So, we're well into the 'holiday season' here in America. Thanksgiving last week already seems like a distant memory and Christmas, in three and a half weeks, is just round the corner.

For Thanksgiving, my flatmate and I went with some friends down to Maryland to visit their family who live near Annapolis. In less than two and a half hours, we were in 'the South'. I'm surprised at how far north the south extends. I don't know who Mason and Dixon were, but when they drew their line, I don't think geography was their primary concern.

Anyway, my friend's family are definitely from the South and they had relatives visiting from Virginia, so everyone spoke with proper southern drawls, I was introduced to the children as 'Miss Ros', and most of the food was fried.

And boy was there a lot of food!

Ten adults sat down to a table groaning under the weight of large dishes of:
Turkey
Ham
Sweet potato souffle with pecan and cornflake topping
Sweet potato souffle with pecan topping
Squash 'casserole' - which seemed to me to be a kind of mashed squash, maybe with other things in it too, but not resembling anything like a casserole!
Stuffing
Fried okra
Green beans with garlic
Carrots with horseradish
Macaroni cheese
Salad
Two kinds of cranberry sauce
Gravy
Blueberry cream pie (no, I don't know why this was served with the main course).

It's possible I may have forgotten something...

The conversation mainly revolved round food. About half way through the first course it transpired that we had seven pumpkin pies waiting for dessert. These varied according to crust (pastry or biscuit crumb(Graham cracker)) and filling (canned or from an actual pumpkin).

After we'd eaten and cleared away, we had dessert a couple of hours later. Then, a little later still, out came the turkey sandwiches.

There's something lovely about a holiday that doesn't revolve around presents. It does just seem to be about being with your family. And eating. A lot.

As soon as we returned to Glenside, the Christmas decorations appeared. On our street there is a particularly tasteless inflatable Santa riding an inflatable motorbike. Our own front door has mysteriously sprouted a tinsel snowman and some intensely irritating bells that hang over the door handle and ring whenever you go in or out.

Bah, humbug!