This year we are very thankful for a long Thanksgiving/weekend. David was on the verge of a cold, so this long break gave him plenty of time to doze off on the couch, to lounge around drinking hot tea with lemon, and to spend extended quality time with Jacob and James.

Jacob was over the moon about the long break because he doesn’t like school (we don’t know many kids who do) and because he hasn’t had any recess to blow off steam at school. Last but not least, we love cooking and eating, so this Thanksgiving gave us plenty of time to make plenty of home-cooked food. The joy of eating compels us to constantly look for new recipes to make together.

Between resting, cooking and playing, we made some short excursions to reach out to the community and to explore Kentucky some more. In modern, fast-paced society, true restfulness, simplicity and leisure time are hard to come by, so we were truly thankful for such an opportunity to slow down, to just be with our kids and to wander.

Day One:

We joined an international Thanksgiving feast at Wesley and Sida Roberts’ house here in town. Both Wesley and Sida are our church musicians at St. Thomas. Wesley is from Florida originally and is a part-time farmer on their berry and Christmas tree farm. Sida is French and staunchly so. She is originally from Strasbourg in France.

Their Thanksgiving party was a gathering of French, Japanese, Belgian, West African and American people. They are mostly students and retired professors from Campbellsville University. We got an opportunity to take turns talking about what we are thankful for in life. It was interesting to hear what other people are thankful for. We all helped Wesley cut down and erect a very tall Christmas tree in their very tall living room.

I made a creamy rice pudding dish as a contribution to the feast. Sida made a very delicious key lime pie and some French apple pies.

Day Two:

At home we cooked an Indian chicken curry dish and a sweet potato casserole. We had an almost expired plain yogurt tub so we looked for a curry recipe that would incorporate yogurt. We made curry before without yogurt. It turned out that Indian curry that includes either cow milk or goat milk yogurt is more authentic. The more time the ingredients have to sit and blend in with one another, the better the curry tastes. We really enjoyed the delicious curry! The sweet potato casserole turned out delectable as we used a new recipe that uses egg and requires a light flour and pecan crust. The casserole tasted like a pie.

We took the boys on an excursion to the Miller city park near our house. Afterwards, we drove to check out a Confederate cemetery that honors the soldiers of the 3rd, 5th, 7th and 11th Kentucky Calvary companies who died at the battle of Tebbs Bend – Green River Bridge on July 4, 1863. The cemetery is really old so it felt a bit creepy to be there and to stare at those faces in black and white while reading about the battle in the information board.

What a view from the cemetery! Those fallen soldiers from long ago have got a wonderful resting place overlooking a sparkling river and a green and gold valley cradling undulating farm land.

We like cemeteries. We think they are poetic. Jacob likes cemeteries because he is always on the lookout for ghosts and zombies. David and Jacob like going ghost-hunting together.

Day Three:

We went on a long excursion to Rough River Dam State Park for lunch and a mile-long hike around the river. It was raining the whole time we hiked.

We came home to a French onion soup brewing in the crock pot. We ate this with French bread and Parmesan cheese. It was the most buttery soup ever! It was yummy, perfect after an active rainy day.

Thus concluded our 3 days of Thanksgiving. Sunday was all about house chores and getting ready for the busy week ahead.