This was the first time that I've ever been away from all 3 of my kids on any holiday. Luckily, I was so busy that I was not missing them too much during the day. We were expecting Mary and Hannah from London, so that also helped to keep my mind occupied. I Face Timed my in-laws after they had read all about the previous day's disaster and I knew that we would be "seeing" everyone later in the evening. (I am so thankful for the miracle of the internet and the ability to see my loved one's faces via the computer!!)
David had assured me that I didn't need to "go all out", but heck, once you have committed to preparing a Thanksgiving dinner by yourself, haven't you already "gone all out"? (of your head) My only concern was that my "easy bake oven" might not be able to handle all of the food I had planned on serving. The other thing that I had to be careful of was which pan to use when…you see, I didn't bring all of my cookware, so 2 skillets, one saucepan and a dutch oven was all I was working with. I hand washed those puppies what seemed like 3 times each before dinner. Here are a few pics from the prep stage.
I did avert a major catastrophe when I just barely saved my bare feet from having my dish of sweet potatoes slide out of the oven onto them….I actually said out loud "thank you sweet Jesus for not allowing that hot butter/brown sugar syrup to spill out all over my bare feet". (Turns out my best friend DID spill hot liquid on her bare feet just a few hours later….guess you should really wear protective gear when you are cooking!)
David and the girls arrived at the apartment just in the "thick" of the final preparation stage. They all rolled up their sleeves and helped finish. Mary and Hannah were on crescent rolls (Mary was in HEAVEN) and mashed potatoes and David sliced up the turkey. Here is our dinner table just before we sat down to eat.
Yes, it was a feast. Fresh green beans, candied yams, mashed potatoes/gravy, rolls, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie (with homemade whipped cream) and of course the turkey. Let me just issue a public service announcement here. Cranberries are DELICIOUS!! I have spent 49 Thanksgivings on this earth and this was the first year that I actually ever TRIED them. Now, this might have something to do with the fact that probably 40+ of those years I watched someone open a CAN of cranberry and slop it onto a saucer just before it hit the dinner table. I actually made them fresh and they were heavenly. (Maple syrup, fresh orange juice and orange zest….yum!!)
Mary and Hannah seemed to enjoy the meal and were fabulous helpers with the clean up. We took them on a quick walk around the city so that we would be able to enjoy dessert and so that they could also get a "feel" for the city. Once we were back in the apartment everyone went to their own space and Face Timed their family back in the states. THANK YOU, again, to the Hall and Wiegand family for feeding and loving on my children while they were away from us!!
Friday morning the girls slept in and then we went out to explore Strasbourg's Christmas market (Marché de Noël). It was a cold and blustery day, so we cut our shopping short to have lunch and get warm. Mary and Hannah had Tarte Flambée and salad for lunch and then we headed back to the apartment. The girls helped me to put up our Christmas tree….(and yes, it's artificial….didn't want to even think about trying to bring a real tree up and then back down 5 flights of stairs)
The Christmas tree on Place Kleber was to be lit at 6:30 so we headed back out at 5:00 to wander through the market and then watch the tree lighting. We had only been out about 15 minutes and it started to rain. We got ourselves some hot chocolate and ducked into a cafe until closer to the lighting "hour". I should've remembered that this was "France". We waiting until after 7:00 and finally decided to leave. There were a lot of performers (many singing country music) and many dignitaries speaking, but no one "pushing the button". It was so crowded that it took us nearly 20 minutes to make our way the 100 yards to our escape route. I found out on Saturday that the tree didn't actually "light" until after 8:00….glad we decided to make a break for it.
David had an 8:30 basketball game and so we waited for him to finish and then took the girls to a Tapas restaurant for dinner. Nothing like going OUT to dinner at 9:45PM is there?
We took the girls to the train station early Saturday morning. They were off to Paris for the rest of the weekend. David and I had such a lovely visit with them and they even surprised us with some of their favorite things from London.
I couldn't let them leave without getting a few pics and even throwing up a kite for my Theta girl…
You would think that after entertaining our London visitors that we would enjoy a nice relaxing Saturday evening alone. You would be wrong. We had the pleasure of hosting an "American Thanksgiving" for the young professionals at our church. We had a group of about 22 join us for the Michigan-Ohio State game and a huge feast. Luckily, it was a pitch-in and I didn't have to make another meal!! (Just some stuffing, a pie and sweet potato casserole)
The only bad part of the whole Thanksgiving weekend was that my beloved Wolverines lost to David's Buckeyes. Fortunately, I had all our guests rooting for BIG BLUE…..otherwise, they weren't allowed to eat!!
Sunday night David and I walked around the city enjoying the beautiful Christmas decorations and shopping at some of the vendors. Here are some of my "favorite" shop decorations.
This is the tree at Place Kleber….
And finally, a photo of the CROWDS….oh my.
Wishing you a week of joy and God's blessings as we prepare to celebrate His Unspeakable Gift of Jesus Christ.
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