Kiwi Thanksgiving

Hi All,

I overlooked mentioning our amazing Kiwi Thanksgiving in New Zealand. We were at our Horse Trek in our little hut with Cheryl, our guide. Like I said, she prepared a couple of beautiful meals for us on the wood burning stove and Thankgiving dinner was one of them. She prepared the meal and we came with the pumpkin for desert, of course, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it. She prepared a wonderful fish dish baked in coconut milk(very common in New Zealand), fresh zucchini with garlic from her garden, baked kumara (a New Zealand sweet potato that was very inportant to the Maori), a fresh salad, and of course a wonderful New Zealand Pinot Noir. We sat down at our wood table by candle light, as the hut had no electricity, and taught Cheryl the meaning of Thanksgiving, the history, and why Americans celebrate the day to be with family and friends. The three of us took turns giving thanks for our lives in the past year, acknowleging our blessings and lessons learned. Cheryl said something beautiful, "I am thankful for my beautiful home that I get to share with others from all over the world. I get to experience the world by standing still". We were honored to teach her the beauty of the Thanksgiving holiday. She mentioned that she really liked the idea, the meaning, and how neat it was the Americans set aside a day to honor thanks.

Let us discuss the pumpkin desert. We brought a long a pumpkin cupcake mix that Jason's mom had given us. We prepared the dough in our little hut using fresh cream and fresh eggs from the chickens. Then we popped it in the wood stove and out they came crispy on top and soft in the middle, super yummy. A great first Thanksgiving for these Newlweds.

We hope that you all had a happy, yummy, and fun Thanksgiving. We missed our families and spent some time discussing the things and experiences that we were missing. We thought of you all.

Take care,
Leah and Jason