Thanksgiving Weekend

Dear Readers,

First of all, HAPPY THANKSGIVING, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with their family and friends. I for one had an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. Thanksgiving has always been my favourite holiday, and this year, after five years away I was finally home with my entire family for Thanksgiving AND I had a special guest with me as well, my Swedish friend Axel joined too. SO this Thanksgiving was even greater as I spent it introducing Axel to Canadian Thanksgiving traditions.

A typical Thanksgiving for the Oland family consists of the entire family going up to Poppy’s Reach (our family cottage on the Kingston Peninsula), carving pumpkins and eating a delicious feast!

The first step in preparing for Thanksgiving was the trip to Cochrans Country Market to pick out our pumpkins for carving. This was a first for Axel to pick out a pumpkin, but Mom told him that the right pumpkin would “speak to him” and eventually we found our perfect pumpkins.

Following our search for the perfect pumpkins, I took Axel up to Spyglass Hill. Spyglass is a hill located in central Rothesay which has various trails around it. Lucky for me it is only about a twenty-five-minute walk from my house! The colours of the leaves were pretty spectacular, and the view from the top is always spectacular. From the top, you can see the Kennebecasis River, Long Island, and the Kingston Peninsula.

The drive up to the Family Cottage takes about a half hour from Rothesay up to the Kingston Peninsula. I had not been up to the cottage since the last time I was home for Thanksgiving in first year university so I was thrilled to be going. Poppy’s Reach is in a beautiful location on Long Reach facing the St John River.

Questionably, the biggest talent my family has is cooking. My grandmothers, aunts, and uncles are all fabulous cooks, so having big family meals is always the best. Thanksgiving Dinner, of course, is no exception. My favourite part is always the Pumpkin Pie, it is the perfect Autumn dessert, and Axel got to try it for the first time!

After dinner, we always light our pumpkins before we head off for the evening!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving too and are enjoying all the turkey leftovers! I am just so thankful to have been able to spend this Thanksgiving at home in Rothesay, fingers crossed I will be around for the next Thanksgiving too 🙂