Giving thanks

Isn't it good to give thanks?  Don't you think it makes you feel better to acknowledge your blessings?  Well, I do. I'm thankful for so many things in my life.  And last November I was invited to not one but two American Thanksgiving dinners, which wasn't bad considering that we're out in New Zealand where Americans are definitely in a minority.

So, the first comes courtesy of Julie, my dear American friend who has brightened up so many of my days here.  With some American friends of her own destined to be here on 24 November, the official day to celebrate Thanksgiving in 2011 (a day that many Americans regard as more important than Christmas!) Julie decides to put on a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, with turkey, cranberry sauce, et al.  Only drawback, the holiday home is down in Karaka Bay, whose only access is down a steep, zigzagging path over 100m long.  Never mind.  We'll just carry everything down - and back up!

We have Beverley with us.  Beverley is in her late 70s; she has difficulty walking distances, even on the flat.  Beverley is detailed off to cook the turkey and make the gravy. Julie makes excellent pies. I'm providing potatoes and kumara for mashing. I also provide transport.  Late afternoon I collect Beverley, turkey and gravy, and Julie with sundry bags/pies/sauces/veg and we make our way to Karaka Bay parking area.  Then we form relays.  I dash ahead to tackle potatoes.  Beverley arrives with Julie 5 minutes later.  We are also joined by 2 other Americans Julie has met in her search for a job, men in their 20s, far from home.  We are a motley crew down by the beach in a wooden holiday home with basic facilities, but somehow it all comes together and we celebrate joyfully, and each of us gives thanks for the good things in our lives:

The little holiday home is the one in the foreground.



Karaka Bay on a balmy November evening; you can see Browns Island, otherwise known as MotuKorea, another extinct volcanic island.

Beverley's turkey and gravy, with Beverley in the background.  She was married to an American and loves all things US.

A feast awaits.

Julie slaving over a hot stove, with her friend Stephanie supervising : )

My only concern all evening is 'how are we to get Beverley back up the path?'.  I needn't have worried.  With a bit of encouragement she finds extraordinary energy, and ignoring her dodgy legs she fair strides up the path.  Just shows what we can do when people believe in us.....

Two days later Roy and I are having our latest weekend away at Kawau Island, just over an hour's drive north of Auckland.  We are there because there are 2 Americans we've never met who know someone in England who knows Roy.  Naturally they invite us to join their Thanksgiving Dinner.  So we book into the only B&B on the island at Kawau Lodge (thoroughly recommended, incidentally, in spite of my mosquito bites).  Our Lodge hosts are also Thanksgiving guests.  Everyone takes something.  I take Anzac biscuits.  Ok, so they're Kiwi staples, but I did make them myself; surely that counts for something?

Just after 6pm we duly head over to the Pardeys (yacht followers may recognise the name; Lin and Larry, inveterate sailors of many decades and authors of many yachting books).  The place is awash with new faces for us.  There are those who own baches (beach houses, remember?) on the island, those who've come by boat, and us.  In all we are 34!  Some French, some American, some Kiwis, some Brits.  Another motley crew you might say.

It takes TWO turkeys to feed this lot.  They've done this before.  There's a well-drilled set-piece as tables are organised and laid and bowls of food appear.  It's delightfully laidback and friendly.

One of the turkeys waiting to be carved; Larry Pardey with the white beard, in the middle...

Definitely something to be thankful for!

We have a wonderful day exploring Kawau, having morning coffee and afternoon tea with new friends.  We visit the Mansion House, one-time home of Governor Grey from the 1860s:

It's now looked after by the Department of Conservation.  Beautiful grounds:

It's like a traditional parkland, with a mixture of English and exotic trees together.  Unlike the rest of the island which is coated in pohutukawa, punga, kanuka and manuka - and others unknown to me....  You can see how wooded it is here:

That's Kawau Lodge, above.

On the other side of the inlet from the Lodge lies the Pardeys' house, to the right.  All places are only accessible by boat. Roy's kind of heaven.  I could have done without the mosquitoes.........

And so November draws to a close and we prepare for our Christmas visitors, with thankfulness.