November musings
japra | Nov 10, 2009 | Comments 19
The weather here lately has made a few of us in the Netherlands a wee bit homesick for England. It’s not just me, Roxi said that several of her friends at school reported they were feeling lonely for England too. I’m pretty sure it was the cold and wet from last week. Funny how something dark and dreary can make us long for something we complained about at the time!
So here we are, almost half-way through November. I’ve been dropping hints about not having a Thanksgiving feast this year. It’s such a lot of work for something that lasts 20 minutes tops. The first year we were in England, I made a large chicken with all of the regular side dishes. Last year, I made a ham. No one seems to want turkey in my house. You can get turkey–in general, though, you have to special order it. I was at Sligo (a upscale, smaller version of Sam’s Club or Costco) yesterday with a friend of mine and saw they had turkeys to order. How much? About €7 per kilo, or about $5.25 per pound. Someone mentioned that she ordered a cooked turkey from her local butcher last year for €70! I’ll let you do the conversion.
So I think we’ll take a short trip to Germany this year and visit a Christmas Market or two. I heard we can make a day trip of it, which is nice if I can’t find a kennel for Trudy.
Other news, Roxi was accepted to a European-wide choir event. I’ll tell you more about this after it’s done, but let’s just say she is SO FREAKING EXCITED about it :-) We are really proud of her! Well done, Roxi girl.
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Filed Under: Blog • Expat Life • Featured • Food
About the Author: JaPRA is an expat Texan living in Holland with her husband (Mr. DJ), their 15-year old daughter (Roxi), and their dog Trudy.
OMG, 70 Euros for a TURKEY?! They must have really wanted that Turkey!! I know what you mean about all the work and so little time enjoying it. I’ll be ‘doing’ thanksgiving this year for the first time in about 18 years because we have some other AMericans joining us, but I have mixed feelings about it. I guess Im thinking I’ll do it to show the kids, then thats it done for us, unless we’re ever in the States for the event, of course.
Well done Roxi on the choir event, sounds like it must be an impressive thing!!
Michelloui, yes, I am not sure I would EVER want turkey that badly. Thanksgiving to me is really about family, anyway. And without family here, we might as well be thankful in Germany over a plate of bratworst and a beerstein–LOL!
Good luck with your feast. I am sure everyone will enjoy it. Will you be doing all the cooking yourself?
I just got back from Kroger where I got a 19 pound turkey for $5.14 ($0.27 a pound with $20 additional purchase). They’re practically giving them away.
John, I just realized that even if someone GAVE me a 20 pound turkey, I wouldn’t be able to store the darn thing in my fridge or freezer. And let’s just say I figured out how to shove the turkey in my tiny fridge by taking out three shelves… would it even fit in my oven?
Your Thanksgiving plans sound like so much fun – I would LOVE to be doing that on Thanksgiving! Since traveling to see family is too far we always do something that doesn’t involve turkey (this year it’s Uncle Julio’s).
I had to laugh when I read about Roxi’s state of mind! It’s a perfect description :) Can’t wait to hear about where she gets to go and sing – I’m sure it’ll be somewhere interesting.
Julia, back in Texas, we did Thanksgiving lunch out with my parents and then headed over to my in-laws for ANOTHER full meal. Uncle Julio’s sounds perfect. Enjoy it for me as well!! We used to go to one of their restaurants in the Washington DC area. It was the best Tex Mex we could find.
You will love the German Christmas market. I have only been to the Bremen one but it is amazing.
Kathy, I can’t wait to drink the gluhwein and wander the stalls. I hope I have enough arms to shop and take pics!
Yay! Roxi is so cool – congrats! I’m going to enjoy telling people I was friends wth her mum before she became famous one day.
I loooove that photo! It is gorgeous.
Tee hee, you’re funny Emm.
a Day trip to a Christmas market, …must be nice! Looking forward to some photos. Congrats to Roxi on being accepted to the choir. American Thanksgiving is just around the corner, isn’t it?
Christine, I know we’re so lucky! But I was wondering, are Christmas markets popular in Canada? I would think in Quebec City or Montreal there would be something…
What a delightful shop window on the post above!
But it is the image here that calls me. It’s as lovely as a Japanese painting and as nostalgic.
I’ve been missing England too. Not the cold damp winter, but the landscape. Isn’t true love loving someone at her worst?
Congratulations to Roxi! What an honor!
I’m looking forward to your images of the German Xmas market.
Sarah, in the first three months here in Den Haag, I was so homesick for the English countryside. I think it was worse because we actually had a nice summer, and I could picture all of the long, lovely walks we could have taken through the English countryside. I could never get enough of it. It was like walking through history and every English novel.
Oh I can’t wait to see the photos of the Christmas market! My younger sister lived in Germany for 6 months while she was finishing her Master’s degree and one of her favorite parts was visiting those markets!
Also – YAY! for Roxi!!
A trip to a Weihnachtsmarkt sounds so lovely! I remember reading a feature on the Vienna Weihnachtsmarkt in Saveur a few years ago and being enchanted by the pictures.
Isn’t it funny how we complain away about things in one climate, and then pine for them when we move on to another one! I spent most of my undergrad years moaning about Chicago winters. Now that I’m gone, I miss them. The grass is always greener, etc., I suppose.
Congratulations to Roxi on her acceptance to the choir event!
I think “the grass is always greener” sums it all up, Anne!
well done, Miss Roxi! We all are SO FREAKING EXCITED! Can’t wait to hear the whole story! And how wonderful to visit Germany in the Christmas season… O Tannebaum and Stille Nacht…xox
Mimsy, I can’t wait to see the Christmas markets. I just want to walk around in the cold, glühwein in one hand, camera in the other :-)