Thanksgiving: An act of giving thanks; an expression of gratitude, especially to God

Last week, on the 25th day of the 11th month in the year of our lord 2010, a day of thanks was celebrated across the United States. As a citizen and a patriot, I felt compelled to bring this day of joy and thanks to the small island nation in which I reside.

This year I hosted my first Thanksgiving meal and cooked (and cleaned and basted) a turkey for the first time – a genuine Martha Stewart in the making! I even used the neck and giblets to make turkey gravy - pretty nifty, huh? After three and a half hours in a too small oven, luckily, and surprisingly, the turkey turned out delicious; and I didn’t manage to give any one salmonella. Success!

Only one, tiny, disaster occurred. Someone (me) put the pumpkin pie in a precarious position, in an overly-stuffed fridge... so when the door was next open the pie flew out of the fridge, landing face down on the kitchen floor.

Eek!

But, thankfully (key word here), this is what the’10 second rule’ was invented for. (yes, we did put it back together and eat it)

(pie down!)

And now for the cheesy part….

I am thankful for the people in London. For all the wonderful friends I have met on this crazy journey, who turn foreign lands into new homes. And I am thankful for my family, who graciously put up with me gallivanting around the world. Thanks.