Happy Thanksgiving!

Boy do I wish I was home to celebrate this most special of American holidays. All day long I've had images of televised football, organised family games and copious amounts of food dancing through my head. But, instead, I am here, in England, where no one cares about what kind of potatoes will be served with dinner and no one can share my enjoyment in the fact that my uncle's yearly order of season tickets for the Lions (he's been a die-hard fan since birth) has finally paid off.

Fortunately, I am hosting a small and very impromptu celebration dinner tomorrow night for a few brave Brits. UNfortunately we won't be having turkey. I know, I know, no turkey and on Black Friday - how is this even Thanksgiving? Well, I did try to get the day off, purely on the basis that I am American and therefore deserve a break on a day when everyone else in the United Kingdom is required to go about their daily business. Needless to say, it was a no-go. So, as I have a full day of work tomorrow, I simply do not have the time to cook a turkey. Sorry. A chicken will have to do.

I DID, however, make a killer pumpkin pie:

Well, let's hope it's good anyway. My mom usually makes the pies, but I gave it my best shot. I even rolled out the dough for the crust myself (just a step above the frozen, pre-molded crusts), though the filling is all Libby's. Mine doesn't exactly look like the one in the picture, so we shall see. Here's hoping for the best.

Anyway, like my mom said to me (reassuringly) on the phone earlier, it's not really about the food. It's about remembering all of the things that we are lucky to have in our lives. And I definitely have a lot to be thankful for this year.

So, to all of you out there, American or not, here's wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving and another year full of good things.

Love and pie.