Tag: Thanksgiving

Dubbel

It's Thanksgiving Day in the United States today. The snow has fallen off and on all night and morning. Yesterday, my wife picked up a few packs of our favourite ales. Despite not liking cold weather, I've found a few creative ways to make use of the snow for the daily Photography 101 challenge.

I recently discovered the beers by Allagash Brewing in Portland, Maine. I was looking for a stout and saw the Black sitting on a shelf. Next to it was the White. I love them both, but the White is my favourite. My wife picked up the Saison and Dubbel. The Dubble is what you see here.

Allagash Dubbel boasts a deep red color and a complex malty taste. The finish is dry with subtle hints of chocolate and nuts. The yeast asserts itself by lending a classic Belgian fruitiness.Allagash Brewing

This was a simple setup. The bottle was placed in some of the snow that had fallen on the rear deck of my home. I threw some dried-up leaves from the backyard into the mix to balance the photo. It works. What do you think?

The bottle was shot with the camera placed flat on the deck.

In response to Photography 101's daily photo challenge: "Double".

Breakfast

This was the last piece of apple oatmeal pie. I washed it down with a cup of Ethiopian Harrar, brewed in the French press. I love the smell of freshly ground coffee beans. I'm thankful for coffee. We hosted Thanksgiving this year. Not all our family could make it to our home but I'm thankful that we were able to host again. We, of course, we had too much food and I'll be eating turkey sandwiches for the rest of the week. I'm thankful for apple pie. I'm thankful for insulin.

Published via Pressgram

Traditions

I was not born or raised in the United States (USA). Like many people, including my wife and her family, I'm an immigrant. I've lived in the USA since I was eighteen years old, coming here in the 80s to get a college education. I love my new country — my wife and became naturalised citizens in the early 90s — and one of my favourite holidays is Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a holiday all Americans, natural born or not can celebrate regardless of religion or politics.

My wife and her family came to the USA in 1974, and when I found out that they had never hosted or attended Thanksgiving, I was determined that that must change. So the year we were married I started a new family tradition. Thanksgiving at our home. After as immigrants, I think we had a lot to be thankful for.

This year, Thanksgiving was special. My brother-in-law was to be married, and as Hindu tradition has it, the groom has a particular day, the Grah Shanti, on which his body and person is prepared for his wedding. This was also an opportunity for the women — on both the groom and bridal party — to get their hands and feet decorated in mehndi.

So, this Thanksgiving, although we did not have turkey, and stuffing, and my sister-in-law wonderfully creamy mashed potatoes, we were still together, taking part in family traditions and finding much to be thankful for.