Thanksgiving Fellowship

We had a memorable Thanksgiving with friends. Steve & I prepared the turkey and a Florida avacado & pomegranate salad, and we trucked it over to Dr. Shawn's place. The turkey turns out fabulous every year. But, this year instead of the poultry rub and butter, we also added a chicken broth with onion, garlic, and poultry seasonings. This kept the turkey moist. We used an injection needle to continually infuse the broth and butter drippings into the breast meat and legs throughout the cooking process. Dr. Shawn had invited two of his hospital colleagues from Shang Hai who are currently working in the peds & NICU dept of a hospital in Boston. None of them had ever seen a complete turkey. So, they took photos with it to their hearts' content, and then we dove in.

Steve peeled the frills from the pomegranate, which is a time-consuming and arduous task. But, it is so rewarding for those ruby red pockets of sweetness!

Dr. Shawn prepared Chinese BBQ spare ribs and beef. So, it was more of a Chinese-American Thanksgiving dinner. In this photo, he's telling us a story about BBQ marinade preparation. There were a few vegetables available, spring greens and a veggie tray, but it was mostly a protein-heavy meal. That's probably why we didn't feel the big starch-protein contrast weigh down our stomachs like a big brick. We were all feeling pretty lively after the meal, unlike some other friends we ran into.

After dinner, we all traveled together to Dr. Don & Ronnie's house for desserts. They had a huge gang there of family and friends. We brought the beloved pumpkin cheesecake. But, since we have an extra one at home, we dove into the homemade apple pie, fruit torte, and apple torte with almond paste crust. Dessert was divine! Almost everyone there were still surviving their food comas from earlier in the day.Dr. Ronnie was "goofing off" with her friend Mike.

Steve got me (us) a new camera for Christmas. He let me use it early. It's a Canon SD700 camera. Thank goodness. My last one was a piece of crap. This one is almost as spectacular as a professional camera. We had fun playing with it on Thanksgiving! I hope all of you had a wonderful day with family and friends.

I really enjoyed the blessing of wonderful and delicious food, the time of fellowship with Steve and friends, and the relaxing time off from clinic. I'm thankful that I was able to spend this holiday at home, and I often thought of my friends and numerous other troops who are currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. They weren't able to spend Thanksgiving with their families. Holidays are the toughest times to be away from family in the military. So, I'm thankful for their sacrifice for freedom. God bless y'all!