Happy Thangsgiving

Monday October 10, 2011

Thanksgiving Day! We lay snug in the shelter of our little stone house all night as the wind howled and the palm branches fanned the walls wildly. It sounded at times as if we were camped in Waterton! As we stood this morning down at the beach and watched the waves roll in. the sky dark with wind swept clouds I wondered if Odysseus had sailed by and one of his sailors had opened the forbidden bag of wind. We let Kostas cook us omelette breakfast at the Cafe Del Mar. Since the forecast was not too promising for a lay-at-the-beach kind of day, we choose a DVD and some books from the library and planned for a more indoor kind of day. In the late morning we made our way a couple of kilometers down the road where we knew there was a market and hoped it was open today as it was not Sunday. It was dark inside but it was open. The shelves were a bit bare; looking like it was end of the season and soon to be closed. I was happy to find fresh bread, some salt which our former meals had badly needed, and a few other things but no meat of any kind for a Thanksgiving dinner. I did have some potatoes and tuna so we could manage if we were not able to find anything more fitting. We had toasted tomato sandwiches for lunch and then I suggested trying the other little market which had been quite limited. Like the other it was dark inside with no lights on but it was open and they had bacon for a price and I asked about chicken. The proprietor called her son to come translate for her and then he inquired of us "frozen?" I nodded and the lady took us out to the freezer and produced a small frying chicken. "Yes that will be perfect" It was gourmet price but turned out to be the best Thanksgiving dinner we could hope for. I had garlic to rub it with, some salt and oregano for seasoning and for the last hour I added onion and potatoes-missing carrots but oh well. We had apricot jam in place of cranberries) The thing we missed most was company. I wished I had told the young English couple we met at breakfast it was our Thanksgiving and invited them to our meal, though at the time I wasn't sure what it would be, but it hadn't crossed my mind until I was setting it out and wishing we had someone to share it with. I am beginning to see how couple missionaries feel in a strange land, trying to figure out if the bag with strange writing says salt or sugar and trying to cook with a limited assortment when you are used to having access to anything one wants. Oh are we spoiled and did I ever make a mental list of all the things I take for granted in our land of plenty. How we also missed family today and love you all and are so grateful for all our happy associations with you. Happy Thanksgiving and don't forget to count your blessings!