This year I got to celebrate Thanksgiving in the US! It was actually the first Thanksgiving celebration for me, as we don’t celebrate it in Finland.
Thanksgiving is celebrated every year on the fourth Thursday in November. I read that the holiday has its origins in Massachusetts, where a three-day harvest celebration was held in 1621. The Wampanoag Indians taught English settlers how to survive by growing native corps, hunting, and fishing. The settlers invited the Wampanoag to feast on wild turkeys, duck, geese, fish and shellfish, corn, green vegetables, and dried fruits. The Wampanoag brought venison. Thanksgiving is still a celebration around traditional food, such as Turkey, cranberries, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and so on. More on Thanksgiving here.
As I was I decided to cook for my small Floridian family and try out the turkey for the first time! I was a bit nervous I would ruin the turkey and we would only have side dishes to eat, but it actually ended up delicious and juicy!
We decided to cook and eat at Juho’s place as he has a bigger kitchen and place to eat. I got a little excited and planned a nice menu for us!
I woke up relatively early to prepare the turkey and put it in the oven. Then we were hanging out at the pool with Juho and went to see how the turkey was doing every now and then. In the afternoon we prepared rest of the food and ate together with Linda. The turkey and other food was sooo delicious. I was very happy that I succeeded with the turkey, on my first try!
After the supper we took Heidi and Jenna with us and drove to Boca, where we’d been invited to Tuula’s place for some dessert. We had some apple roses and ice cream, yum! We also took our bikini with us and went to sauna and swimming. The sauna was amazing! Tuula’s husband John had built it some while ago, and it was a real hot sauna experience, best one where I’ve been to outside Finland! We also played some American games, such as Cards against Humanity, beer pong / ping pong, butt quarters where you had to put a quarter to your butt and try to land it to a cup (yes, seriously 😀 and yes it was difficult with a tight skirt..). We had a lot of fun. Thank you Tuula and her lovely family for the warm hospitality! ❤
As it was Thanksgiving, we took some time to think about the things we are thankful of. It is important to stop for a minute and think about how lucky you actually are, and how many good and nice things surround you.
I am thankful that I am healthy.
I am thankful for my dear family, Ville, mom, dad, and sister – grandmothers and grandfather. I am thankful of all my other relatives as well. I am also thankful that they are mostly healthy.
I am thankful for my dear friends, near and far in Germany, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, France, Austria, Spain, US, Argentina, and all around the world!
I am thankful for the new friends I have made here in Florida.
I am thankful of my work at the Honorary Consulate of Finland and the Finnish-American Chamber of Commerce. I am very thankful that I have a nice, professional boss with whom I enjoy working.
I am thankful that I can study whatever I desire, I am glad to study at the Heilbronn University. I will be even more glad after I finish my thesis next summer…
I could go on and on with the list, but the point is that way too seldom we stop to think about the basic things in life. The things that are basic and we take for granted, are definitely not basic for everyone.We should be thankful for our ‘basic’ life every day.
❤
Here’s a few pics from yesterday, a very nice and fun day and evening!
BenitaOutThere 