When you are far from home and family for a holiday like Thanksgiving, it's wonderful to have good friends nearby** with whom to celebrate. (**"Nearby" being a relative term, of course. Belgium is "only" just across the English Channel!) Don and Cathy arrived here on Thanksgiving morning, carrying groceries that I can't find in England (pumpkin!!) and LOTS of other goodies. D picked them up at the train station, and they arrived at the house when I was literally elbow-deep in turkey preparation. They rolled up their culinary sleeves and joined right in on the dinner prep, helping out with cooking AND creating a marvelous-looking table arrangement. (Thanks Cathy!)
And what a Thanksgiving dinner it was! YUM. Turkey and all the fixin's.
Sky Sports TV showed the American football games, which meant we could watch the NFL while digesting our turkey, just like our families in the US. And speaking of our families, we checked in with everyone on the holiday and they were all happily enjoying their own feasts & get-togethers. It was a great day all around. On Friday, we took Don & Cathy to Winchester, to visit the cathedral and to shop at the Winchester Christmas Market.
We were impressed with the market -- it had a nice array of locally produced gifts, crafts, and artwork. Cathy and I hit every booth, and Don and D patiently waited...while eating their mince pies!
Saturday was our day to "prepare" for D's annual Christmas party, held the following weekend.
"Prepare?", you ask?
Yes. The European office does their holiday party with a theme every year, and attendees have the option to come in outfits related to that theme (here, called "Fancy Dress", not "costumes"). If you recall, last year there was a Gangsters/1920's theme:
and his co-workers gave D a hard time for not getting dressed in theme. So this year, we had to prepare! D's company is celebrating it's 80th year in business, so the theme was to be "The Last Eight Decades". People were being encouraged to dress from one decades...1950's poodle skirts, 1980's punk rock leather, etc. Knowing that Don and Cathy are always game for some fun, we thought that they'd be the perfect people to accompany us on our journey for "fancy dress". And were we ever right!! Forget the Tower of London -- we've decided that this store:
just may be the best English attraction we've ever taken guests to visit! Let's just say that we all fully embraced the spirit of the store!
I haven't laughed that hard in a LONG time. Our whole weekend was full of laughs and good times -- we're thankful for all of our many friends, and particularly thankful that we could spend this holiday weekend with Don & Cathy:
Happy Holidays everyone!
When you are far from home and family for a holiday like Thanksgiving, it's wonderful to have good friends nearby** with whom to celebrate. (**"Nearby" being a relative term, of course. Belgium is "only" just across the English Channel!) Don and Cathy arrived here on Thanksgiving morning, carrying groceries that I can't find in England (pumpkin!!) and LOTS of other goodies. D picked them up at the train station, and they arrived at the house when I was literally elbow-deep in turkey preparation. They rolled up their culinary sleeves and joined right in on the dinner prep, helping out with cooking AND creating a marvelous-looking table arrangement. (Thanks Cathy!) 
And what a Thanksgiving dinner it was! YUM. Turkey and all the fixin's. 
Sky Sports TV showed the American football games, which meant we could watch the NFL while digesting our turkey, just like our families in the US. And speaking of our families, we checked in with everyone on the holiday and they were all happily enjoying their own feasts & get-togethers. It was a great day all around. On Friday, we took Don & Cathy to Winchester, to visit the cathedral and to shop at the Winchester Christmas Market. 
We were impressed with the market -- it had a nice array of locally produced gifts, crafts, and artwork. Cathy and I hit every booth, and Don and D patiently waited...while eating their mince pies!
Saturday was our day to "prepare" for D's annual Christmas party, held the following weekend. "Prepare?", you ask? Yes. The European office does their holiday party with a theme every year, and attendees have the option to come in outfits related to that theme (here, called "Fancy Dress", not "costumes"). If you recall, last year there was a Gangsters/1920's theme: 
and his co-workers gave D a hard time for not getting dressed in theme. So this year, we had to prepare! D's company is celebrating it's 80th year in business, so the theme was to be "The Last Eight Decades". People were being encouraged to dress from one decades...1950's poodle skirts, 1980's punk rock leather, etc. Knowing that Don and Cathy are always game for some fun, we thought that they'd be the perfect people to accompany us on our journey for "fancy dress". And were we ever right!! Forget the Tower of London -- we've decided that this store: 
just may be the best English attraction we've ever taken guests to visit! Let's just say that we all fully embraced the spirit of the store! 
Happy Holidays everyone!
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