Thanksgiving weekend is over. The many pictures racing through my mind make me smile. Mary Kenney hosted about 30 people at her home on Thursday nite. Somehow we managed to have places for everyone and there was plenty of delicious food for all who came. Really, too much food..as usual. Some traditions are the same no matter where you are.....:) I helped with the table settings and decor...along with Katie Pritz who had great ideas for centerpieces, etc. And the tables all looked great...:) Mary and her mom made some great pies..kids running and laughing...Katie and Kevin teaching me to play some pool table game called Crud....talking with Pilar, Mary's friend from Colombia, relaxing and chatting..., My friend Johnni came and some of Mary's coworkers and friends, as well as all of us and the Pritzes. (Katie and Kevin are new this year...she is the gal who had her baby here...3 weeks after arriving....) Memories of old Thanksgiving holidays sometimes caught me up....our times in the Hood with the Pearces and the Fords, or at my folks' house...the last time we were all together. One unexpected moment came when I opened the oven door to pull out the turkey...and was overwhelmed with missing my mom. But overall, it was truly a wonderful day and one for the memory banks as well.
Although we didn't have football on Thurs., we did get to watch it on Friday with the Pages...our Aggie friends...heh heh...and several other friends. Mike and I thought it was a great game....:)More desserts and snacking....and of course...winning...made it a great afternoon.
As the holiday season is on in full force...National Day for the United Arab Emirates is tomorrow...(see Dec. 2007 blog entrys...:)) and Christmas fast approaching...I've had several things make me smile...and some that make me shake my head in amazement. Like feeling cold this evening in the park at 80 degrees, or driving to the ladies Christmas seminar at church...with my reindeer shirt on..and black capris, and my windows down with Christmas carols blaring as I drove past the corner mosque....( Some things feel really surreal..even after 15 months here. ) Katie and I shopping for fabric to cover the converted pool table/dining table made me smile... I love seeing Christmas fabrics(they seem so out of place) here and baby Ella is always fun to be with... Or decorateing our tree on Sat. with Sallie, Robert and Ryan...once again missing Russell, but feeling more like home this time. Perhaps it is doing it for the second time...sort of feels normal now. It was sad though, to pull out mom's ornaments that I picked up when I was with her last year at Thanksgiving... (The truth is, I wanted to be alone by the tree and cry like crazy...but life goes on and there just wasn't anyway to do that. )
So the tree is up...the stockings are hung by the window with care...and we are all doing well. Wednesday nite we head to Dubai to catch our flight to Bulgaria...and then, hopefully, I will have lots of fun things to share about playing in the snow and freezing our tails off!!!
Mike's home! Time to go.
Love, Mattie
