No Turkeys Were Harmed In the Making of This Post

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

I've been remiss in my blogging duties of late, and I do humbly repent and promise to begin anew with regular at-least-once-a-week posts forthwith. Please accept my sincerest apologies.

As proof that I am back on the blogging wagon, I wanted to share a little of my Scottish Thanksgiving. It's been a good day, and the first time in a couple of years that I've actually celebrated on Thanksgiving. Well, last year I celebrated-- with Pizza Hut buffet and three films at the cinema. But many of you said that just wasn't the same... so this year, I feasted. With other people. =)

I have this friend, named Paige. Actually, I only met Paige three weeks ago, when I came back to Aberdeen. But she is from Wilmore, and we graduated from Asbury the same year, and know people in common... it's a good thing, having someone who knows the same things and people you know, even if you don't know each other. She's here studying this year (and hopefully longer!), and if you've been following along, you'll know that she was the gal I went to see the fireworks with. Anyway, she volunteered to host a Thanksgiving dinner at the flat she shares with Kristianna (who, sadly, had to miss the festivities for another dinner with another friend... but we were kind enough to save her some pumpkin pie), and she did most of the cooking. Here is what we had:

~~roast chicken (I wasn't kidding in the post title; turkeys here are for Christmas, and you can't really find them this early. Bah.)
~~stuffing, from scratch, with veggies in (never had it like this, but quite liked it)
~~tatties (mashed potatoes, for the non-Scots in the audience)
~~sweet potato casserole (nuts and brown sugar, but no marshmallows. Can't really get them here, anyway.)
~~broccoli cheese casserole (mmmmm... the Southern gal in me thinks you can't go wrong with casseroles!)
~~herb bread rolls
~~gravy
~~cranberries (not a log, or a relish, but the whole things, cooked and syrupy and delicious)
~~wine (red and white)
~~coffee (caf and decaf, instant and brewed)
~~sweet tea (yes, you read that right... Paige made sweet tea! There were three Southern gals there, after all.)
~~pumpkin pie (with Dream Whip... my one contribution to the feast.)
~~Kentucky Bourbon pecan pie (oh my word... kind of like Derby pie, but with bourbon. Wow.)
~~homemade apple pie (with vanilla ice cream)
~~mince pies (UK-style, which means little individual tart-sized pies. My favourite Christmas tradtion here, and my other contribution to the feast. Sorry I lied earlier. =D )

I think that's all. As if that's not enough... I am so full I could hardly walk home. And it was a good thing I was walking home, after all that I ate! Wow. If there were football on here, I'd be dozing on the sofa with it in the background for sure. And Paige sent me home with a lot of leftovers, because there were a lot of leftovers. Score! =)


This is our table. We ate buffet style, because no one that I know of has a flat that is actually large enough to have people sit down around a table for a meal this size. But it was nice and cozy and worked just fine.

And see the bear there, surrounded by food? That's Inca John, and he travels all over the world, seeing new sights and taking in new experiences. Today was his first Thanksgiving, and he seemed to quite enjoy it. He belongs with my friend Liz, who came today for her second ever Thanksgiving, and she quite enjoyed it as well. Her first Thanksgiving was in Bolivia, with a group of Americans there, and the pastor of the group stole her piece of pumpkin pie when she turned her head to speak to someone. Right off her plate. Not a very pleasant experience. (Kind of reminds me of my dad, though... always have to watch your food around him. ;) ) Liz is a fellow Practical Theologian, and over the past year we have become good friends. She's English, but we don't hold that against her. =D

Also joining Paige and Liz and I were Rebecca (another American who is here for six months as an intern, cataloguing the extensive library that a retired professor is donating), Nicole (Paige's partner for class projects, who is also English but spent some time in North America) and David (Nicole's boyfriend, but I can't remember where he is from... ooops.), and Anne (a Finnish girl who has recently moved here to work, and has randomly run into Paige enough to become friendly acquaintances, at least). It was a fun crowd.

That's Paige, Liz, Nicole, David, me, Rebecca, and Anne in the middle. A good looking group, no? =D

So it's been a good day, full of food and fellowship. I hope that your day has been equally lovely, wherever you are and however you spent it. I am thankful to have people in my life here to celebrate with, and thankful to have you-- my friends and family, virtual or actual-- to share in my life from wherever you are. Thank you for being a part of my life.