Relocating: Thanksgiving memories

I consulted our guestbook to get Thanksgiving dates right. We weren't diligent - our first entry was for 1989. Beginning in 1981 various generations of O'Sullivans gathered in Raleigh to celebrate Thanksgiving. To avoid family dramas we included students and colleagues. This is our last Thanksgiving gathering in Raleigh. As the siblings move further away and the cousins establish their own families new traditions will emerge. Here are a few memories that we will recall over the next few days.

One year my 80-plus year old grandmother asked Doug to make her a scotch and water. She sent my father into the kitchen to make sure that it wasn't weak. (Which brings to mind a family story - my grandmother ordered a martini at lunch. My grandfather chided her by saying, "You weren't raised to drink martinis at lunch." My grandmother's response was, "I wasn't raised with indoor plumbing either, but I like it.")

Among our earliest guests were Han Di, Budi and Titi. On Friday Budi and Titi's son Eko will marry in Bogor, Indonesia. We will send photos and good wishes to Eko via FaceBook. (In 2005 Eko and his family took us to visit a potter in Jakarta. Later we had him make candy dishes to give to the guests at Colin's wedding.) In the mid-80s Han Di returned to China and married Gu Wei. Gu Wei brought an embroidered table cloth (pictured below), which will cover our table again this Thanksgiving. As I a recall she first confronted silverware at Thanksgiving dinner.




Another year Brendan entertained the young children by standing on his head. They filled his pockets with coins, asked him to stand on his head, and chased the coins as they fell out of his pocket. Amanda (from Malaysia) was one of the children. She drew the picture of the Thanksgiving table that is still on our refrigerator.

Our Thanksgiving dinner has the traditional turkey. We have salsa from the recipe of the Arizona State colleague, who taught us the benefits of slathering turkey with salsa. Our non-O'Sullivan guests have influenced our dinner. For those who like spicy foods we have green bean curry. For the vegetarians we include mattar paneer. When nephew was celebrating Thanksgiving in Minnesota he asked Brendan for the recipe. We try to make enough to have left overs on Friday. I make Mama Stamburg's cranberry relish, and with luck I take it out of the freezer so it is thawed by dinner time. The South Beach diet added a new dish - mock mashed potatoes, which are made with cauliflower.