how her family will celebrate the holiday By Cathy Stovell Although she has only been in Bermuda for six weeks, Faylene Owen, wife of new US Consul General Larry Owen, is already admittedly smitten with her new home away from home.

Compared with her home in Michigan, Bermuda's November temperatures are warm and sunny and the change more than pleases her.

And the cultural differences one feels when living overseas are even more pronounced for many Americans at this time of year -- the start of the holiday season -- with Christmas just around the corner and Thanksgiving being celebrated today.

For the Owens, like many Americans, Thanksgiving is a major annual event bringing their family and friends together. This year marks the first time the couple will be away from home for the November holiday but Mrs. Owen is embracing the new experience.

"This will be our very first Thanksgiving away from home and we are looking forward to sharing it with close friends and family in Bermuda.'' she said.

"I know one thing we're going to enjoy very much is the warmth.'' "Thanksgiving to us is family and friends for dinner, and football, lots of football especially the Detroit Lions. The Consul General is a big sports fan especially of his college team, Michigan State University. He follows their football, basketball and hockey teams.

"Fortunately we get three Detroit stations here so he is able to watch most of the games.'' Mrs. Owen noted that festivities will be greatly scaled down this year and a small intimate dinner with her husband, a few friends and her son Marc from Chicago, is planned.

"Back home all the family would come for dinner and many of our friends, normally we have about fifty people to dinner.'' Traditionally the Owens spend the majority of Thanksgiving day watching football on TV.

"We start dinner right after the football game, usually around three o'clock,'' she said. "Then, when dinner is finished we go back and watch more football. Everyone normally leaves around 8 p.m.'' This year Mr. and Mrs. Owen will attend a special Thanksgiving service at St.

Theresa's Cathedral in the morning and then host a small private reception at Chelston.

The church service is an annual tradition begun by American servicemen in the early days of the US Navy in Bermuda. The church service alternates each year between the Anglican Cathedral and the Catholic one.

While it was clear that Mrs. Owen is eagerly looking forward to participating in Thanksgiving Bermudian style, she did note that the holiday has not been regarded as a religious one in her home.

"My husband and I have never really thought of Thanksgiving as really religious.'' she said.

With her husband a Baptist and she being Jewish, Mrs. Owen noted that several religious observances do take place in their home every year.

"We will celebrate both Channukah and Christmas in December.'' she said.

A welcoming warm woman herself, Mrs. Owen is full of compliments and accolades about Bermuda, the people and her temporary home at Chelston.

"I just love Bermuda,'' she insisted.

"We had never visited here before so it was all completely new to us, but the people have been just some of the nicest warmest folk, they really welcomed us.'' "It is truly an honour and a privilege for us to be able to serve our country here.'' It was hard not to be infected with Mrs. Owen's enthusiasm and warmth and it is easy to forget that her husband has a high-powered and extremely stressful job. Easy that is until she produces a short hand signed note she had just received from President Bill Clinton wishing her a happy birthday.

Birthday Bermuda style was another day full of new experiences for the Owens.

"We were invited to watch rugby and we went to the game.'' she said. "It was fun -- a lot of fun, we had never seen rugby before so it was something exciting and new.'' She even dared to compare it against her family's much beloved American football.

"I think it is actually rougher than our American football.'' she said.

"They go out there with no padding at all, our American footballers wear a lot of protective padding.'' In love with the grounds of Chelston Mrs. Owen revealed that the new owners of the property have requested that the Consul General continue to host the annual July 4th party there.

"It's true and I think it's just great the grounds here are so wonderful.'' While the couple will spend Thanksgiving at the lavish Paget estate they may have moved by the time all their family, three children, three grandchildren, Mr. Owens' mother and sister-in-law arrive for Christmas.

Leaving the nest: Faylene Owen feels very much at home on the Island as she prepares for today's Thanksgiving holiday.