Thanksgiving Special

Seriously, what's Thanksgiving without this?

Whenever my brother, Russell, is feeling up to it, he cooks our turkey in the backyard in an (unused) aluminum can (sort of like Oscar the Grouch's abode).  They call it a 'litter bin' here.  'Garbage' is strictly an American word (apparently), and 'trash' has stronger negative connotations than at home.  I usually end up calling it a 'traaaaa ---- litter bin?'  Anyway, Russ's turkey is wonderful - cooked to perfection, very moist, and done in about half the time of a traditionally baked turkey.

Even though I'll be missing Thanksgiving dinner with my family this week, I'm looking forward to enjoying a little Thanksgiving celebration with the ACU Study Abroad folks this Sunday evening.  (They have trips coming up, so they opted for celebrating early.  Plus, we naturally don't have the holiday off here in Oxford, so it'd fall right in the middle of 7th week.)

I'll be home 3 weeks from yesterday, thanks to the generosity of Janis and Brian.  My Christmas gifts this year are mostly "the gift of family."  It's probably the best Christmas gift I've ever received.