Thanksgiving and Black Friday Michigan style......

Det er dagen derpaa efter Thanksgiving, hvor vi var inviteret op til Julias foraeldre (Teresas veninde). Vi lagde haardt ud med at sove laenge og stornyde at det for en gangs skyld er os, der har fri og ikke jer hjemme i DK! Alle mand naaede en tur op omkring fitness rummet her i Briar Cove hvor Luca udviste saerdeles alternativ anvendelse af loebebaand..... Kristian naaede endda et par gange op forbi Meiers for foerst at koebe drikkevarer og endnu en gang for at koebe noget roedkaal til en salat, der egentlig var tiltaenkt at skulle bestaa af groenkaal, men et lidt mislykket forsoeg paa at bruge "baby kale" blev en saa slatten omgang, at vi var noedt til at lave det om, og vi blev let forsinkede til Thanksgiving.

It is the day after Thanksgiving where we were invited to Julias parents (Teresas friend). We started the day sleeping in and enjoy that for once it was our turn to have some time off, which is a rare occurrence when comparing with the Danish holidays! The five of us made it to the gym here at Briar Cove, where Luca in particular had a very alternative way of using the treadmill..... Kristian also had to go to Meiers a few times - first for getting some beverages for dinner and later for getting red cabbage for a salad, that was originally intended to contain kale, but a somewhat failed attempt to use "baby kale" which got incredibly soggy made us go with the red cabbage instead, and we were slightly late for Thanksgiving.

Megan og Kurt bor bogstavelig talt i en skov og det endda inden for bygraensen. Vi startede med at gaa en tur ved ankomst og kom baade ned forbi floden og igennem "the arboretum" der hoerer under universitetet. Vi moedte en "redtailed hawk" der havde saa travlt med at guffe sig igennem et egern, at den ikke gad flytte sig og vi derfor blev helt bekymrede for om den sad fast i noget.
Jeg tog desvaerre ikke nogen billeder, men der manglede ikke hverken mad eller hjemmebrygget mjoed af honning fra egen avl. Jeg fik proevet 2 varianter med hhv vanille og kirsebaer - nammenam.
De er selv kommet hjem fra et aar i Costa Rica her i sommers og det er skoent at kunne fornemme at Julia er lige saa glad for at have laert Teresa at kende som omvendt, men det var nu ikke meget vi saa til de 2 toeser, da der var et hjorteskind i garagen, der ikke rensede sig selv!

Megan and Kurt literally lives in the forest even though it is still within the city border. We started out going for a walk and passed not only River Huron but also "the arboretum" that belongs to the university. We encountered a redtailed hawk being so busy consuming a squirrel that it hardly took notice of us, and we acutally got worried that it might be stuck.
I did not take any pctures but we did not run out of food nor home brewed mead from their own honey. I tasted the vanille and the cherry versions and both were awesome.
This family has just returned from a year in Costa Rica this summer and it was nice to  see that Julia enjoys having Teresa as a friend as much as Teresa. We did however not see the girls most of the evening as there was a dear skin in the garage that did not clean itself!

Paa vejen hjem kom vi forbi den propfulde p-plads til Briarwood Mall, og det er aerlig talt svaert ikke at ryste lidt paa hovedet af den amerikanske forbrugsmentalitet - isaer paa Thanksgiving Day hvor man ikke burde vaere ude at shoppe sig halvt fordaervet ovenpaa en eftermiddag, hvor det er taknemmelighed for alt det man har, der burde vaere i hoejsaedet.
Vi er selvklart hoejt haevet over den slags og ventede derfor helt til fredag morgen, foer vi gik i gang med at faa koebt julegaver (host host).
Det var nu ikke fordi Briarwood Mall var gaaet helt amok til Black Friday i dag, men vi fik da fundet nogle gode tilbud i Macys, der sikrer, at der er en saerlig 4 aarig ung dame hjemme i DK, der ikke kommer til at gaa ned paa hverken glimmer, tyl eller pink her i julen. Macys ligger i det ene hjoerne af centeret og er en butik vi kender saerdeles godt fra Californien. I det andet hjoerne ligger Von Mauers. Vi har ALDRIG hoert om den butik andre steder og den oser af midtvest og luksus i en saer sammenblanding. Der var ikke udsalg derinde overhovedet, men der var taarn hoeje priser, tykke bloede veloursofaer, hyggepianist og spejlsal paa toilettet:

On the way home we passed the parking lot at Briarwood Mall, and it is honestly quite hard not to take notice of the american consumerism - especially on a day like Thanksgiving where you are supposed to be grateful for what you already have instead of "shop til you drop". We are of course way above this mentality and waited until Friday morning before we started Christmas shopping (ahem).
Briarwood Mall had not gone all Black Friday crazy, but we found some good deals at Macys which ensures that there is a certain 4 year old back in Denmark who will not suffer from lack of glitter, tulle or pink in her wardrobe this Christmas. Macys is in one corner of the Mall and we know this store very well from California. In one of the other corners there is a store called Von Mauers. We have NEVER heard of it elsewhere and it oozes of  Midwest and luxury in a weird combo. They did not have anything on sale but the prizes were skyhigh, there were thick soft couches, a pianist, and a hall of mirrors in the restroom:

Vi fik slet ikke koebt de julegaver vi havde regnet med og var noedt til at koere i Meiers for at kigge efter det sidste. Det passede Luca ganske udenmaerket, da alle lige havde faaet lommepenge og han har haft et godt oeje til en STOR aeske kuglepenne (??) og nogle stiftblyanter derinde. Vi fandt ogsaa camouflage farvet gavepapir - saa bliver det jo ikke mere #puremichigan ;-) Men selvom vi traskede foerst Briarwood Mall og derefter Meiers tyndt, manglede vi stadigt lidt smaating der skulle med til Danmark i julepakkerne, og vi var noedt til at slaebe vores butiksmoere kroppe ud til en sidste tur i Barnes and Nobles her til efterniddag men foerst lagde vi altsaa turen forbi en lokal park for lige at blive luftet ldt i den friske kolde luft.
Michigan paa denne tid af aaret er et studie i brunt og det er svaert at forstaa at vi foelte vi var ved at blive kvalt af alt det groenne for bare 3 mdr siden......

We did not finish the christmas shopping as intended and had to go to Meiers to get a few additional items. Luca really digged that as he had just gotten his allowance and since this store had some pens there (a BIG box) that he craved (??). We also found camouflage style gift wrap - it hardly gets any worse #puremichigan ;-) But even though we went through all of Meiers we still needed some things for the christmas parcels for Denmark to get them ready for shipping tomorrow and we had to take one final trip to Barnes and Nobles this afternoon, but we stopped by a local park first just to get a little fresh and cold air.
Michigan this time of year is all brown and more brown and it is hard to understand that we almost felt suffocated from all the green just 3 months ago......

Da vi kom ud fra Barnes and Nobles var det hele blevet hvidt og vi maatte liste os hjem i bilen paa de isglatte tilsneede veje. Det ER altsaa bare ikke min favorit beskaeftigelse, selvom det ikke er mig, der koerer bilen. Men vi sidder lunt og godt hjemme i varmen nu. Alle gaver er pakket ind og Kristian og ungerne ser "Tilbage til fremtiden 1" og spiser "jaffacakes" - Ulriks nye favorit junk food.

When we finally came out of Barnes and Nobles everything had turned white and we had to drive home really slowly as the roads were icy and snowy. This is something I NEVER get to feel comfortable about event though I am not the one behind the wheel. But now we are back and cozy inside at home. All the gifts have been wrapped, and Kristian and the kids are watching "Back to the future 1" and eat "jaffa cakes" - Ulrisk new junk food favorite.