Southern Christmas

It has been a while since Christmas, and even longer since I wrote anything on here, but I hope it isn't entirely too late to post some moments from our American holiday. 

From the neighborhood: An abundance of wreaths, both inside and out! 

American tree, and very surprisingly - Norwegian choir song on tv.

After the Christmas Eve service.

First Presbyterian Church Augusta dressed up for Christmas. 

And one of my favorite Christmas presents: a new high-tech porcelain tooth! It kind of makes me feel like an old lady, but I prefer a whole fake tooth over half a real one, for sure.

A Big Feast

We made it!
My little household (my roommate and I), made a full Thanksgiving meal for the Americans here, and let me tell you, it was a lot of work. Americans all know this, but I was not mentally or physically prepared for cooking a 26 pound turkey and many side dishes.

We started preparing on Wednesday night, baking apple and pumpkin pies, and a southern style onion cornbread. The next morning we got up early, I walked over to the YWAM base to pick up the bird, whom Jae lovingly named Larry. My fridge is not big enough for a turkey that size, so we kept him there till it was time to cook. It is only 2 blocks away, but my arms are still sore from that little exercise!

I had never cooked a turkey before, so I am very thankful for the internet, that provided me with all sorts of recipes. It was quite exciting to see my oven filled to the brim with a huge bird, and very satisfactory to be able to serve it to our guests, only a little dry, but okay enough for a first time.

In addition we made mashed potatoes and gravy (of course), green bean casserole, candied yams (Jae´s favorite), corn bread dressing (Mike´s great grandma´s recipe!), and grated carrots, because thats´s the way Eddie likes them.

After eating all that, we were stuffed of course. But it was good, and it was worth it, including the mountain of dishes. I got to use my old china too, and it delighted my heart to set a holiday table. It doesnt hurt that my fridge is full of leftovers either. I like this holiday!

Adopting holidays: Thanksgiving

Thanks to YWAM, this is the fourth year I have had an American roommate (and there will be MANY more to come). One of the great things of living in multicultural communities is learning new customs and culture traits. Celebrating Thanksgiving must be one of my favorite American adoptions.

This year, for the first time, my roommate and I have decided to make a complete Thanksgiving feast at our house. I have never celebrated in the States, not even in a home, but at a couple of different YWAM bases I have learned to love the food. The next couple of days will be spent preparing all the dishes, and I might be back with recipes a little later. It is only fitting that the American is in charge, so I am prepared to learn.

PS. Free Thanksgiving printables by Nest of Posies.