Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving at the Pole was FANTASTIC!  Holidays are a community effort down here on the Ice.  Everyone pitches in to help out and make things run smoothly.  The week before the big dinner, there were several sessions of community preparations.  One night about 15-20 people pitched in to bake pies.  We baked in epic proportions.  I helped out with the pumpkin pies, as those are my favorite.  I have never added gallons of pureed pumpkin to a bowl before!  And it was definitely not a bowl – more like a cauldron.  I stirred the filling with a HUGE whisk, and it required two hands.  It was awesome.  The next night there was the potato peeling party, which was more like vegetable cutting and prep. 

Last night was our Thanksgiving dinner.  There were three different shifts because we have so many people on station.  I was in the first seating with the majority of my friends – it was a blast!  Before dinner, the ladies got dressed up and it felt like we were going to the prom.  I found some killer red pumps in skua and tested those out – success!  Everyone arrived in the hallway outside the galley 30 minutes before the start of dinner for h’ours d’oeuvres (sp?), music, and mingling.  Then we proceeded to dinner.  I was shocked by how beautifully-decorated the room was.  All it took was some lighting, table cloths, candles, and a fake fire on our tv displays to turn the galley into a fancy banquet hall.  The food was served buffet-style and we had wine and pie stewards running around keeping our glasses and plates full.  It was quite different than my normal Thanksgiving dinners and was quite a treat!  I loved it!

After our seating, I took an hour off to work off the delicious turkey dinner with a few games of fooseball in the lounge.  It was great.  After some play time, I returned to the ‘hall’ to help clean, get another seating ready, and serve wine and pie.  It was a blast volunteering, but I think next time I am going to work in the dish pit cleaning dishes.  They really had a party going in there – disco lights and all!  The party migrated later on in the evening to SummerCamp, where the dancing didn’t cease until after 4:00am.  All in all, it was a great event!