Then we set the table, the center of every southern gathering.
Or course there must be a beautiful arrangement, something I enjoy doing
with what's in the yard. This arrangement is pittosporum, ivy,
camellias and sasanquas.
All the effort is wasted unless friends and family come to share it
with you. This group consists of friends who gather monthly for
Lunch (the Out to Lunch Bunch). They are Barbara Blumenfeld, Ann
Britt, Mary Andrews, Mary Hartzog, Pat Renfro and Diane Enloe.
This year rather than exchanging gifts, we wrote checks for the
amount we would have spent on gifts for each other and I delivered
them to the Food Bank.
I cooked a turkey breast and everyone else brought a covered dish.
This worked well. My husband does not "do" casseroles so this is
my opportunity to have the things "ladies" enjoy. Others are
glad to contribute because I cook and clean and provide the home in
which we gather.
The china is Noblesse by Lenox (discontinued), Cherrywood crystal,
and Counterpoint by Lunt silver (discontinued). Apparently not
everyone appreciates the same china and silver that I did. But,
each piece comes with a memory of the dear friend or relative who gave
them to me as a wedding gift. That is a part of Christmas,
remembering and cherishing. The epergne in the center of the table
belonged to my grandmother. The linens and placemats were my
Christmas presents last year from my husband.
Somehow, with the fast pace of our lifestyles, we neglect taking time
for those things that are most important...our friends and families.
Our mothers and grandmothers took seriously their responsibilities to
make celebrations of life events that deserved the fine china and
elegant serving. I remember going to my grandmother's house for
Sunday dinner. She brought out her Limoges china, cream with gold
rim, the silver (a utensil for ever use), the crystal and linen.
My Aunt Eliece got those when PawPaw's estate was settled, but she had
only one son. He had sons. But they have wives and daughters
now. I hope they will cherish those items and use them with the
appreciation my Grandmother had for them.
She worked hard before having the things we have now inherited and
enjoy. She washed their clothes in the stream behind the house
(the house across the street from Wakefield that now belongs to my
sister Sylvia that she is refurbishing). My father remembers her
gathering pecans in the back yard for her spending money. She
saved that money and bought cows with it. She churned milk to make
butter and buttermilk. He also remembers her baking her mother's fruit
cake recipe and threatening him with his very life is he skipped or ran
in the house while her cake was in the oven. If it fell he would
be very, very sorry. Recipes from
Wakefield
The first course was Nanny and
Paw Paw Soup. I have discovered a recipe that is as close
as I can remember and is perfect for when you are sick.
1 carton of chicken broth
a left over chicken breast or turkey
1 or 2 cans of diced tomatoes
Boil and then add
a handful of elbow macaroni
Cook until noodles are done.
Add salt and pepper.
Yummy.
Our immediate family gathers on Christmas morning for breakfast and to
open presents before we progress onto my parents home for more food and
presents.
2008 brought Brittany, Drew's fiance, to our breakfast table.
Another blessing.
Our
littlest one, Lily, is not happy with this time management theory.
Presents should be opened immediately and breakfast should wait!!!!
But, we finally got around to the big event making her extremely happy.
Christmas lunch is spent with my parents, now 87 and 90. We are
all blessed to have these wonderful, generous people still with us.
My sister and I shared the cooking responsibilities. This year Cathy, our
parents' sitter, helped out.
Usually, Elkanah, Debbie, and the girls (Hannah (17, Rebecca, 15,
Mallory, and Ellie) are with us, but they came at Thanksgiving this year
and were visiting the day after Christmas with us. Debbie is the supermom,
helping Elkanah start up his pharmaceutical company,
Burel Pharmaceuticals,
playing competitive tennis, and helping their church in Madison,
Mississippi, with their Wednesday night suppers, as well as take care of
Elkanah and four daughters. She usually commandeers the kitchen
because she is such a good cook and so efficient (and cannot sit still).
They are an extraordinarily good looking family.
Our usual menu is:
Turkey
Ham
I buy a Butt of a ham, pour a can of Coca cola over it and bake it for
about 2 hours at 375. This was my Aunt Eliece's recipe and I do not
think it can be improved upon.
Roast
Rice (Uncle Ben's)
Giblet Gravy (Add water to turkey drippings with chicken boullion and
flour stirred in and boiled eggs chipped up and added.) This is also
called Nanny and Paw Paw Gravy
Dressing
Pickled Peaches
Deviled Eggs
Green Beans
Peas
Sweet Potatoes
Chicken and Dumplings
The only thing that really matters is the family around the table with
you.
- The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a
happy family all wrapped up in each other. - Burton Hillis
- Christmas - that magic blanket that wraps itself about us, that
something so intangible that it is like a fragrance. It may weave a
spell of nostalgia. Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer,
but always it will be a day of remembrance--a day in which we think of
everything we have ever loved. - Augusta E. Rundel
