A Perfect Turkey

27 November 2005

No one really gets Thanksgiving here, of course. It's a work day, like any other, and FHM is going to press so it's even more busy than usual. I was invited to my friend, Tony's, place for a small dinner with some of our close friends and fortunately, I was able to sneak out at 5 o'clock to run home and make a pie for dessert. Sadly, it wasn't pumpkin, even though I've had a pumpkin on my table for over a month begging to become pie, but in the last several busy weeks, there just hasn't been time.

I arrived on time, at 7 o'clock, bearing pie and a bottle of wine. I was the first to arrive. While his girlfriend and I circled the apartment lighting dozens of candles, Tony was working away in the kitchen, with a huge turkey in the oven, mashed potatoes on the stove, a big bowl of fresh cranberry sauce on the counter and a selections of cheeses, breads, sundried tomatoes and olives on the table for snacking on. It smelled wonderful. Shortly after, our friends Matt and his Russian wife Lena arrived with their 4 month old baby boy. When the turkey came out of the oven, golden brown and roasted to perfection, Tony let his girlfriend and I pick at the skin. :)

Dinner was so delicious, I knew Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday, but I forgot just how good it could be. Despite being completely stuffed, I had seconds of turkey and stuffing... and there was still pie to come! Tony's girlfriend said it was the best pie she had ever tasted, and is apparently now threatening to leave Tony for me if he doesn't learn to bake. After dinner we were so stuffed, there was nothing to do but lay down on the sofa and drink more.

Tony lives in a quiet courtyard on Ausros Vartu g. near the gates of dawn, and as we left the apartment, we discovered it was snowing. Up there, it was perfectly quiet, and the world seemed to be covered in silver, as the moon reflected on the freshly fallen snow. I took a deep breath, winter is almost here.

Life has been so busy these days, from Halloween to Ieva Magazine's 15th Birthday Party and the FHM Fashion awards. There are over 20 kids on the Kalnu Ereliai ski team now, and I'm up to my elbows in equipment orders, registration forms, and trying to figure out how to write a liability release in Lithuanian. After Thanksgiving, all I want to do is stay home and watch Home Alone. Which, is exactly what I did Friday night. Tony was kind enough to give me a little turkey to take home, so I bought some good bread and beet salad and original Pringles, rented the movie and settled down on the couch with my sandwich and a glass of milk. It was a perfect way to spend the day after Thanksgiving, with a perfect turkey sandwich, and did I mention it was still snowing?

And it was still snowing last night when we went to watch the lighting of the Christmas tree. The tacky little program they presented was actually painful to watch, heavily political and completely lacking in anything I could relate to the Christmas season, well, except for the giant pine tree we had to stand out there for 45 minutes waiting for them to light. It was worth it in the end, and there were fireworks.

Unfortunately, today it's raining, but there is more snow predicted for the coming days. I'll have a big group of kids today for ski training, and we're having a special guest come and do some karate with us to help us with our breathing and balance. It may be raining today, but as I said, winter is almost here.

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