Thanksgiving 101

Happy Thanksgiving! As some of you may know, Rob and I held a "Thanksgiving 101" class (i.e., we introduced some of our English friends to Thanksgiving). Since Thanksgiving is not a holiday here, we decided to hold it on the day after Thanksgiving so our friends wouldn't have to worry about working the following day. Our friends, Duncan and Helen Forbes (Helen is the lady in white with Rob), offered their home for the event and contributed the turkey. Rob and I went to their house that afternoon to prepare most of the dishes: two pumpkin pies, one apple pie, cornbread, spinach & artichoke dip, stuffing, and garlic mashed potatoes. Two of our friends, Gail and Sarah, offered to bring something, so I gave them the recipes for the cranberry dressing and the green bean casserole; along with wine, beer, elderflower spritzer, coffee and, of course, tea (!). Even though the green bean casserole is not known over here, Gail did a great job. In fact, I had to ask my mom to send me a can of the french fried onions! Of course, some of the ingredients I normally would use are not available to me here; however, we compromised and all of the dishes tasted pretty much like we are used to - and for that I am grateful! One little Thanksgiving tradition that we started with our friends in New York is called "High, Low, Learned". Instead of going around and sharing what you are grateful for, everyone shares the highlight of their year, low, and something they've learned. We were a little hesitant that this would be too American (i.e., 'outgoing') for our more reserved English friends, but they participated with gusto. It was a great time of food and fellowship and we hope to do it again next year. I've included some pictures for you all to view. We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!