The First Thanksgiving

Here is a picture from the First Thanksgiving which actually occurred on November 27th around about the same time as the meal would be going on back at home at my family's celebration. That was cool I thought. I got a chance to talk to some of them before they ate dinner which was great, and then we all ate over at our friends, Ruth and Neil's house where our small group from church meets. We had the usual dishes and two brave people tried new recipes for cornbread and sweet potatoes which were both delicious! We had a very yummy meal, and then I gave a talk on the real First Thanksgiving and the history of it. Then everyone wrote a list of things they were thankful for and we took turns sharing them while we were eating our dessert which was pumpkin and apple pie and fruit. The pumpkin pie that I made from scratch was a hit! I used my mom's recipe for the filling and my mother-in-law's recipe for the crust. Tim picked up the whipped cream on the way. So it was a team effort. Everyone said they enjoyed the evening, and it did help take my mind off of the fact that I was really missing home and family a lot. We were so happy our friends Julia and Simon brought their two little ones because it added that element of children noise that I am so used to which was wonderful. Overall a great evening of fun and many new friends to be very thankful for! In this picture from left to right: George (Georgina), Amy, Sally, Bianca (hidden) behind John, Julia.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here is a copy of the very first Thanksgiving Proclaimation made by George Washington. And here is what it says in old fashioned English. I hope you are all digging in to your Thanksgiving dinner as well as remembering the reason we celebrate this holiday. I am missing it over here, but I hope you Americans will do me proud.

Thanksgiving Proclamation
By the President of the United States of America
WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLICK THANKSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"
NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed;-- for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish Constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted;-- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge;-- and, in general, for all the great and various favours which He has been pleased to confer upon us.
And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions;-- to enable us all, whether in publick or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us); and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble Gobble Gobble....

Some Snowy Scenes

Cromer church and pier

The Lighthouse in Cromer

The church in Gresham

A frozen pond on our walk

Tim and I enjoying the snow!

Snowed In!

Yes, well they say it never snows in England, if anything just a dusting and that is that. How depressing for an American who has lived her life always dreaming of a White Christmas! Well, I have to confess, it really wasn't that much snow (compared to some storms that I have been through), but we got a good 3 inches which caused the weather people to issue a Severe Weather Warning to north Norfolk (where Tim and I were staying for the weekend) and warned people of the dangerous road conditions and the icy Arctic winds! We, had planned to go up to Gresham, where Tim's parents own some cottages. It was going to be a nice weekend away all by ourselves. When, I woke up with snow coming down in the morning, I couldn't have been happier! I love waking up to snow, and here we were, tucked away in a cozy cottage all alone! It wasn't cozy when we got there, of course, with no heat on, but we had it very cozy by morning when I woke up to the snow. We had gotten there the night before, so the snow really came in the night and we enjoyed a nice walk around the countryside to take a few pictures, and then drove to town (Cromer) which is on the sea and walked around a bit more, had some lunch and then headed back to our cozy cottage. Where we were staying was supposed to be the worst of the weather. HA! This was not enough snow to stop school or work from going on as usual, but I can see why it stops people here. The roads are way too narrow and curvy, and no one has ever plowed anything before! They barely salted the major highways the night before this storm was to hit. Although the snow story was big enough to take up space in the newspaper (3 inches can you believe that?) So of course, you can really drive on narrow, winding roads, which barely fit 2 cars passing each other on a normal day. It all makes sense to me! Well, anyway, this was just perfect for our weekend. And everyone laughed and said it would be too cold! We had a lovely time.

Anything Goes (with the in-laws!)

Last night, we all went the Harlow Playhouse to watch Anything Goes. Tim, me and the in-laws all sitting in the second row with a great view of the stage. I have actually performed in this show before so I knew all the lines and scenes and was comparing everything in my head. This production was very well done and much more professional than the one I did, but nonetheless I thought I could have probably played my old part better then the actress who did it this time. That is just a load of overconfidence I am sure though. Ah actors! We always think we can do something better or we are determined to try to beat the next person in something theatrical. It is not unlike healthy sports competition I don't think. Well, we had a nice time, and I am hoping to join the group that performed it which meets in Bishop's Stortford so it is very convenient. The best thing is that next year's production at the Harlow Playhouse is My Fair Lady! Is that not a perfect part for me or what? I hope I get it! But I better join first so they get to know me because I am sure there are a lot of politics involved as always. One thing is for sure, I will definitely have plenty of help in practicing the correct authentic cockney accent! I can certainly help them all with their American ones after what I saw last night. They weren't bad, but could definitely use some dialect coaching form an expert in more ways than one!

My Favorite Cookie

As some of you will remember, I was following a strict diet due to my food intolerances of wheat, dairy, sugar, eggs, corn and peanuts. That is, until I got healed! Well, I have noticed that since my healing, I have still felt that I gravitated towards the things that I had used to replace these foods in my diet. I think it is possible that I may have created a healthy pattern, and that although I am ok to probably eat these things when I feel like it, I don't need to eat wheat every day just because I can. So I have started to incorporate these yummy ingredients when I am eating out or at friends' houses or when I am just craving a slice of cheese etc. I also noticed that my skin has not improved since I have been healed of my food intolerances. I am not sure why that is, but I do know that the food could have had an impact on that. I probably need to wait a bit longer to see lots of improvement, but until then I am going to eat all these goodies in moderation! Besides, it isn't just me who has had problems with sugar. Too much sugar is bad for anyone's diet. In fact, sugar is what fungus feeds on, and fungus in your body can cause acne, so I think that is one I am staying away from anyway since I always get a headache from too much of it. I have replaced refined sugar with honey if I put it in coffee or cakes etc. I am loving the honey. The best honey is the raw local honey which still contains the pollen and enzymes from the little bees. These have a great health benefit for us in fighting off infections from the local germs. Ok, now to the cookie story, well these Nana's cookies I originally purchased at Whole Foods in Montclair, NJ. They were my solution to going out for coffee and wanting to have a cookie with it, or if I didn't bake my own cookies, I would eat them at home with a glass of soy milk. Well, i thought I had to give them up forever until a thought crossed my mind yesterday as I was heading to my first coffee date and was passing by the one of 2 health food stores in town (Bishop's Stortford). So I went in to look for a granola bar or something when, "Eureka!" There on the bottom shelf were a pile of Nana's cookies. now I don't know which flavors they normally stock or if they alternate, but my favorites are the chocolate chip and the oatmeal raisin. So I bought the chocolate chip one to enjoy with my soy latte. Yummy! I never thought I would find them here, and I did which was very exciting.

Coffee with a Friend

Yesterday I had the pleasure of having coffee with two of my new friends. So today I thought I would start introducing some of my new friends so they are no longer faceless and nameless. This is Margaret and Reuben who live down the road from us. Reuben here has just gotten his first tooth which is why he is so happy! They are home during the day just like me, so we usually hang out together at some point during the week. I often go to Margaret's house and we play with Reuben while baking, or we go out for a walk or into town for a coffee. Yesterday we went to the deli/cafe down at the bottom of the hill in our little village. Technically I am told, that Stansted (where we live) is a village and Bishop's Stortford is a town. We go there for things like shops, banks, and church etc. It is about a 5 minute drive and a 3 minute train journey. I often get the train in for a wander around town to the charity shops and have a cup of coffee and read my book. Today I am not going into town, but I might need to pop to the shops in the village for something to cook for dinner.