Irish Thanksgiving

Yesterday was a big day. It was Weston's birthday AND Thanksgiving, so we partied all day and consumed almost more calories than the human body can handle. The challenge of trying to prepare a typically American meal in a foreign country is thrilling. It's even more thrilling when your kitchen is equipped only with basic food prep items and lacks things like electric mixers, measuring spoons/cups, and an abundance of baking dishes and mixing bowls. We had so much fun hunting for ingredients and coming up with creative solutions to some of our meal preparation conundrums. The last time we prepared Thanksgiving dinner in a foreign country was in 2008, in Brazil. This time, it was considerably easier, though still interesting. We managed to put together a decent feast that tasted mostly the way Thanksgiving dinner should taste. We had turkey, ham, green bean casserole, dressing, sweet potato casserole, pink salad, fruit salad, and pumpkin pie. And, we were so very thankful that we have a dishwasher in this house, to make cleaning up much simpler. We did miss getting to spend the day with our extended family and getting to nap to the sound of football on the T.V. after the meal (though we were able to get a game later in the day, which made the day complete, particularly for our football lover birthday boy). But, otherwise, it was Thanksgiving as usual. We are blessed beyond belief and have so much to be thankful for, on this day and every day.

It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie!
(Pumpkin was one of the most difficult ingredients to find.)

Thanksgiving Feast
(And, the all-important dishwasher!)

Thankful and Blessed

Thanksgiving Sunset