SA, Happy Thanksgiving to you.

Did you get your pumpkin with which to make pie? Did you end up having a Thanksgiving dinner?

Thanks Cindy! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone too!

I didn't get pumpkin, though Lee was kind enough to send me some. It hasn't arrived yet, which I blame on the Irish post. I checked M&S, Dunnes, Tesco, the health food stores--there's no pumpkin in this entire country, I think. I asked one of the folks in the Tesco, and he asked if I'd just inquired someone else about it--apparently there were lots of Americans looking for it because when I asked in M&S, the girl said someone had just asked her too, a second before! Oh well. If the pumpkin does arrive--hopefully before I leave--I'll make a pie just because I love pumpkin pie.

But I did have a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do the whole thing, but last month I was in the grocery store and they had turkeys for €10 off, so I figured it was a sign and went ahead and bought it. My friend Tom is also American, and when I told him I wanted to do Thanksgiving he offered to go in it with me. We went shopping on Wednesday, and because it's not Thanksgiving here, all the food was still there that we needed. No fighting with other shoppers for the last potato!

We invited our friends and flatmates, and it was going to be somewhere between 10-15 people. It ended up being more like nine for dinner itself, but it was great because all of our friends got on really well--a very nice mix of cool and interesting people. I made herbed-butter turkey with roast vegetables, heart-attack mashed potatoes, mushroom and italian sausage stuffing, homemade mac and cheese, brussels sprouts, roasted green beans, roasted fennel, and broccoli. With fresh bread and herb butter. So much food! So everyone ate and drank until they were stuffed, and much to my pleasure went back for seconds. My friend Naomi made raspberry crumbles, with custard or ice cream for dessert, and we had coffee with Bailey's too. In short, no one walked away hungry.

And then! It was also my flatmate Fabio's last night in town, along with our friend Eduardo--they both went back to Brazil today. So around eleven or so they came back with a bunch of their friends to spend the last night with him, and his friends mixed with our friends, and they had some food too because there was so much food! and it just felt awesome to be there, you know? And Fabio broke out the champagne for a good-bye toast, and we all toasted him and Du. It was really sweet.

Tom and I had to explain the whole idea behind Thanksgiving at least four times, because everyone was very happy to celebrate with us but no one knew what it was for! Trying to conceptualize the Puritans for foreigners was an amusing experience. I made everyone give thanks, as it were, which was endearing and funny both.

Really, it was just the perfect dinner party and possibly the best Thanksgiving I've ever had. (And this was a way longer answer than you expected, I know! But I had such a good time I wanted to share it.)

No, but I loved reading about it. It sounds so lovely. And your post has made me hungry for dinner all over again, before 6:45am.

I can't believe I didn't know you had a flatmate named FABIO!

Oh, that sounds lovely, SA!

I usually explain Thanksgiving as a "harvest home" sort of holiday, or a day to generally count your blessings. The first only works in countries with an agrarian background and seasons, but the latter always works.

If you're in a foreignish place next year, SA, you should import a caseful of pumpkin pie filling and be able to clean up by selling it for a pretty penny (or pfennig or euro or shekel or yen or whatever) to ex-patriates. :-)

Sounds like a wonderful time to share with new friends!

Tom and I had to explain the whole idea behind Thanksgiving at least four times,

How long can it take to say "it's a ritual sacrifice... with pie"?

I can't believe I didn't know you had a flatmate named FABIO!

I know, it cracks people from the US up.

I usually explain Thanksgiving as a "harvest home" sort of holiday, or a day to generally count your blessings. The first only works in countries with an agrarian background and seasons, but the latter always works.

I made Tom read the link I think Gud? maybe? posted in Press explaining the holiday. We thought it was hilarious, and so sadly true.

How long can it take to say "it's a ritual sacrifice... with pie"?

Sadly, there was no pie, so that would have just confused them.

I think it was Typo's link. I've got it bookmarked but haven't read it yet.

I was talking to my colleague about Thanksgiving (he mentioned that Korea has a similar holiday but Greece does not), and after I'd done my "harvest home" spiel he said "You're in denial about Happy Puritan Survival Day, aren't you?" Fair cop.

"You're in denial about Happy Puritan Survival Day, aren't you?"

Woohoo!

No need to woohoo; I'm a horrible person. Lads, ye should have e-mails presuming your profile addresses are good.