Friday, November 26, 2010

Thanksgiving


Being away from home, family and friends this year for Thanksgiving wasn't something I was looking forward to. I'm a person who is very grounded by the traditions of family and so being away from those for basically the first time in my life was hard. We had planned a large sit down meal with John's work family. Lots of other people in the same boat as we are this time of year. We all brought amazing food (more than I expected) and ate until we could barely move. It was lovely.

For my dish I made something very near to my heart. A definite family tradition. Every year of my life my Grandma Anne would make homemade noodles in broth to go along with our dinner. When she passed away I thought I'd never taste another noodle in my life but then I discovered my Aunt Bev made them too. Every year. So this year, being far from the comforts we are used to, I wanted to make noodles even if I was the only person who would eat them. I was nervous because pastry making isn't my strong suit but I bravely set out wed night to mix, roll and cut a giant batch. It felt so great to cut noodles by the light of the Christmas tree just like I remember doing with my own Grandma when I was little.

So now I've got to focus on Christmas and honestly I don't know where to start. I've got the tree up and the wreath on the front door. I've not purchased one gift or written one card. I wonder, dear readers, have you ever been away from wherever you call home for Christmas? How did you still manage to make it feel not gloomy? Or did you? I'd love some ideas.

2 comments:

Stephanie said...

Sounds like the noodle making was great. hopefully they turned out tasty too!
I haven't done much of anything for Christmas either. I'm not worried though. I'm off to cruise the ocean and get relaxed and tan enough for the two of us!
I'll worry about that pesky Christmas shopping later. :) hehe.
oh and a sure fire way to de-gloom things is christmas music dance parties with Hazel. It's something lulu and I love to do.

Stephanie said...

oh i forgot to say that i like the blog makeover. very much.