Deck the Malls!

Our young German guest who is staying with us for the Thanksgiving holiday remarked he finds it strange that Americans put up Christmas decorations even before we celebrate Thanksgiving. Yes, Christmas seems to start early in this United States. Is it because we love Christmas so much or are the retailers giving us a subtle hint to start spreading the wealth? Our local mall is all decked up and I love it! Christmas is in the air!

While I'd prefer that the decorations go up after Thanksgiving, I wholeheartedly welcome the decked Malls and I am all for "let the holiday spirit of love and good cheer fill the air" especially with so much uncertainty with economies around the world. The decorations draw the people out to enjoy the beautifully decked malls and put a smile on their faces. They may even be inclined to start spending a little money. That's the stimulus package that we need most right now - stimulate a little happiness and joy!

Every Sunday, we drive into LA for our Sunday breakfast at the Breadbar in the Century City Westfield Mall. The Breadbar has a wide selection of bread. I love it when our timing is right and our bread come straight from the oven - that smell of fresh baked bread is heavenly.

After breakfast, we would check out to see if there are movies worth seeing. The AMC 14 movie theater at the mall has stadium style seating which is great because there is no way the person in front can block your view. On the other hand, the stadium style seating makes it extremely comfortable to rest one's feet on the seat in front - I hate it when people actually does that. We saw Bond's "Quantum of Solace" there a fortnight ago. I was somewhat disappointed with the movie because there was nothing new or unique - no new gadget, no new car, no exotic site, just some high velocity car scenes. I expected more from Bond movies.

Last Sunday because there was no good movie to watch we headed out the the Farmers' Market in Fairfax. My H had read on the internet that they have a great fresh fruit section. We found only three stores selling fruits. I asked the young Mexican girl who was the cashier at one of the stores if there was ever more fruit stores than what is now, she said, "Yes, twenty years ago there were a lot more fruit stores." !!!!?????? Well, I guess all internet recommendations of places to visit should be properly dated.

All is not lost because next to the Fairfax Farmers' Market is a pretty outdoor Mall that has the feel of Main Street at Disneyland. It was all decked out for Christmas and I spotted Santa with his reindeers already on his way to deliver good cheer to all.