What have we been up to lately? Holidays and school breaks and a visit from my mom. So I have not had a chance to blog about life here on this side of the world. I will try to catch up with a few blogs.
Our first Thanksgiving overseas was great! On the Thursday of Thanksgiving we got together with some other Americans and had turkey and ham, sweet potatoes, green beans, brocolli and cheese casserole, corn casserole, and homemade rolls....then all the desserts you could imagine. It was fun to share this meal with friends who have helped us transition and get settled here in our new home. After the meal, the plan was to watch football. Thanks to the slingbox, Rob had recorded 3 NFL games from the previous Sunday as well as the OU/Tech game, so people could choose which game they wanted to watch. However, as sometimes happens here, the electricity went out....no football. I can't imagine how this would have gone over in our house as the custom is to watch the Cowboys, post-bird.
Instead of football we opted for games. Nertz and chicken-foot. It was great fun. I had to leave early to catch a flight to pick up my mom as she entered the country. (more on that later....I had no passport)
On Saturday, Rob and I decided to do our own Thanksgiving with my mom, and we invited Hannah's language tutor, a college senior at the Univeristy in town, and a single girl from Texas who volunteers at the kid's school. We ordered a turkey from the western import store and were anxious to try and cook it. I will point out here that making a turkey dinner in a small kitchen with no canned or boxed items can prove to be interesting. But thanks to the cookbook Heather gave us, Rob and I planned our meal and orchestrated what food we would cook in what dish, when we would need to make it...and oh....did we have enough room in the fridge to put things? No.
All in all the meal was pretty good. We made stuffing from scratch...starting with making the bread....it was very very good. The only difficulty came with the things I made. :) Hannah wanted this lime jello thing that I make every year for Thanksgiving. My mom brought the lime jello with her, becuase Hannah said "it isn't thanksgiving without this dish". However, we had some whipped cream issues. Cool whip isn't sold here, so we bought some heavy cream for whipping. The first batch Rob whipped too much and he watched it go from whipped cream to curds. Whoops. The second batch was ok, but not enough for the dish. So, the next day we got some more cream. Once it was fluffy and ready to go Rob added powdered sugar to it (strange, I know) and do you remember that long hunt I had for powdered sugar? come to find out....it was sugar substitute, like sweet'n'low. When you add a whole lot of that to your whipped cream.....GROSSSS!!!! So we had to throw that out too. All that to say, my jello dish didn't set up so we weren't able to eat it for Thanksgiving, or at all. And....we had no whipped cream for the pumpkin pie. So, I decided to run to the import store 30 minutes before our meal was to be eaten and pick up some spray whipped cream. I bought 2 cans. When dessert time came....we sprayed them on the pie....they were bad. Sour. Oh well. Better luck next year. Or better luck at Christmas.
It was different being here this Thanksgiving. There were a lot of things I missed, not the food, but just the people. I missed my Grandfather slicing the turkey and eating so much of it as he sliced he didn't need to eat too much at the table...then stealing my roll during the Thanksgiving prayer. I missed my Grandmother's beautiful table and hospitality as we have had so many meals at her house over the years. As my turkey roasted all day I felt the need to make coffee so my house would smell the same as hers....roasting turkey and coffee on Thanksgiving day. I missed my sweet Father-in-law buying a case of everyone's favorite soft drink so no one would run out during the day at their house. I missed my mother-in-law's serant heart as she worked all day preparing everyone's favorite dish, than tirelessly cleaned up after everyone until there was nothing left to clean. I missed the sweet voices of my nieces and my kids playing together in the back of the house all day long. I missed my dad and brothers yelling for the Cowboys to win another Thanksgiving day game. I missed playing Skip-Bo with my Grandma Veta as she does every year with all the grandkids and now great-grandkids. I missed late-night Nertz and pig-out sessions with Rikki, Tom, Krista, and Phil....even though Rob, Phil and I ALWAYS LOSE!!!! So...to all of you, thanks for being such a great part of my life. I am truly thankful for you!!
It was a great Thanksgiving. We are so thankful for all God has done for us and how He has blessed us and provided for us this last year.
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6 comments:
And, although it was nice not to to have such a hugh amount of food to stuff down until you feel bloated, I missed all of those thing we did together. I did help clean up at Tom and Jeanne Manner's home after our meal, but it just wasn't the same.
Beautifully written, friend. I'm glad your mom got to be there, even though you missed other loved ones so much.
Maybe there is a no-electricity conspiracy on western holidays; our power has gone out on Christmas Eve there, too!
Dog-gone that western pantry; they frequently keep stuff too long and then still try to sell it! Ah, the memories that you're making!
Awwww! Yea for the cookbook! I knew it'd come in handy over there! :) We missed you guys too!
Oh dear, so sorry your plans didn't go so well but sounds like you made the best of it. You're learning how to adjust and make do.
Someday I'd like to hear more about the things you CAN buy at your Wal-Mart. Don't they have an American section like they have Mexican & Chinese sections here?
No electricity...that's no fun.
I can relate somewhat to your TG experiences. I cooked a gluten-free TG dinner for a lady friend. My pumpkin "pie" (custard with no crust) was made with soy milk, and the Moose's cornbread dressing with soy and rice flour. I had no idea how stuff would turn out. Actually, it tasted pretty good. Even the rice flour turkey gravy! Since she is allergic to dairy, I made brown rice instead of creamy mashed potatoes. I put this all together kind of at late notice, but I think the research was the worst part--time consuming. And my friend got to eat the "traditional" stuff without getting sick.
oh man! you made me cry! we sure missed you guys, too! the girls have been crying over our family's absence much more recently. i think they are aware that this is the time of year we would be together the most. sorry you had such difficulties with whipped cream, but i'm glad your mom was there to help make it more "homey"!
rikki for all the manners
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