Giving Thanks

I'm going to get an early start on the blog since I will be on the road at the normal time I would be posting it. To all five of you that read this, I am sure you wont mind, and are probably eating and sleeping the day away in your homes. Today was...interesting. I was able to help with the cooking, and that made me happy. I love to cook, I love the process, I love the smells and the heat, and the rush to get things done on time. The more I do it the more I think that it is something I should pursue further in life. So I want to express gratitude to my Father, who had the same passion for cooking, and in a way he passed it on to me. I always loved to be in the kitchen with him and watch him making food. He was never happy with just doing something the dame old way. He always had to do it differently, to make it his own. Some of my favorite memories of his cooking was his salads, in which he would try and out do himself in the number of ingredients he would include.

Now that I am cooking more and more, I see this in myself. I don't want to make something the way that I have been told, or the way it has been written in a recipe. I want to branch out and make something new and different. I love the look on peoples faces when they take a bite, realize that its good, and ask "What did you put in this?" So because of this I am seriously thinking of going back to school for culinary arts.

As for the food itself we made all of the favorite staples expected at Thanksgiving. We had two turkeys, one roasted, on deep fried. we had mashed potatoes, and candid yams. The green bean casserole, normal green beans, corn, stuffing deviled eggs, rolls, jello pudding, four kinds of pie, pumpkin crisp, chocolate fudge, peanut butte fudge, fudge with marshmallows, Ginger sherbet punch, the whole shebang. Corinne and I made the deviled eggs, I made the stuffing and the gravy, all three turned out amazing!

I couldn't believe how many people where her though! I have had some large family events but this kind of trumps it. We had four large tables packed with people. The food tables where set up buffet style, on silver platters with heat sources to keep everything warm. The hard part is that I knew very little if the people I was eating with. At least Corinne knew very little of them too. Apparently a bunch of people who had married into the family get to show up and enjoy Thanksgiving with them. I guess if I knew someone with a castle that has a feast I would get in on that too. Oh, wait...I did.

I look back now at this trip and have really loved every moment. I had to put myself out of my comfort zone, which is never an easy thing. Once you do it though, it makes all the difference. Trying new things and meeting new people is the flavor of life. If we don't branch out and try something we normally wouldn't then how can we gain depth. I love most of Corinne's family and think they have become fond of me in turn. I did my best to show them that I am an okay guy, and I guess that is all I can do.

I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to take this trip. That I was able to afford it, and that I could share it all with Corinne. I miss my family pretty bad but I know that this is where I needed to be this year. I am thankful that I have a family that has supported me in the choices I have made and will make, and that I can look to them for the things I might need. I am grateful for the willingness to help Corinne and I make it on this trip, and even though we didn't need most of it, the fact that it was offered was comforting.

We will be driving home tonight. I think I will have a lot to dwell on as I drive. I have a lot on my mind right now and have some things I need to work out for myself, but at least I will have Harry Potter to talk to about it. Oh, and Corinne too!