Thanksgiving

 Summer is decidedly in the rearview mirror and now it is already Thanksgiving week!

With the weather on the cloudy/rainy side in the Willamette Valley we decided for a little day trip to Hood River. And while there was some rain on the way along the Gorge, the sun was waiting for us in Hood River, just as the weather forecast promised! After sampling some Latte/Americano from 'Doppio Coffee' (got to slowly check out all the different offerings of the many cafes!) we explored the Indian Trail on the east side of town along the Indian Creek, a small tributary to the Hood River which shortly thereafter flows into the Columbia - it was absolutely beautiful and we were rewarded with some stunning views of the Hood River valley and views of Mt. Adams. Pepper and Skittles very much enjoyed the change of scenery as well and walked energetically with us.

The next day was arguably the biggest day in quite some time: After a moving ceremony with participants from more than 20 countries, from A like Afghanistan to V like Vietnam, Michaela got her US citizenship!!  We enjoyed an impromptu celebration shortly thereafter at the Sisters Coffee Company. Looks like I will have to wait a few more months for my turn, but I am in the queue and have started studying for my citizenship interview in early January now.

And with that Thanksgiving had arrived. For the very first time in our 20+ years in the US, Michaela decided to go full turkey instead of our go-to Cornish game hens: 

It worked out very well: crispy on the outside, still juicy on the inside! On the flip side, we'll have left-over turkey for the foreseeable future...

And with Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror, it's now time to prep for Christmas! Never a dull moment. We kicked things off with some Gingerbread house construction - mine are the two crooked ones - as well as getting our Christmas tree ready for the season. On Saturday we intended to give a European Christmas Market in downtown Portland a chance, but we chickened out when we got there: the line to get in wrapped around most of a city block with the line barely moving - at that pace it wasn't clear if we'd even make it in before the market would close ~3 hours later. Who knew it would be that popular?!? (Actually, it had north of 26k likes on Facebook, which could have tipped us off...)