Miraculously, I found a turkey dinner in a small town in northern Alberta, Whitecourt (population 7000), and I loved every bite of it. Last year, I missed the Thanksgiving meal (in Saudi Arabia) and Christmas feast (on an onion boat between Oman and Pakistan), so finding turkey and dressing was a real thrill for me.

The restaurant, Ernie O’s, served up veggies (small tidbits, like the frozen ones that come in a bag), rounded mashed potatoes (so they looked like boobies on the plate!), white and dark meat turkey, thick, light brown, artery-clogging gravy saturating everything, and stuffing. I’m still suspicious of the mostly brown ingredients. I sent the plate of food back for a quick microwave nuking, since the potatoes were COLD, and it returned so hot that the waitress juggled the plate from hand to hand. I devoured my feast with a half-liter of house wine, which set us back C$6.95 (US $4.50)! Doesn’t this sound like bliss? I’m telling you, it really was. Jim, not a sentimental soul like moi, opted for buffalo steak and draft beer! After our meal, we lounged in the bar by the fire with overweight, unruly men, wearing hats and boots and drinking enormous mugs of beer. Yes, we passed on the vintage port. Instead, Jim sucked down a sour-apple green-colored margarita (He’s crazy over them since Cancun – the only redeeming thing that place offers!) and I finished off my fine carafe of wine.

Different things make all of us tick and that’s what creates an interesting world: Jim, not excited over the Thanksgiving feast, was jubilant over the self-laundry inside our hotel! I think we are both happy over small things these days. Yes, we are happy and I love this.