Thanksgiving 2014

Thanksgiving 2014 was a new experience for me.  My first Thanksgiving in Poland.  Of course, here it is not a holiday.  Just another work day for everyone.  But, we made it a holiday of sorts anyway.



I volunteered to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner as best I could.  We invited Alicja’s parents and her brother Krzysztof.  We also invited her son Marek and his girlfriend, but they had to work and were unable to attend.

We bought a turkey and made sure we had vegetables, cranberry sauce, etc.  That part was easy.  But, dessert was an issue.  I wanted to make a pecan pie using some of the pecans we had picked last year and smuggled here in our luggage.  But, I can’t just buy a pie crust, can’t find a proper pie pan and absolutely cannot get corn syrup.  Pies, as we know them in the U.S., are simply not common here.  So, finally, we gave up on that idea.  Perhaps next year.

But, regardless, the turkey turned out well and I was pleased with my “made from scratch” giblet gravy.  Everyone told us it was delicious, so I was pleased.  Of course, I told Alicja that they would have said that no matter how terrible it tasted.

Overall, it was an enjoyable dinner.  We ate about 1:00 p.m., which is 6:00 a.m. Oklahoma time.  Sadly, I could not just turn on the TV and watch football.  But, I remember last Thanksgiving when I was in the hospital awaiting carotid artery surgery on Friday.  This one was much more fun.  And, I am very thankful to be here to enjoy it.

A few pictures.