Thanksgiving

A few minutes ago, I spooned some cranberry relish into my mouth. The taste of thanksgiving came flooding into sight and all of a sudden I was craving turkey like nothing else!

We have opted to have our thanksgiving meal tomorrow, Friday. Since Turkey Day is a uniquely American holiday (for very very obvious reasons!) there is no day off for us this year. Therefore, the thought of hosting hte meal on a 'school night' was a bit much to bear. We have 10 people coming round to our flat for the occasion! Half are American, half are Scottish. The turkey is defrosting (and I am freaking out about nasty poultry bugs), the cranberry relish is 'maturing' in the fridge, the pumpkin pie is almost done. Our dining room table and Brian's drawing table are tableclothed and pushed together to make room for our guests. The plates and cutlery are set. And it feels good!

There's a feeling of familiarity about all of this that I am loving. We have our iTunes on shuffle and much of the music we grew to love while in the States (often through Paste Magazine) is piping into our kitchen. We love to host people in our home. Sometimes I think that Brian and I are at our best when we are doing this together. We enjoy, and gain energy from thinking through our menu, and preparing the food. Our creativity flows as we set the table and make it look inviting. Our desire to make people feel at home is put into practice as we welcome folks into our home. We've long felt like hospitality is one of our gifts and tonight I feel that more than ever.

Now, there are two other things about Thanksgiving I would like to note. First, the fact that many Scots are well aware of this day, and actually talk about it. Admittedly, some of that I encounter through my friends who know that Brian is American. However, it seems that the general public has a general awareness of the holiday. It's not surprising given that most things American make it onto the radar of the Scots. The other odd thing about today is that this is the first time for 8 years that I haven't had this day off. Very strange feeling.

Well, I leave this post with a note of the things for which I am indeed truly thankful... Brian, this flat and our landlords, a sense of settling into our life here... my job... Brian's job - which allows him some time to work on his photography...friends - here and abroad... and, inevitably, God. For being God and all that entails for us humans who are the recipients of his Amazing Grace.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Fi & Brian xx