Thursday, November 25, 2010

Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our American family and friends!  Mike and I have so much to be thankful for this year.  As many of you know, we also celebrated our wedding anniversary on Monday, and as we got engaged on Thanksgiving day three years ago, this time of year is extra special to us.  During our anniversary dinner on Monday night, we did a bit of a year in review.  We continue to marvel at what a year we have had.  We have had some tremendous highs, and unfortunately, a few lows.  During our "sunlamp" time this morning, we talked about how much we have to be thankful for, and our toast this evening (with non-alcoholic champagne, of course!) focused on the same.

As thoughts of Thanksgiving crossed my mind in the last week or so, I have to admit that I was a bit melancholy about the day.  We would both be spending it working, and not with our families or in our own home cooking up a storm.  We had already planned to spend the holiday in South Carolina with Mike's dad, so that plan obviously had to change.  Some new friends here are throwing a big Thanksgiving celebration on Saturday, but we are flying to Germany tomorrow, so will miss the gathering.  It seems as though everyone on Facebook is very excited to be spending the day with loved ones and having an incredible feast.  This contributed to the feeling of melancholy and made me a bit green, I must admit.

As the day progressed, it got better, though!  I had a lovely lunch with a friend and her new daughter.  Mike and I had a nice time cooking our modified Thanksgiving feast together, we had a few of our favorites for dinner, and less dishes than ever before (can't beat that!).  Mike set a beautiful table with our china and silver, and it felt like home.  It was only as we were cleaning up that I realized I forgot to make the Stove Top stuffing I had managed to get my hands on!!  I'm blaming that on pregnancy brain!

Without further ado, here's what our first Helsinki Thanksgiving dinner looked like.  As I said, it was a modified feast.  We had herb marinated chicken (yep, chicken, I had been told finding turkey is very difficult.  Someone told me last night that you can get it at Stockmann.  I should have known.), my mom's famous sweet potatoes and baked apples (my favorite!), green bean casserole (I have never made it before, but how easy is that??!!  We modified here because Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup is very, very hard to find), and crescent rolls (one of Mike's favorites).  No pumpkin pie since we're gone this weekend and figure we'll find plenty of sweet treats in Germany. 

 Mike pouring our "champagne" to celebrate the holiday.

 Our modified Thanksgiving feast (who needs Stove Top?!).

Please note the flowers in the background.  I took a flower arranging class last night that was put on by the American Women's Club.  I have never done anything like that before.  And though the florist didn't love what I put together, I did, and that's what matters!

 My first floral arrangement.  Apparently, Martha has nothing to worry about!

And with that, we wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving from Helsinki!  Enjoy your friends, family, food, the parade on TV, Cowboys football, and whatever else you do to make the day special!  We enjoyed our day and evening here and are most thankful for the lives we have and those that are in it!

3 comments:

  1. happy thanksgiving!! we missed you, but we'll catch you next year!

    ps. this saturday is fine for stroller shopping ABC's.

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  2. Glad to have helped make your day a little brighter, and thanks again for having us!

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  3. What a wonderful Chicken Day you looked to have had! Our was also modified and I'm in the States. It involved turkey cutlets because SOMEONE decided to try and find a turkey on Thanksgiving. They turned into turkey jerky after being in the oven for too long. Stove Top did save the day by masking it! :) It definitely makes me have more respect for all the years my mom made dinner!

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