I grew up on the farm. To me that was home. I loved the farm, every acre of it. I ran the fields, and woods, played in the streams, climbed the trees, and enjoyed myself. To some, the farm may have appeared old-fashioned, but I loved that house dearly. Just an old farm house built in 1865 by AJ Jenkins when he returned home from the civil war, but to me it was HOME.
Every Christmas, I would hang my stocking on the mantle of the living room fireplace. Daddy and I would decorate the tree with all of the ornaments, tinsel and garlands and lights. Old pine cone shaped decorations, bells, colored bulbs, the old bubbling mercury lights just to name a few. We would put the Star on top of the tree. I would always hang candy canes on the tree too.
Daddy loved to decorate for Christmas, and Mom, finally let him take over the decorating, and concentrated on baking all the Christmas goodies. Dad would put garland and tinsel across the ceiling and hang bells, and other decorations there. Wreaths went on the doors, except for the one, which got the crossed candy cane decoration. Smaller wreaths were hung in the windows, and electric candles placed on the window sills.
Daddy would decorate the front porch with colored lights and other decorations. He always made sure we had mistletoe too. Meanwhile, Mom would have gotten out her holiday doilies and scarves, and candles, and Christmas knickknacks to place around the house. She would find her holiday tablecloth and other linens and get them ready for the holiday meal.
Any visitors would be treated to some of Mom's cookies and candies. At least 2 types of fudge, potato candy, some hard tack, peanut brittle, peanut butter balls, and a variety of cookies, including the ones with the marshmallow and cherry on top. Mom would bake at the very least, 12 different types of cookies. She would send some to all of the family, and to Brooke and Mayselle, and Dick and Mamie our neighbors. Mamie would always send nut rolls and cookies to Mom. On top of all this, Mom would also make homemade bread and rolls, and cinnamon rolls.
I would always leave Santa out cookies, and milk, a letter, (Which he would leave a little message in return), and some sugar and salt for the reindeer. In my stocking Santa would leave an orange, an apple, a big peppermint stick, and various and assorted candies, and stocking stuffers.
Oh how I miss those days, and the farm.
Friday, December 18, 2015
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Holiday Memories
I have so many memories of this time of year. Mom would start baking cookies and making candies to share with the family. Mamie Eisenhower fudge, peanut butter fudge, potato candy, chocolate chip cookies, butterscotch cookies, orange cookies just to name a few. I of course got to help and to taste test.
When very young, I would go with Ruby and her husband Blaine, to see Blaine's family. Pappy Harold was Blaine's father, and Uncle Laurence and Uncle Clarence were Blaine's brothers, and Aunt Norma was Blaine's sister. Now, I am going to tell you the reason I drink milk in my tea, it's Uncle Laurence's fault. He would always make me a cup of tea and put lots of sugar and milk in it. Aunt Norma, and Uncle Clarence and Uncle Laurence would make me kid play dough, and give me cookie cutters to make homemade Christmas tree ornaments for the tree, and Aunt Norma would bake them in the oven, take them out when done, spray with hair spray and put a string through them and hang them on the tree.
One year, I was going on 5, the dough was made, and Uncle Laurence made me a cup of tea, and Uncle Clarence and Uncle Laurence and I, had a pretend tea party with the ornaments. They helped me cut them out, then we pretended to eat them. We had the ornaments made, quite a few trays of them, I might add, when they started to take them to bake. Now, being the inquisitive child I was, I decided when no one was looking, to actually try the "cookies", bad idea. Oh sure, they looked pretty, but they did not taste good at all. I promptly got sick at my tummy. Lesson learned.
Now here is the recipe for that dough.
4 cups of flour 1 cup of salt 1 TLB of alum 1 1/2 cup of water.
Mix well. Divide into bowls and use food coloring if you want to tint different colors. Or leave white, and after cutting out paint with water colors.
Roll dough out, cut with cookie cutters, poke hole at top for string which you will put in after baked and cool, place on wax paper on cookie sheet and bake in preheated 300 degree oven until hard, about 7-10 mins. When done, allow to cool, and spray with hair spray. Allow to dry, put string in hole and hang on tree.
Another thing I got to do with Aunt Norma, and Uncle Clarence and Uncle Laurence, was string popcorn. Now that was fun too, pop the corn, get a big needle and thread a big long string in it, about 8 feet or so of string. Plain old sewing needle and thread. Thread the popcorn onto the needle and thread. When done, wrap it around the tree. Make more as needed. Just save some of the popcorn for stringing, and don't eat it all!!
Uncle Clarence and Uncle Laurence are no longer with us. But I sure have the memories of the fun that we had decorating the tree.
Happy Holidays and Blessed Be
When very young, I would go with Ruby and her husband Blaine, to see Blaine's family. Pappy Harold was Blaine's father, and Uncle Laurence and Uncle Clarence were Blaine's brothers, and Aunt Norma was Blaine's sister. Now, I am going to tell you the reason I drink milk in my tea, it's Uncle Laurence's fault. He would always make me a cup of tea and put lots of sugar and milk in it. Aunt Norma, and Uncle Clarence and Uncle Laurence would make me kid play dough, and give me cookie cutters to make homemade Christmas tree ornaments for the tree, and Aunt Norma would bake them in the oven, take them out when done, spray with hair spray and put a string through them and hang them on the tree.
One year, I was going on 5, the dough was made, and Uncle Laurence made me a cup of tea, and Uncle Clarence and Uncle Laurence and I, had a pretend tea party with the ornaments. They helped me cut them out, then we pretended to eat them. We had the ornaments made, quite a few trays of them, I might add, when they started to take them to bake. Now, being the inquisitive child I was, I decided when no one was looking, to actually try the "cookies", bad idea. Oh sure, they looked pretty, but they did not taste good at all. I promptly got sick at my tummy. Lesson learned.
Now here is the recipe for that dough.
4 cups of flour 1 cup of salt 1 TLB of alum 1 1/2 cup of water.
Mix well. Divide into bowls and use food coloring if you want to tint different colors. Or leave white, and after cutting out paint with water colors.
Roll dough out, cut with cookie cutters, poke hole at top for string which you will put in after baked and cool, place on wax paper on cookie sheet and bake in preheated 300 degree oven until hard, about 7-10 mins. When done, allow to cool, and spray with hair spray. Allow to dry, put string in hole and hang on tree.
Another thing I got to do with Aunt Norma, and Uncle Clarence and Uncle Laurence, was string popcorn. Now that was fun too, pop the corn, get a big needle and thread a big long string in it, about 8 feet or so of string. Plain old sewing needle and thread. Thread the popcorn onto the needle and thread. When done, wrap it around the tree. Make more as needed. Just save some of the popcorn for stringing, and don't eat it all!!
Uncle Clarence and Uncle Laurence are no longer with us. But I sure have the memories of the fun that we had decorating the tree.
Happy Holidays and Blessed Be
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