Thanksgiving in Houston

Thursday morning we drove to see some friends of mine that I'd never met before - Amanda and Brett. I've been chatting with Amanda on and off for 12-13 years but we've never physically met, so this was both a nice renewal of friendship and an opportunity to share in an American holiday ritual. She's been living with her boyfriend Brett in Houston for 3 years, and also bragging about her cooking, so when I decided on the route for this trip, I quickly plotted in Houston at Thanksgiving...

We arrived around 11:30am (many Americans start later, some even earlier...) and quickly got into the eating. There was a lot of stuffing face, taking pictures, exchanging stories, etc, etc. We listened to a lot of country music (I impressed with my ability to remember the words to obscure old tunes) and played some wii (I played bowling, table tennis and golf and got my ass handed to me at all three).

We watched some football and even a train wreck of a TV show called "A very Gaga Thanksgiving", which basically consisted of Lady Gaga confirming to the world that she's gone off the deep end, mentally. It was so bad we were commenting and doing ad libs and generally howling with laughter. I got my orange juice and Astrid got to try a few types of American beer and some vodka. I brought Norwegian chocolate for the yanks. It was good, evil wholesome fun for everyone involved and if I have anything more than a salad for breakfast tomorrow I'll be very surprised.

All pics here.

This was the pic we sent to Amanda's mother to ensure her that everything was fine and that her daughter's Norwegian guests weren't serial killers or anything.


The beast unleashed.


One whole turkey leg after.


Amanda was also stuffing face.


Astrid kept complaining about how full she was, but who do you think snuck into the kitchen for a third and a fourth helping?


Yummyness. Personally, I think the piece du resistance was the pumpkin pie, which Amanda had made herself. Soft, creamy pumpkin pie. Mmmmmm.


Astrid cradling a whiskey bottle in her arms.


"Imma drink this all by mahself, y'all"


Me trying out the very comfy Recliner.


Brett cooling it in the same chair a little later.


Astrid modeling Amanda's boots. We'll try and find an outlet on Friday to stock up on shoes and clothes and stuff. It's so cheap over here it would be downright uneconomical not to buy, buy, buy.