It had a head!

Thanksgiving was awesome! Everything turned out so well...but of course there were a few hitches and amusing anecdotes along the way....

First of all I had a really interesting game of miming and minimal words with a shop lady. I wandered in randomly browsing for serving dishes, and noticed some nice candles. Well - candles would be great on the table! - thought I. So I said Hello (in thai), and she says hello (in thai), and I say politely I don't speak thai (in thai) and pointed at the candles, and she says - something something blah blah blah something...all in thai! Crap! So I say again - I don't speak thai. And again she tells me a big long story. Sigh. Maybe I'm saying it wrong. Anyways - pointed at the candles and got them out of the cabinet, but I need some candle holders. So back to my game of mime - I started gesturing putting the candles into a holder. You know - candle in hole to hold it.....at which point I realize - man this is a rather rude gesture. She is either going to understand or I'm going to get kicked out very soon! Thankfully she understood and our game of miming ended well :)

Had a lovely visit with the corner store people that I like. They call their daughter out when I come in, I think so she can practice her english. And they had a great time teaching me about how eggs are graded in Thailand so I could pick the ones I wanted....really I just wanted 2 eggs so I could make my pumpking pie!

Finally came time to make the chicken. I bought one from the grocery store in the big city that was all nicely wrapped on a styrofoam try just like you would find at home, cause the ones at the market that look like rubber chickens kind of freak me out. So I rip open the plastic, whip out the chicken...*gasp*....IT HAS A HEAD. It was all neatly tucked under the body so you couldn't see it! I freaked out, panicked, called ray at work - chicken in one hand, phone in the other, yelling - the chicken has a head!!!!! He probably thought it was some code word and I have been kidnapped. Poor guy had no clue what I was talking about. If there was ever a moment I considered being a vegetarian - it was that moment. But I supressed my gag reflex, caught off the head and neck, and did what any self respecting Lenfesty (my mom/grandma's family) woman would do - I stewed it up with the gizzards for gravy. Ha!

Final moment of horror came during dinner. A beautiful table laid out, all decorated with flowers and candles, enjoying wine and dinner and company with our friend Anton, and having this lovely philosophical conversation about how very blessed we are to be able to travel the world and meet all these different people. How the people are so much more exciting and interesting than the places or buildings could ever be. Real sort of Zen moment....and suddenly Ray realizes that the chicken also still has feet.....which are tucked up inside it's butt so that it sits nice and tucked in to roast....and so he pulls a nicely roasted chicken foot out of the chicken butt, presents it to the table and says - so who wants the foot? *gasp again*

Never a dull moment in Songkhla! I'm sure my housekeeper thinks we are mad with the amount of dishes and wine bottles that were laying around this morning when she got here. I hid from her in shame and ran off to the spa for a facial with my friend Claire....hahaha

Lots of love
Pamela

p.s. Going to Bangkok this weekend with the girls for a christmas shopping extravaganza! So excited!!!