What a weekend! We had our annual Friendsgiving dinner potluck yesterday and it was a smash success. I was quite worried to begin with because I invited too many people, or rather, I invited so many people that we weren’t at all sure how we’d manage to set up the tables and chairs so that there would be space for everyone, or even if that many people would fit. But we did, and they did. I should remember that inevitably there is always someone who cancels last minute and sure enough, 3 people on the invite list weren’t able to come due to illness. Even so, we were a nearly-recordbreaking 26 people.
My family outdid themselves as well with helping out. On Friday, after work and after my hair appointment, I picked up Karin in Lund and we did the penultimate grocery store run. When we got home, the to-do list that I had written out Thursday evening with all the cleaning and party prep items was almost completely done, as Anders and Martin had knocked themselves out taking care of things. They went and picked up the tables and chairs, took down our dining room table, moved furniture, set everything up, and cleaned the majority of the house. Then Anders cooked two of the four (!) turkeys. Karin and I set the tables and decorated.
So, on Saturday, we had a pretty chill day for the most part. Karin, who was in the middle of packing, got everything together and out of the way, and then she and Olivia ran the last-minute errands. I dusted and vacuumed the rest of the house, while Anders cooked the next two turkeys and started the potatoes. Our guests arrived at 6 pm and the house immediately filled with lots of chatter and laughter. Here is the list and menu for posterity’s sake:
Anders & Liz, Martin, Karin, Olivia, Elsa: turkeys, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, black olives, sodas
Debbie & Ola: sweet potato casserole with and without pecans
Angie & Kristian, Alex, Rebecka, Kaisa: green bean casseroles
Barbara & Paul, Kathryn, Nicky (Eva was sick): dressing
Lisel & Martin, Elsa: pumpkin pies, whipped cream
Emily, Pema: cornbread
Suzanne, Karolin, Alex: cranberry sauce, pumpkin muffins with cream cheese frosting
Camilla: berry crumble pies, vanilla ice cream
Everything was SO GOOD, and it was a really lovely evening. And we have lots of leftovers to get us through the week. I’ve already had a turkey sandwich, yum yum! We got most everything put away, and cleaned up last night, and just had the dining room to put back together plus some dishes to handwash this morning. Anders is currently away returning the tables and chairs.
As the evening progressed last night, we realized it was snowing, and not just snowing, but seriously snowstorming. It was snowing SIDEWAYS, and sticking, and none of us, of course, have winter tires on yet, so we were a little concerned as people were leaving later in the evening.
This morning the whole world was sparkling white and beautiful. The sun has been shining all day in the blue sky and even now, when it’s nearly down, the sky is a high light blue. There were even kids out sledding on the hill at the top of our neighborhood.
We took Karin to Malmö to meet up with her bus at 11:45. She had her skis, ski bag, suitcase, huge duffel, pillow, and purse (with a turkey sandwich and black olives tucked into it for lunch on the road). All the Swedes, including her, left at noon, to head off to Austria, on her new job adventure for the next 5 months. She will be in Austria for 3 weeks getting her ski guide certification, and then heading to Italy (Canazei) for a week of orientation before the job starts and the first groups start arriving on December 23. Her girlfriend Olivia, who is going to be working at hotel restaurant in Austria for the same company, doesn’t leave until December 7, so today was an emotional day for goodbyes. We gave Karin her Christmas presents early, yesterday morning, but it will be very weird and hard for us not to have her home for the holidays. She’s our little Christmas elf and we will miss her holiday spirit. Her return date is a little tentative at the moment, as her job ends sometime end of March, beginning of April, but because Olivia will still be in Austria until the end of April, Karin might head back there for the few weeks before the season is over in both places.
After we got home, I’ve been doing laundry, paying bills, and working on AIC stuff, so it seemed like the perfect time to plop myself down and finally write a blog post. I haven’t meant to be such a slacker, but life has been extremely busy lately, and this weekend is only a mild reflection of it. Just like we didn’t get a single photo except one of the food last night, so too have I been living in the moment so much that I haven’t had the time or inclination to sit down and write. The road to hell is very well paved indeed. 🙂
Mood: contented
Music: Sorcha Richardson—First Prize Bravery