I enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday with 10 of us around two long tables in my lounge. No, it wasn't on Thursday as is traditional. No, I am not technically family with any of my guests. Yes, we were thankful and ate turkey & stuffing so it really was Thanksgiving.
I think three of us were over 70. Most were in their fifties. A couple of us represented the 40's and one was thirty-something. Africa, North America, Europe and New Zealand were represented.
The conversation was amazing, informed and varied. Ian had done some research about Thanksgiving as he had never been invited to one before and wanted to understand the background and traditions. He added much more to the explanations than I did! It was great hearing about it from a different perspective.
We discussed the religious persecution in Europe that led to the exodus to the New World. We talked about the waves of pilgrims seeking refuge and how they were received by the indigenous people. Instead of being eaten, they were fed and shown how to survive in a harsh environment.
Our plates were filled with turkey, corn, green beans almondene, mashed potatoes, bread, sweet potatoes and stuffing. There was way too much butter, but boy was it all good! Jane's turkeys were beauties, though we only polished off one. The other is intentionally for leftovers!
We also told and heard a lot of stories. One Ian & Dawn like to tell is of the time Dawn came in to find me in bed with her husband. He hadn't been well and was sitting on top of the covers of a bed in their downstairs bedroom. As Dawn went to the kitchen to make us a cuppa, I crawled up on the bed beside Ian so Dawn could regain her chair when she returned. Boy, do we wish we had a photo of her face when she came in and saw us amiably chatting away on the bed!
Ken & Sue told stories of their marriage and faith journey. We compared notes on mutual friends. It was only positive gossip; nothing destructive or undermining. There were jokes, some intentional, and much gratitude expressed.
We had pumpkin bread, though the men complained that they had been looking forward to pumpkin pie. My experience with Kiwis in the past has been that they don't like sweet breads made out of their favourite vegetable, but I shoulda made a pie anyway. I'll have to have them all round for at least a dessert night for Christmas, though I'm running low on my stock of canned pumpkin!
I love pumpkin pie, myself. It's my favourite. It's just that Granny's pastry recipe calls for lard and it's hard to find an equivalent for baking here. Her recipe card, in her own handwriting, specifically says "No substitutes!" So many of those old recipes were not healthy!
Ken whipped the cream while Odette & I sorted out the tea and coffee. I used my Irish tea pot in honour of Cecil and Debbie. Sonia pitched in with both prep and clean up, possibly wondering about the odd lot of funny people she met, but whom made her laugh the afternoon away.
It was good. I'm grateful. God has provided loved ones, trust and community, even though I live on two islands and a bit in the far stretches of the Southern Ocean.
Saturday was rich in conversation and community. I would have loved to have invited others too. Though it's nearly a dying art in some places, hospitality must become a way of life.
I think three of us were over 70. Most were in their fifties. A couple of us represented the 40's and one was thirty-something. Africa, North America, Europe and New Zealand were represented.
The conversation was amazing, informed and varied. Ian had done some research about Thanksgiving as he had never been invited to one before and wanted to understand the background and traditions. He added much more to the explanations than I did! It was great hearing about it from a different perspective.
We discussed the religious persecution in Europe that led to the exodus to the New World. We talked about the waves of pilgrims seeking refuge and how they were received by the indigenous people. Instead of being eaten, they were fed and shown how to survive in a harsh environment.
Our plates were filled with turkey, corn, green beans almondene, mashed potatoes, bread, sweet potatoes and stuffing. There was way too much butter, but boy was it all good! Jane's turkeys were beauties, though we only polished off one. The other is intentionally for leftovers!
We also told and heard a lot of stories. One Ian & Dawn like to tell is of the time Dawn came in to find me in bed with her husband. He hadn't been well and was sitting on top of the covers of a bed in their downstairs bedroom. As Dawn went to the kitchen to make us a cuppa, I crawled up on the bed beside Ian so Dawn could regain her chair when she returned. Boy, do we wish we had a photo of her face when she came in and saw us amiably chatting away on the bed!
Ken & Sue told stories of their marriage and faith journey. We compared notes on mutual friends. It was only positive gossip; nothing destructive or undermining. There were jokes, some intentional, and much gratitude expressed.
We had pumpkin bread, though the men complained that they had been looking forward to pumpkin pie. My experience with Kiwis in the past has been that they don't like sweet breads made out of their favourite vegetable, but I shoulda made a pie anyway. I'll have to have them all round for at least a dessert night for Christmas, though I'm running low on my stock of canned pumpkin!
I love pumpkin pie, myself. It's my favourite. It's just that Granny's pastry recipe calls for lard and it's hard to find an equivalent for baking here. Her recipe card, in her own handwriting, specifically says "No substitutes!" So many of those old recipes were not healthy!
Ken whipped the cream while Odette & I sorted out the tea and coffee. I used my Irish tea pot in honour of Cecil and Debbie. Sonia pitched in with both prep and clean up, possibly wondering about the odd lot of funny people she met, but whom made her laugh the afternoon away.
It was good. I'm grateful. God has provided loved ones, trust and community, even though I live on two islands and a bit in the far stretches of the Southern Ocean.
Saturday was rich in conversation and community. I would have loved to have invited others too. Though it's nearly a dying art in some places, hospitality must become a way of life.
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