Feeding seagulls

Seagull - gimme some
Originally uploaded by the gladdings

One of the highlights of our week was feeding seagulls off the back of the Bolivar Ferry - remarkably few pecked fingers, and just a few narrowly missed splats!

Sandcastle

Sandcastle
Originally uploaded by the gladdings

At the beginning of the month we spent a wonderful week down in Galveston's East beach thanks to the generosity of the Wise family, who let us stay in their beautiful condo. We caught the last of the warm weather, and spent time on the beach every day, beginning with a long walk first thing in the morning. Seth and Maggie had a big time in the waves, and making sand castles is a new favourite thing to do. Check out more photos at Flickr.

Jingle Bells and Veteran's Day

Having just returned from vacation late last night, Rebecca headed to Kroger today to pick up some food necessities so we could feed Maggie and Seth dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow (shopping being something we try hard to rest from on Sundays - and pretty much any time when we don't have to get something). Over said dinner, Rebecca asked Maggie if she could remember the song they'd heard at the store - which she could. Jingle Bells.

Now it's bad enough that all the Christmas stuff has already been out for a couple of weeks - but "Jingle Bells" before Thanksgiving?! And on Veteran's Day/Memorial Sunday? We paused before lunch to remember those whose lives have been lost in war, and prayed for peace. (Maggie wanted to know why people were hitting each other in wars - after I fumbled with an attempt to explain Memorial Sunday, and war in general, Rebecca saved me from myself and translated my efforts into 3 year old-ish, to Maggie's satisfaction).

I love holidays. I want to anticipate them, savour the build up - especially the new holiday I've gained from living in the U.S. But Kroger has apparently decided that we can just skip Thanksgiving (unless they're offering the convenience of buying turkeys for both holidays at the same time). Maybe if it hadn't been Memorial Sunday today I would have just shrugged at Rebecca's comment and kept eating the Freschetta pizza we settled on for dinner. But Jingle Bells as the soundtrack for Veteran's Day? I don't know about that...

Peace.

Satsumas

Satsumas
Originally uploaded by the gladdings

We're looking forward to tasting the first harvest from our 4' satsuma tree - we've been enjoying the last of the sweet peppers and bush beans this week.