Snow is falling........

My first Thanksgiving dinner was loads of fun with great food and company. Hurrah for the Indians helping the Pilgrims with the turkey. Before we started our meal, Vic (daddy of the host house) asked his daughters what they were thankful for. They replied - for their family and friends, and for the lovely food. Then it was the turn of the adults - yup, we also had to give thanks for something. I'm not sure if this is part of general Thanksgiving tradition, but it was such a lovely start to the meal and a chance to stop for a moment and reflect, realising again that surely I have so much to be thankful for in my life.

Sadly (!), by the time the Pumpkin Pie made an appearance, I was already full of other kinds of pie so I couldn't manage any - shame that. (Although even for the sake of International relations I still wouldn't have had any - it seems just a bit too close to eating Neep pie for my liking.)

After the dinner, the conversation was flowing and one of the guests - cousin John, a 23 yr old trainee fighter pilot with the US Air Force - was answering questions from the menfolk who were all keen to know about what it was like to fly fast planes and other boy stuff. There was a hilarious 'lost in translation' moment when he was explaining what happens when you hit 10 Gs (whatever that is) and the plane is suddenly vertical........... - 'well it's ok cause I'm wearing these inflatable pants which will start to fill with air.......' I tried to be polite and not hoot with laughter in the corner, but failed.

I moved onto Amy and Keith's in Wisconsin last Friday and have had a lovely Christmassy time with them and their girls. We have been to Santa's postbox (and here's the evidence of Sophie, Fiona and wee Lucy), chosen and decorated the Christmas tree, made gingerbread cookies, been to see 'A Christmas Carol' - the list goes on. Amy had a Christmas 'at home' yesterday and there was a lovely spread of fancies on offer - proving yet again that I have the gift of turning up at just the right time for partying and/or food going on :)

Over the last week I have eaten both Turtle and Grasshopper..but don't worry, I'm not auditioning for the local version of 'I'm a non-celebrity, feed me to the crocodiles please' - they are both flavours of Copp's frozen custard (very thick ice cream) which is a local Milwaukee delicacy. Turtle Sundae and Grasshopper Fudge were both yummy.

Coming much further north has certainly meant that the temperature has dropped - we've had two falls of snow since I arrived. I'm adjusting to the temperature being measured

in Fahrenheit rather than Centigrade - today while driving into town, one of the roadside signs lulled me into a false sense of warmth by announcing it was 19 degrees. What this actually means in real terms is that it is minus 7.2 C. And it was in the middle of the day! Brrrrrrrrrr.