Happy Thanksgiving!!!
24.11.2011
-50 °F
This year ended up being a very nice Thanksgiving. Earlier this month I had gone to the upper level of our house and introduced myself to our us-stairs neighbors. They ended up being a wonderful nice military family that made me feel instantly welcome. As the Thanksgiving holiday loomed closer, I was a bit unsure if I would do anything. My house was still rather a disaster zone from unpacking all the furniture and other items that had been in storage the past year or I would have had a little 'get-together' at my place. However; I had piles of stuff and boxes filled with packing tissues at every turn (which Nermal and Tiger saw as new welcomed play areas).
About a week or two before the big Turkey Day, I did receive an invite from the upstairs family to join them for the holiday celebration. I decided to take them up on the invite 
The day before I went out and found a new outfit or two, which is always a bit fun to do, especially when you find an outfit you are rather happy with. I had planned on making a cheese ball to take upstairs, but was at a loss when I found out the on base commissary's didn't have Blue Cheese! (and i didn't even bother seeing if they had old English Cheese). So I wondered around the store until I settled on a gingercookie mix and a pumpkin bread making kit. After gathering up the remaining necessities I checked out and decided to bake the bread the night before and the cookies the day of. The bread turned out pretty good, There was a tad bit in the center that managed to remain uncooked, so I cut the loaf into slices and put it back in the oven to finish them off. My grandma said that putting some aluminum foil over it and/or letting it bake in the oven after you turn the heat off will help do the trick. So that will be on my 'tips list' for the next go around. The cookies turned out great! I opted to do the 'ginger snaps' cookie mix.
I managed to, despite all the cookies pans and dishes, not have a cookie sheet. So I decided that mini cookies was the way to go and for that a pie pan worked out beautifully!
And I happened to have a bit of extra time on my hands, and thought "what a perfect time to make little ginger bread house" pieces to kick off the holiday season! Sooo... Thats exactly what I did
I went upstairs for dinner once all the baking was done. They had such an amazing ensemble for dinner. The Turkey was amazing and we had a rice with chives and bacon (can't go wrong there), green beans, the sweet potato dish with marsh-mellows on top, and a wonderful Flan dessert. Afterwords we chatted for a while as the food settled than, by the request of her daughter, worked off some of the meal by playing a Wii dance game.
It was a wonderful way to spend the holiday with new friends and to reflect on all that I am thankful for!
Posted by Jmburnett19 29.11.2011 23:18 Archived in Germany
