Thanks much!

The after before of the ninth-or-whatever-it-is Orphan Thanksgiving. This doesn't even begin to show the carnage that was a night of food and drink at my place.


The after-after. It's the same kitchen after my cleaning lady came on her day off to clean up. The same cleaning lady who lives in my neighborhood, but goes to church in Sai Kung, which is about as long of a commute as you can do in Hong Kong, at least 40 minutes by cab and an hour and a half by public transit. I can't tell you how thankful when I came home last night and saw the spotless kitchen that had replaced the turkey carcass and other collateral damage. Even after paying her time-and-a-half for coming here on her day off (which might be a first for a gweilo living with an amah, methinks), it still wasn't enough. She more than has earned the Christmas bonus I will give her this year.

2) More thanksgiving bits: While I have been doing mashed blue or purple potatoes with blue cheese, no more. This being Asia, everyone thought they were taro, I found out later, and avoided them. Those who tried them loved them, but most thought they were just the superstarch that isn't so tasty.

3) The fourth-ever tandoori turkey was the best ever, all courtesy of a couple of Indian friends who volunteered to make it homemade. Last year, a restaurant did it, and when I got it, a gaping whole was infllicted on the bird, as if a runaway badger tore through the side of it. This year, it was whole, better tasting and beyond juicy. Once again, homemeade is the way to go.

4) As I have always said, Thanksgiving is the ultimate American holiday, as it celebrates gluttony and sloth, and we lived up to our part.

5) The best part of Thanksgiving? Getting to eat leftover desserts as breakfast with your coffee over the next few days.

6) The two weeks of fall in Hong Kong has ended, or at least the local version of fall. During that time, highs were around 78, with little breeze, and lows in the 60s. Now, the highs are in the low 70s, and the lows are in the mid 50s, with wind. I know this sounds like heaven to midwesterners, but I have lived here for 3 years now, and it is cold. Not I-need-to-wear-a-parka cold like the locals, but it is nice to be able to wear long-sleeved shirts again.