Like a lot of people, I quit watching the Super Bowl some time ago. My oldest son is the only real pro football fan in the family, the rest of us only love college football. So, unless he is here for a visit, we don’t follow pro ball much. My husband stays current on playoff stuff each year  just to be able to talk with (read aggravate) my son.

However, some time ago when I used to always be at work, my husband and youngest son decided to have a small family party and cook one of the leftover turkeys from Christmas in the deep fryer. Back in those days, the two of them cooked everything (I miss those days!) and it was all fried.

We have kept that family party alive, even though only a few of the guys watch the game now. I remember that after I retired I used to watch the commercials, and most of them were fun. Not so much anymore, but this is a recipe post, so, on to the important stuff.

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This story seems to start in an existing conversation. That’s because it actually does. This was my reply in a conversation over at Stella’s Place last April. One of our Treeper’s was talking about helping his dad downsize, and working with his sisters to clean out some old stuff. In that conversation, I told this really unusual story of an experience related to cleaning out my mother’s home.

I’m hoping some of you have some stories to relate, stories that end with a twist, like this one did. Sometimes life gives strange surprises.

Share a tale or two with us today.

T, my mother was a hoarder before it was a tv thing, and they are mostly probably amateurs. Don’t know, don’t watch. Boy have I got a funny, sad story for you, since Sharon put me in the mood for a good story.

This is one of the gosh darndest stories of my life. Apologies all, this is a long story.

My mother died in 1998, probably one of the peak periods of my life in terms of pressure, stress, kids still in high school, job, etc. She left a house that had a two to three foot wide path through it, with an empty spot or two on the couch, her chair, and less than half her king sized bed. No one had been able to see the kitchen table or counter for many years. (more…)

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IS 9:1-6

This is a repeat post from years past. I like to post it on Christmas Eve, a place to share our own best memories of Christmases past.

The Secret Sam was my favorite Christmas present as a child. I still have it, and I will keep it, or perhaps pass it on to a grandchild. Oh, how excited and hopeful I was the year I asked for my own Secret Sam. My mother told me it was a boy’s toy, but I was never a Barbie doll girl.

That was my spy year, my year of intrepid adventures around the neighborhood. It was one of my last Christmases as a child, I think, wanting toys and dreaming of adventures. Not too many years later, perhaps even the next one, my Christmas gifts would be stereos and albums, bell bottom jeans and paisley print turtlenecks.

Perhaps that is why the memory of it is such a treasure to me.

This year my grandchildren will be blessed with the breathless anticipation of what might be under the tree Christmas morning. They will be late to bed, too excited to sleep easily, and early to rise, rushing to the living room in all the excitement and wonder a child can have.  (more…)

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In this most busy and demanding time of the year, many still have the hope and desire to pursue happiness, to savor the moments and find that special something that replenishes us, fulfills us.

How strange, that we must stop, pause, slow down at least, to find that which keeps us going.

I think that part of our problem is our push to do more and do it more perfectly. As I have aged, I have necessarily had to learn to appreciate the slow moments, the silent moments. Of course, that should have come to me earlier in life, but I have ever been a plodding and slow learner.

How many wonderful, special, unique moments has our Lord gifted me with throughout my life that I rushed past, never listening, hearing his call, stopping to savor, share, enjoy with him? Moments crafted by the Master’s hand with love, moments he intended for me, for us, moments he came calling, only to have me never pause in my headlong rush?

How many times did I give up the peace I longed for, the joy I hoped for, all the things I insistently begged him for, wondering why he didn’t answer? (more…)

At our family’s Christmas dinner, you will find a combination of old favorites and new recipes we are trying out for the first time. Some of our favorites come to us from generations long gone now, and have stood the test of time. But it seems each year the cooks in the family try out new things and we very much enjoy the additions. Sometimes we find one that’s a keeper and we will see it next year.

Pull out those tattered, faded favorites and share them with us, as well as the newly discovered dishes you want to try.

I am grateful especially at this time of year for the women who taught me to cook so long ago, my wonderful mother in law, as well as my husband’s paternal grandmother and aunt. I had no idea at the time that they were teaching me a skill that would nourish family and friends in ways other than eating.

How about a thread for party food and treats? Lots of people are entertaining in these last days running up to Christmas. Sometimes in our family we just have a night or two where we serve appetizers or favorite party treats, even if it is just a few of us here. (more…)