27 November 2008 - Thanksgiving Day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is our first holiday away from home. A month or so ago, we wondered how we would be spending this American holiday in Grenada... obviously just a normal day in the Caribbean! But amazingly, in the short time we've been here, we've become acquainted with a few other Americans... who were also looking for a way to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday.

So we hosted a group of 9 people... some we just met today... for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner here at our home in Bay Gardens! I'll name them in the order they appear in the photo... from left to right. Dave & Barb are originally from Maine and work at the medical university. (She is a neuropsychologist; Dave is teaching a business course there.) Bill & Debbie are from Alabama and Florida, and are living on their boat... a trawler... for the past 5 years. They are wintering here in Grenada, waiting for hurricane season to pass. By January, they'll be ready to move north again. Then it's Scott at the head of the table. Next to him is Amy & her husband, Ed who both work at the university. I didn't get much chance to talk to Amy to find out what her position is at the university, but I know Ed is a librarian there. Cindy, from Conshohocken, PA, is on the far right & she is here visiting Amy & Ed. This is her first visit to Grenada... and she was not expecting to have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner while on vacation!

Everyone chipped in & helped with the dinner. Debbie was a huge help in the kitchen! (Having lived on the boat for 5 years, I think she's been missing working in a "real" kitchen!) The menu was as follows: Crab stuffed mushrooms (appetizer), Turkey & stuffing, gravy & mashed potatoes, squash casserole, peas, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, key lime pie, coconut brownies, and wine, wine, and more wine! Barbara also brought some really good olives stuffed with almonds, pickles, and some kind of Caribbean chow-chow. Although we were missing our families today, it was a fabulous meal, with some really fun conversation! We've decided that we should get together more regularly... maybe have a game night!

Scott & I had been working around the house all week in preparation of the big dinner. I finally got my living room curtains done... and hung. And on Tuesday, we spent some time finally getting some of my photographs hung on the walls. Scott made a temporary table... with a 4'x8' sheet of plywood on top. And we had plenty of chairs. I love having all this space! This house is so much better for entertaining than our Mount Joy home!

We are now talking about getting together for Christmas... probably the day after, which is Boxing Day here (another holiday day off). Scott & I "think" we've been invited to Christmas dinner with one of our neighbors. I say "think" because I have a hard time understanding her! Guess I have a few more weeks to clarify that!

Well, we hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! I'll probably be reporting more after the next hash... it's here at Bay Gardens this Saturday! It'll be a good chance to get out to REALLY see the neighborhood!