Day 62 - Friendsgiving

In contrast to Ren's onsen dinner, I ate a gigantic, traditional potluck style Thanksgiving with my friends, fondly know as Friendsgiving. On this day, I'd already accepted that my diet would be out the window. Friendgiving is special to me, and it will be my last one here in Gainesville. I even allowed drinking for the day. I ate so much that my stomach HURT! Hurt so good....my friends can cook. I mean, holy crap, it was a true smorgasbord of gourmet Thanksgiving deliciousness. It was all very rich, but nothing was packaged or processed foods. All scratch.

I cooked the turkey. My first turkey. Turned out great! Mixing suggestions from friends, family and Alton Brown, I brined it overnight and then poured steaming white wine mixed with apple, onion, cinnamon stick, rosemary & sage into the cavity before tossing it in the oven. Only took 2 1/2 hours and the meat was near perfect. Not quite as juicy as I would have liked but the homemade gravy I made with the turkey drippings covered that up well. I also made a wild rice stuffing with the drippings, added mushrooms, onion, celery and dried cranberries. My food was fatty but it was food. And, it was good. The turkey was ravaged, gravy demolished and stuffing finished during intermission between Harry Potter 5 & 6.

So, food-wise, I'm not going to lie. The last third of this KFB is going to be a challenge. It's the beginning of the eating season (as my father said this morning) and bonding in this way is a large part of my traditional upbringing. My goals are to limit eating out and to be strict with myself when it's just me. This should give me some breathing room for the days where I'll be expected to eat large amounts of rich foods. However, considering that I'll be moving to another continent for over 2 years, I want to really be a part of these events.

Friendsgiving was important to me in that it was chance for me to get all my Gainesville family in one place and really enjoy them. Soon, people will start scattering for the holidays, some won't be back before I leave town. In the next few weeks, I'm going to have to start saying my good-byes. One by one. This is the heart-wrenching part of moving on to new adventures, closing down the old ones. This family I've created here in Gainesville is deeply embedded in who I am as a person. Though there is something comforting about that statement, if they are so much a part of me then they will always be with me. I only need think of them and the security of their love will blanket me. Still, there IS something finite about hugging someone you love and not knowing when you will feel the tightness of their arms again. At least, you were fortunate enough to rest in their embrace for even a short amount of time.