Thanksgiving Weekend

Happy Thanksgiving, AGAIN! We finally got around to a real celebration! Here are the images and pictures from a very fun Holiday weekend!

Sammi created this collage from our dinner on Saturday. Details below!

 Friday afternoon, Q took off work early to adventure with us.

It was back to Shang Kai Shek Memorial to check out the INSIDE displays - we learned more about China's struggle with Japan before Communism took over and the KMT fled to Taiwan. Clearly, EV was ENGAGED!

Then, since we were so close, we went to meet a roommate candidate at the temple - she was doing a later session, so we chatted over dinner. And while we were there, it seemed about time to get Kai to his FIRST round of temple baptisms! (I would have joined him, but my voice was on it's second day of absence, so I opted to come home and rest.)

Me and the kids in front of the Taipei Mormon Temple.

One of these people is not like the other!.... Kai just happened to be at the temple for the Tamsui Ward's temple night! It meant he had to hang out to wait for all the adults pictured to finish their session to bring him home. (ALL of the people above are adults - though some don't look like it! My sweet Sister Wu, or grandma Shirley, as she asked us to call her, is all the way on the left. Next to her is Grandma Margaret. The sister two down from Margaret is Sherry, who took us to see a colleague from Ballet West at a nearby University. Left of her is Coreena, our Relief Society President. Left of her, not bending over, is Helen Wu, who took us to Costco. And directly above her and next to Kai are our two bishops - the one on the left is recently released, and the new bishop is on the right with a hand in front of part of his face.)

Meanwhile, the rest of the family headed home on the MRT. Arthur entertained himself, and more than a passenger or two, with his "funny hair" which he requested I do for him.

Finally, Saturday was the big feast. We were joined by Sammi, Alan, Sophia, Alan's friend from college, and later, Sammi's cousin who also wanted to meet with us about being a Chinese roommate when we go back to Utah.

Below is the adult table. Place-mats are the left-over craft paper I bought for crafting at the Halloween party. We even bought paper plates and clear plastic cups for the occasion. And Veeve colored fall colors on the paper towels we folded for napkins. (We haven't seen true napkins anywhere in this country.) We also scored Martinelli's Sparkling Cider from Costco for dinner. Fancy!

We served from the top of the shoe rack and the microwave cart, both in the front room. The mashed potatoes (my best batch ever) were made in the wok. It was a relief they turned out so yummy because Sammi and Alan reminded us that they had come to my family's Thanksgiving when they were staying in Utah and Alan specifically remembered the mashed potatoes and had missed them for years. Mine held up to his memory. The yams turned out to be every one's favorite, though most started with a very small serving, assuming they wouldn't like them. The rolls, in our oven pictured below, I bought two nights before from a bread store. (The bread stores are SO fabulous here, we didn't miss homemade rolls for one second. I DO however miss JAM! Everything here is jelly, short on fruit and long on sugar.) 

Alan was given the assignment of buying the turkey. I don't think they hunted far, but opted to bring two chickens instead. However, sadly the didn't go to BUY the chickens until AFTER he dropped his family off to eat, so not only did he miss dinner, but the rest of us missed eating meat with ours. We were able to make a chicken gravy from the drippings, which come with your rotisserie purchases here, and it was a big hit. Thankfully there were plenty of potatoes, so everyone had another serving or two with the gravy. And we served a salad with a dressing I made from lemon juice, olive oil, sugar, and dried thyme which I bought from the grocery store. We put pomegranate, celery, chopped walnuts and chopped apples in the salad too.

Anyway, I was THRILLED for our feast - it tasted a lot like home, and equally important, the food was enjoyed by all our guests, more than half of whom had never had Thanksgiving before! Yes, that is pure delight and anticipation on my face!