Thursday I woke up and headed to class where we talked a lot of one of my favorite readings that we've done this year (Donna Haraway's When Species Meet). After a great discussion I rushed off to see a friend, Aaron, from UGA who was in town visiting another one of his friends. I met up with him and stopped to get cash out before heading to get coffee together only to realize my debit card was missing. After a moment of panic, I forced myself into calm and Aaron came along with me as I retraced my steps from the previous day. Thankfully, the last shop I'd been to the night before had my card safe and sound! Aaron and I spent an hour catching up which was really nice and then I had to head off to meet Brittany and Ben to do the grocery shopping for Thanksgiving (which we would be celebrating the next day, Friday, so we had all day to cook!)
After buying an insane amount of food, Ben and I took a load of items back to his place while Brittany took a load of things that could be prepped back to her place. After dropping items off at Ben's, I headed to meet with Kersty about my termly progress. It went well and from there, I walked to Brittany's, stopping at the store to pick up a few things we had forgotten. Once at Brittany's, she'd already done a ton of prep work. She'd made a double batch of gluten free/dairy free cornbread for our cornbread stuffing, boiled 30 eggs for our deviled eggs, and started roasting squash for our stuffed butternut squash. She went to work on the wild-rice stuffing for the squash and the peach cobbler while I shelled the 30 hard boiled eggs, cubed cornbread, and did some clean up.
After the peach cobbler was done, we headed to the bar right down the street from Brittany's with Tom (another American guy in our program), Brittany's Swiss roommate, Lenny, one of Lenny's friends, and another one of Brittany's roommate. We watched the Detroit Lions stomp all over the Green Bay Packers (yay Megatron and Matthew Stafford!) and snacked a bit. We left around 11:30 (trying unsuccessfully to leave out a side entrance that ended up with me Brittany and Lenny packed into a little foyer since they apparently locked that door out sometime after we arrived!) After trying (also unsuccessfully) to skype with Andie, Mom and Dad to wish them a happy Thanksgiving. Then, I finally got some sleep... Brittany and I had a long, long day ahead of us on Friday.
We woke up on Friday and showered before heading downstairs to start packing up food and ingredients to move to Ben's. Ben came by on his bike to take a load of stuff and then Brittany and I called a cab to move the rest of the supplies, including things like the already peel hardboiled eggs and the giant turkey. As soon as we got to Ben's we refrigerated what needed to be and then hauled the turkey upstairs to get it going. I stuffed it full on lemons, oranges, pears, apples, onions, garlic and carrots, filled the roasting pan with some broth, slathered it with dairy free "butter" and popped it in the oven.
Then Brittany and I headed downstairs to get started on the rest of the meal. I started working on the sweet potato souffle while Brittany set to work on the fruit salad. Ben helped us peel and chop, as did James when he arrived a bit later and Cody came by to help out and make pies!
Brittany and I were amazed at how smoothly it all went. Neither of us ever got irritated with the other, we didnt step on each other's toes, we balanced the work load well and everything was ready right on time. It was a whirlwind day trying to get everything done, figure out what could be reheated and what needed to be made right as people arrived, etc.
People started arriving around 6 and Brittany and I were changed into dresses and had appetizers out for snacking (deviled eggs, a cheese platter, crackers, hummus and veggies) and the mulled wine was simmering away for people to enjoy. Brittany was finishing things in the downstairs kitchen and I went up to get the turkey which had been resting and to make the homemade gravy.
At exactly 7, which was exactly the time we said dinner would be served, everything was ready. We had SO MUCH FOOD! We had: the turkey I cooked, with homemade gravy, regular stuffing, cornbread stuffing, sweet potato souffle, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, sauteed brussels sprouts, roasted butternut squash (stuffed with wild rice, pecans, cranberries and green apples), cranberry sauce, and a green salad of mixed greens, diced peppers, sliced mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and avocado.
To kick the meal off, Ben did a reading, and after we ate, he did another reading and then we all went around and shared what we are thankful for. I think we sounded a bit like a broken record with each of us saying each other, but I also think we all meant it. It's been pretty amazing with just how quickly we formed such a close and cohesive group and since I couldn't spend Thanksgiving with my family, it was wonderful to get to celebrate it with the "family" I have here in Oxford. Plus, I think everyone really enjoyed dinner- both the food AND the fellowship.
After giving thanks we ate dessert (Brittany and I made peach cobbler and a fruit salad of pears, mandarins, pineapple, grapes, and peaches dressed with whipped coconut milk mixed with honey and lime juice, Cody made the pumpkin pie and a fruit tart and Andreas made an apple pie and a pecan pie. Then James pulled out his cello and Ben pulled out his guitar and they did an amazing duet, followed by a Bach solo by James and then sing-alongs to Wagon Wheel, Let it Be, Hey Jude, and Hotel California. For those of you who enjoy Ben's singing in the first video... you can see/hear more of him Monday, December 9, on The Sing-off, on NBC. It should air at 9pm and he's the tall redhead in the Princeton Footnotes.
After music, Dennis and I headed off to buy more wine for everyone while others cleaned and others sat around and chatted. Little by little people drifted off until it was just me, Andreas and Ben sitting around discussing religion and world views and playing sporcle games. When I finally headed home it was 3:30 and I could hardly keep my eyes open.
Saturday and Sunday were quiet days of work and having a service check of Bailey's bike done to return it in good condition and relaxing and a zumba class (which I looked ridiculous in and absolutely loved... what a fun way to work out!)
Monday I was in class 9-4:30 and then rushed home to get ready for the St. Antony's/St. Cross/Christ Church black tie Christmas dinner. Brittany and I went and while it wasn't wuite the experience I was hoping for, I think we still had fun laughing at the undrinkable wine (so sour!) and meeting a few new people.
Today's class was rescheduled due to a University faculty strike so I took the day to catch up on some work. Back to the actual grind tomorrow!
Home soon!
Eveyrone should be also thankful for the cook(s).
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