Delirious Without New York: Thanks and Giving

First off, a belated Happy Thanksgiving to all...

I woke up Thanksgiving morning with a bit of a chip on my shoulder. I was in a major “I miss NYC” mood. I guess I was just craving the cold weather (I know, sounds strange), missing friends and family, and of course the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, which I have successfully dragged Kate to for several years. The mood was also exacerbated by the fact that we did not get a four day holiday (it was actually a really stressful work day). I mean, c’mon, Thanksgiving really is the best. Who can deny that a four day vacation designed around giving thanks and eating an unwise amount of food is not amazing? I sure can’t and so explains my mood that warm Thursday.

Kate and I decided that we needed to host our first Australian Thanksgiving but because we did not get the actual day off work, we decided that Saturday would be our pretend Thanksgiving (we even woke up on Saturday morning to greet each other with holiday wishes). Of course a celebration could not be complete without a bit of drama (surprise, surprise). This time it was our new dining room table...

Just to give a bit of background, we ordered our first real size dining room table over a month ago. It arrived a week later than expected and when we went to open the box which wrapped the marble table top, we noticed the slab had cracked into two pieces. Trying to keep my cool, I called Freedom Furniture, the store which we purchased the table, to explain the situation (I also had to explain that there were also defects on our newly purchased couch and lamp). To my surprise they told me it would only be a couple of days until a replacement table top would be delivered.

Broken marble...

Fast forward a week and a half and still no table, or return phone call for that matter. At this point we were beginning to get a bit concerned, especially knowing that twenty or so people would be coming over for the big feast. Knowing that I would probably flip a switch if I got on the phone with Freedom, Kate decided to make the call. In her calm demeanour, she very clearly explained the situation to the customer service representative- that her husband was American, it was Thanksgiving, and we were hosting the festivities where the table played a central role. The representative seemed to understand, said she would look into it and get back to us, but no return calls. Even Kate began to get frustrated.

Kate called back, this time furious. She got on the phone with a different representative and gave her our reference number (known here as a docket number). After a slight pause, the woman said to Kate, “it says here you are hosting a Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday and need the table by then, let’s see what we can do”. Thankfully the representative understood the importance of the situation but there was little she could do in getting us the new top as it was still in shipment. She came up with an alternative plan. She would have a temporary loaner table top delivered Saturday morning for the party and have it picked up when the new top was delivered. Drama averted, except for the fact that come Saturday morning, the temporary top had not arrived. What were we going to do?

No table top!

30 minutes prior to our guests arriving there was a ring at the door and thankfully it was the temporary table top. Hallelujah! It was also cracked at the corners- but worked fine for the party. Did I mention that the Freedom’s tagline is “built to last”? Yeah right....

The temporary tabletop arrives!

Before, during, after

Anyway, problem solved, and the Thanksgiving festivities were perfect. I realized that traditional Thanksgiving foods are not really designed for a 90 degree summer day. Having the oven on all day was not ideal but worth it in the end. A 4.5kg Turkey; cranberry sauce; sausage stuffing; sweet potatoes and marshmallows; roasted carrots and parsnips; BBQ corn; brussels sprouts with bacon; mac and cheese (thanks, Marni and Josh); and, don’t forget dessert, a pumpkin pie (thanks, Ooghna and Richie); a pecan pie (thanks, Molly and Jason); an apple pie (thanks, Jonathan); florentines (thanks, Pam); cookies (thanks again, Marni); lots to drink (thank you everyone); friends and family; and of course a table top.