Episode 41: November 2008
Highlights of the month:
• Pre-Christmas festivities with friends;
• Madonna Concert at Ford Field in Detroit;
• Deb’s first traditional Thanksgiving dinner;
• Thanksgiving weekend in Washington D.C.
We started the month with a Swiss-inspired weekend thanks to our friend, Yvonne, who recently moved to Midland from Switzerland with her partner, Craig. Yvonne just happened to have her 30th birthday this month and we celebrated it with a surprise party with several common friends. After dancing into the wee hours of the morning at the party, Yvonne and Craig returned the favor by hosting a gathering at their house the next day in which they prepared the traditionally Swiss Christmas drink, gluwein (warm wine), and snacks. Huddling around the fire, snow falling outside, and the air filled with the smell of warm wine has become very symbolic to us of Christmas. This is a pretty big mindset change for me given that I spent the first 26 Christmases of my life having barbeques in the sun at the beach.
During the following week, the queen of pop (and fishnets), Madonna, came through Detroit as part of her latest tour. We headed to Ford Field in Detroit with our friends, Patty and Michel, to see the Material Girl. After battling traffic to get there, we were disappointed to find that we had to wait in line – outside in the freezing cold, no less – for nearly two hours before we could get into the stadium thanks to some pretty serious security measures. Fortunately, long gone are the days where we consider fashion and image over comfort and we were warmly dressed and in much better shape than the skimpily clad teenagers alongside us in the queue. The line was worth the wait – the concert was fantastic. Both Madonna and I are 15 years older than the last time I saw her in concert – the Girlie Show tour in Melbourne – with my girlfriends. Despite all the music she has put out since then, Madonna still played some old songs, which was fortunate given that neither Neal nor I know many of her new hits. As expected, she was highly entertaining and put on a very energetic show.
Although we have been in the U.S. now for over two years, I had not (until this month, that is) had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings (turkey, pumpkin pie, etc.). This year, I had the chance to enjoy my first foray into a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner, which was hosted by our friend, Susan. Everything that the movies tell you about Thanksgiving came true that night – the dressed Christmas tree in the corner of the living room, the patriarch of the family (substituted by Susan’s friend, Frank) carving the turkey, a table full of “fixins,” and great conversation among the 12 of us who were gathered around the dinner table. I must say the most enamoring thing to me was the size of the turkey – I have never seen a cooked bird so big!
Later in the month, another friend, Bob, celebrated his birthday by hosting cocktails and a game of Monopoly at his house. I remember playing Monopoly as a kid with my sisters, and we never played a game all the way to its end, as we always gave up once we got bored with it. Now I know why – the game can literally go on forever! Neal and I finally left Bob’s house – though the game was still in progress – at 3am. While neither Neal nor I won the game, I did snag the position of banker, the role that my sisters and I always fought over!
My monthly book club catch-up has become something I look forward to very much – it is a great group of friends and we always have a good time when we meet up. Book club this month was held at Kate’s house where, as usual, there was more general catching up and drinking wine than there was talking about the book. Speaking of books, I got the opportunity to read Christmas stories to children at Midland’s local Barnes and Noble bookstore this month. The event was organized by Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS), and it was a lot of fun to see the kids’ little faces as they mouthed the words of their favorite Christmas stories while they were being read. In addition to the book reading, BBBS kept me active this month with a Board meeting, two finance committee meetings, and a fundraising dinner.
After a very busy work month, we were grateful for Thanksgiving – and its four-day holiday weekend – to come around. At the last minute (literally), we decided to spend that time by taking a trip to the nation’s capital: Washington D.C.
Washington is a fabulous city filled with history, interesting architecture, and great food, all of which we packed into our weekend. As always, when visiting a new city, we like to find and eat great food. This trip was no different, as we stumbled on some fantastic restaurants. Our favorites were The Source, Wolfgang Puck’s new Asian inspired restaurant, Bistro Bis, a French bistro that served us a not-so-traditional-but-still-delicious Thanksgiving dinner, Poste, an eclectic American restaurant with interesting and delicious interpretations on old classics like the pot roast, and Oyamel, a Mexican tapas-style restaurant.
When we were not stuffing our faces, we were burning calories by doing a lot of walking to see the city’s major landmarks and museums. We basically did most of the tourist things over two days. On our first day in the city, we first stopped at an outdoor sculpture museum and then visited the National Gallery, which is home to the Declaration of Independence, the Louisiana Purchase agreement, and other historic documents from America’s past. We also toured around the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History before heading to the Washington Memorial, an impressive spire that stands 555 feet tall and is a tribute to America’s first president, George Washington. From there, we walked to the World War II Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial, both of which were nearby. We then walked a bit farther to Arlington National Cemetery. This cemetery is home to multiple memorials and monuments in tribute to American veterans of past wars and family members of active-duty men and women. The most impressive monuments there were the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the resting site of John F. Kennedy, Jackie Kennedy-Onassis, and two of their children who died at a very young age.
We started the next day with another museum: the Smithsonian Museum of American History. From there, we walked to the White House. We did not take the tour of the White House but did take a few photos from the fence line and watched as crews built the huge stage for soon-to-be-President Obama’s inauguration ceremony in January. From there, we made a quick stop at the Vietnam War Memorial, a moving tribute not only because of the time it remembers but also because of the sheer number of names of those who died that are displayed at the memorial. We then visited another impressive building in the city and arguably the country’s most important: the Capitol. Designed in 1792, the most notable feature of the Capitol building is its dome that stands nearly 300 feet high. The dome is a feature that is replicated on most U.S. state capitol buildings around the country. Following our Capitol visit, we went inside the Library of Congress, which houses many artifacts from America’s history, including the famous “I Have a Dream” speech given by Martin Luther King, Jr., Thomas Jefferson’s personal book collection, and the original Ken and Barbie dolls! From there, we took a few pictures in front of the Supreme Court before heading back to our hotel and back to the airport for our trip home.
And so November came to an end. It was a great month for us, with some traveling adventures, plenty of action at work to keep us busy, and good times with friends.
As we are now in the holiday season, we hope you are enjoying this time of the year and wish you a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year!
