The turkey dinner on Wednesday night was not actually the first of the ‘Holiday Season’, nor even the first of the day: We had all stuffed ourselves at work with a lunchtime turkey dinner before we were let out early for the long weekend. (Felt like being back at school and having a half day off. Such freedom!) Nor was it the last; on Thursday afternoon Josh’s fire station opened its doors and laid on an enormous dinner for all the firefighters’ families.

No one else in sight; I promise I wasn’t the the only one there…

Time for a nap afterwards:

… then Josh gave me a guided tour of the incredible stock of kit on board the enormous ‘Urban Search and Rescue’ engine (a large stock of timber for shoring up tunnels into collapsed buildings, a full complement of circular saws for cutting timber to size, hydraulic drills and pumps, pneumatic forcing sheets and compressors, climbing ropes and harnesses, breathing apparatus…) and we clambered into the cabin to look around.

This overload of cheesiness was in Stats the holiday store, in Pasadena – just now being kitted up for Christmas, the moment Thanksgiving is over.

So we’re all set to continue the ‘Holiday Season’ in full swing; we just need a tree.

These are the left-over sugar-coated almonds from our wedding favours.

These are the rest of the left-over sugar-coated almonds from our wedding favours.