is “Love Actually.” (Word of warning: Do not watch this one with kids in the room.) Any movie that casts Liam Neeson is already off to a good start, but the rest of the cast is just as fabulous. I can’t get enough of this movie! Bill Nighy playing a washed up rock star is a riot. Hugh Grant plays a great prime minister (“Who do I have to screw around here to get a cup of tea and bisquit?”), and Colin Firth is a perfect lonely writer (“Alone, again…naturally.”).  

I know how each of the storylines will end in “Love Actually,” but I never get sick of the movie. Fritz can’t understand how I can watch a movie over and over when I know how it is going to end, but it is the journey I love. I take comfort in the familiar. I’m in agony as each of their hearts break (“We need Kate, we need Leo, and we need them now!”), even though I know it will all work out in the end—at least for most of them.

My holiday movies are like old friends. I only see them for a short time each year, but they always put a smile on my face.  

Great Weather Means No Excuses...

I love running in Minnesota. I even love running in the dead of winter if I can find a place where the footing is good. Great trails with nary a soul to be seen, which means I can let the dog run free at the same time as I do. Fantastic scenery in the north woods, especially in the fall with the changing colors, which is also the best time to get a reprieve from the bugs. But I must admit, that as much as I love running in Minnesota, running in California is pretty hard to beat right now. 

In Minnesota, running this time of year is not only a physical feat, it's a mental feat as well. When the temps drop into the freezing zone, the lungs tend to burn a bit from breathing in the cold air until the body adapts to the new winter season. After a run in sub-zero temperatures, I always felt like I not only overcame a physical challenge, but that I also conquered the elements. It's a great feeling, but it takes a lot of preparation and planning. Makes great fodder for excuses to not run as often as one should!


Well, no more excuses now. Tonight, the temps were in the high 50's, no wind and no bugs. I ran in shorts, a tank top, and my barefoot gloves (extolling the benefits of ditching the running shoes is a topic for another day). Colors are changing so the scenery was beautiful. Easy to get out and run, but the trade-off is that I have to run on paved streets, and it's hard to find places where the dog can run free. I really hate running while hanging on to a leash (and I don't think Laird would list it as his favorite thing to do either), but I do like the dog's company and he needs the exercise, too. 


With the majority of the year in southern California having mild temperatures, every day is an easy running day with no planning or preparation required other than making sure I have plastic bags tied to the leash to pick up any messes Laird leaves behind. The farthest I've had to run carrying a bag of Laird's goodies is a mile and half before I found a garbage to toss it in. 


Last year I backed out of a half-marathon I signed up to run with my cousins (I really was busy getting ready for the move to CA). This year, no excuses and no backing out. So Huntington Beach Half-Marathon, here I come (in February)! 

Suburbia in CA, or "Laird, I've a Feeling We're Not In Minnesota Anymore..."

As I walk Braden to school every morning, the Truman Show keeps flitting across my mind. Remember that movie? The one where the guy lives in the idyllic neighborhood where the neighbors all wave and say "Hi!," and people are out walking their dogs, and every driveway has two cars, and every house has 2.4 kids. Well, we only have one kid, but if we average it against the neighbors four, we're pretty close. 

Our city house....

I just keep hoping the cameramen don't expose themselves too soon and tell me this is just a hoax, because it puts a smile on my face when it takes 30 minutes to walk the half mile back from school because of stopping to talk to the neighbors, or let someone pet my dog, or help someone else track down their loose dogs. 


I love living in the country, and I am going to love getting back to our little country house for a few weeks over Christmas, and then again in the summer, but I am amazed at how much I am liking living in a neighborhood. I like that when I step outside on the front lawn, I have to wave and say hi to all the neighbors out in their front yards too. I like that when I go in the back yard, I have to call Daisy and Pepper's names and let them know it's just me so that they quit barking. Pepper is the size of a puppy treat for our dog, and has a cute little bow on the top of her head, but she's got a big bark until she's acknowledged. Then she wags her tail and yips because she wants to come play. Daisy, on the other side, just likes to talk. She barks to say hi when we go out back, and then she snuffles and snorts like a little pig with her tail wagging the whole time. 


I consider myself lucky to have the best of both worlds - a country house and a city house (reminds me of the storybook about a country mouse and city mouse). So here are some scenes from my city house neighborhood and the route I walk to get to Braden's school... 

Every neighborhood needs a white picket fence...

...and some palm trees.

I love these flowers because they look like bird heads. They are starting to fade now, but when there is a whole bunch of them together, I can't help but laugh because it looks like a flock of goofy birds.

My roses don't look like the this perfect one.

A couple years ago, Braden would

have loved having a dinosaur head

as a permanent part of our garage.

Can't wait to see what they do 

with it for Christmas!

We live in a valley, so almost every where you look there are foothills and mountains as a backdrop.

  

Not many log homes here, but I do like the light colored Spanish style homes.