Wednesday 17 November 2010

Happy thanksgiving!

Having well and truly missed the boat of blogging cool, I've decided to adopt it as my latest outdated means of kick-starting the writing process.

But what does a girl write on one of these thingies?!

Well, I thought I'd start with the next exciting holiday that many people anticipate. 

'Thanksgiving? I didn't know that you were American!' Is often expelled in my direction when I announce that the time has come to plan the epic Thanksgiving Menu. I greet them with a blank stare and a short 'I'm not.' Because for me, the Thanksgiving Tradition is a tenuous link through a father who spent his childhood in the States, and a fulfillment of the need that most people manage through Christmas and call quits thereafter.

A family get-together. Well, a chunk-of-the-family get-together.

Since the age of 13 when our family went through the all-too-common divorce process, we have been vying for ever more loosely connected celebrations to fill the gap left by the Family Christmas (my mother recently attempted to hijack Bonfire Night). We feel the need to come up with an occasion to gather en masse without putting pressure on all and sundry to commit to the evermore sought after Christmas period, which, with the onset of long-term relationships and marriages amongst us, is more coveted by adopted family members than ever.

This year then, having made the miscommunication faux pas of assuming my father was too busy to join in (grovelling was needed), my husband and I, with my brother and his fiancee, began the loving process of devising the menu, digging out the awful but comical plastic turkey, 'Trev' (which my mother, after a trip to Florida, lovingly bestowed on us in an effort to join in), and planning of a beautiful weekend revolving around food, wine, and a few obligatory walks.

This year sees a new member of the family, Poppy the Labrador pup, venturing into the chaos. It also sees my attempt to bake a pumpkin cheesecake, never before attempted. To be honest, it can't be any worse than last years' shameful foray into Pumpkin Pie, which had to have the sugar hastily applied post-cooking...

Excitement ensues... and we prepare for this weekend.

Sorry? Did you mishear? This weekend? But thanksgiving isn't until the last weekend of November...

You're right of course. But in the spirit of true traditonalism, we only embrace the bits that mean the most to us.

Happy thanksgiving!

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