Past-Thanksgiving Memories

As a kid I never really appreciated how much time and work my mom put into making our Thanksgiving dinner.

She started a couple of days before with preparing for that day… And she was never stressed out or upset, she just got on with it and cooked-up a fantastic meal in my eyes! Thanks mom

There on Thanksgiving morning mom would disappear into the kitchen for hours preparing the meal and the smell of the turkey baking in the oven was indescribable. I was not allowed in the kitchen when she was cooking as she put it “It’s too dangerous” … What was dangerous, I have no idea. I think it was to keep me out of the kitchen, so that I would not nag her or ask questions like “When can we eat?” Though to go outside, I had to walk through the kitchen, which on Thanksgiving day was more than once, because I needed to check the temperature out side or go out with the dog.. Any excuse to ask my mom “When will dinner be served?” And hope that she would give me something

Looking back, I think after about the tenth time of taking the dog out my mom had enough of the questioning and said that I did not need to take the dog out again. The dog loved walking through the kitchen too, with the hopefulness that something would fall from the counter into his mouth.. No such luck!!

Then came the highlight of the day… Dinner was served, and dad would carve the turkey and we would all enjoy the meal that my mom had spent hours/ days preparing, and now in about 60 minutes ( not too sure about the time span) it was over ,and all we had left was some leftovers for another meal.

On Thanksgiving my mom seemed to spend the whole time in the kitchen besides when she ate with us. Looking back, she worked really hard and was alone in the kitchen there working away, and I wonder today if she really knew how much we appreciated what she had cooked for us and the time she invested for that day, too ????

One thing is for sure, it may have gone unnoticed then, but it was never forgotten!

What’s Cooking?

What’s cooking for the meal for that big day can be a tremendous feat if you are not organized to the last second or at least I think so???? Everyone seems to be running around trying to get those last minute things for their Christmas meal or the last minute present because they forgot someone on their list. Well, those things can happen….. I am saved from this dilemma this year because I am for ONCE in my life organized and believe me I find it hard to believe myself but it is true!!!

My guy asked me this morning if I was feeling ok, because I am soooooo organized this year. I told him that I thought for once in my life I want to be organized and have time for everybody on the 25th instead of spending all my time running around doing something. I want a relaxed Christmas and so I will have it!!!! No questions asked here- that is my decision!!!

My tree is decorated and the food is purchased and all my presents are bought; so Christmas you can come to our house. Who says life has to be stressful at this time of year??? Ok, I know thousands of people around the world would argue this point with me, but with a little foresight and planning there is no stress and hey if something goes wrong on the 25th then it goes wrong. I am too old to worry about what everyone thinks of how I do things around my place and if something burns on the stove top then it can be either forgotten or I’ll make something else to replace it… life can be so simple!

My mom was amazing when it came to organizing our Christmas dinner on the 25th and she always remained cool and served up a super meal in my eyes! Mom – thanks for all those great turkey dinners you made us. I know I can cook pretty good but my mom’s Christmas dinner can still top mine. Plus, I’ve never been as organized as she was and thought this year I’ll try her strategy and see if it works….. Please let it work and I’ll be the happiest person on earth

Another thing, I read all those articles about how stressed folks are or will be on the 25th. I always wonder are people stressed so then they have something to talk about or what is it??? Even when I am not organized I don’t feel stressed-out. I think society puts too much emphasis on stress and so everyone is convinced that on the 25th you have to be stressed instead of taking things as they come and enjoying life for a change.

So, relax and take things as they come because then there won’t be any stress and enjoy the day when it’s there!

Sleigh Bells are Ringing

Oh there are only 10 until those sleigh bells can be heard outside your house and Santa will slide down your chimney and fill your stocking. I hope everyone has been good this year and not misbehaved…….

Those were great times when I was I kid crossing off the days on the calendar and hoping that I wouldn’t do anything that would upset Santa Claus… I wanted him to stop by our house and so for me being good in December was on top of my list and not to forget the mile long wish list that I wrote too with all the stuff that I thought I needed.
When I think back to the things that I wished for it seems light years away because when I see what kids wish for today my toys seemed so dull and boring to them. But for me they were action packed with adventure and brought me and my friends’ hours of fun!!! I loved my toys

There on my list when I was young were dolls and a baby buggy or some great piece of clothing to dress my doll in or a cassette with some cool music on it (Cassette – what’s that????) or there were the wonderful books full of adventure that took place in unknown places around the world – making my fascination run wild and letting me be part of something that I wouldn’t experience at home. Sometimes a dress would be under the tree that I could wear on Christmas day. Do little girls still wear those??? Santa was always so thoughtful. Or if I was really lucky there would be all kinds of chocolate stuffed in my stocking and the healthy orange( that was something that was always in it)…… oh those wonderful childhood memories!!!

I knew on Christmas Eve that when I placed the note beside the plate of cookies and a glass of milk on the kitchen table for Santa that there would be some great things in store for me on Christmas day…… Though sometimes I was soooooo excited that it seemed to take ages to fall asleep and my mom would always say “You must try to sleep or Santa won’t stop by.” How could she say that??? I was so excited about that jolly guy stopping by our house that I just couldn’t fall asleep; but sooner or later I did and would wake up and go down stairs to see a wonderfully lit Christmas tree and all the presents from Santa Claus under it. And Santa was such a great guy that he always left something for our dog Cesar too! So, I knew the Cesar must have been friends with Santa.

So, I am just going to count the days now and make my wish list and hope that all my wishes come true even though I know that guy Santa Claus says I am toooooo old but hey, Who said you can’t enjoy the spirit of Santa at any age.?

A Christmas Card Sent To Me

Christmas cards seem to be something of the past. Remember years ago when friends, family and acquaintances sent you a Christmas card. Those were great cards with the same saying but always with a great different picture on it. Those were Christmas cards!!!

Somehow, you can still buy Christmas cards but no one seems to send them out like they used too. Back in my younger days my parents got literally loads of cards wishing them or all of us a Merry Christmas or Seasons greetings or whatever else was written on them. And nowadays I seem to be lucky if I get 3 Christmas cards….. The real sort I mean that you get delivered and they land in your mail box and you can display them proudly on the mantle.

What do I get now….. Some crumby electronic thing that I will delete after a couple of days…. Don’t misunderstand me here. I am happy that the sender thought of me but that still cannot replace that great piece of paper staring at you from the mantle piece and all the other cards there too biding for your attention to pick it up and read it again or when family or friends come over and they too head for the Christmas cards to see what you have received in the way of Christmas greetings…. Oh paper Christmas card don’t disappear from our mantle piece. I need you there to bring the peace and joy that makes the Christmas cheer for my living room ohhh dear!

I know that this whole Christmas card deal costs money and takes time but isn’t time that we take time for those lovely Christmas cards that could be displayed so proudly and enjoyed because the person who sent it to you or the person you sent one to can see that you took time or they took time and isn’t that part of the holiday season to take time???

Enjoy your real paper Christmas cards and remember someone took time to write it and send it to you!

How much Money to Spend on Christmas?

How much money to spend on Christmas is a good question? With the big day just a couple of weeks around the corner everyone is starting to panic and worry about what is the “must have” for Christmas 2012???? I have no idea and I am not going to worry about it either.

Or the Friday where many folks hope to get the bargain of a lifetime and fight the crowds so they can save a couple of bucks… Is it really worth it I ask? Why do we always have to buy something for everyone for Christmas?? Isn’t Christmas about goodwill and cheer or has that idea been flushed down the toilet too like all the other things in life that once held true…. Times aren’t like they used to be!

I have seen many an ad or commercial for things that I nor my guy need but the ads always say that that is the gift to give and it will make your better half happy. Isn’t my better half happy when I don’t buy him that present??? Will he just stare at me on Christmas day and say to me “How could you be such a tight wad!!” and that would only be because I didn’t do what the ad said …. Buy that expensive gift… It makes me feel like my relationship will end then and there when I don’t spend a bundle of cash. Does my guy still love me ????

My guy would be happy when I do something nice for him or make him something, because he says then he feels that I really thought about him and not just opened up my wallet and spent some grubby looking bank notes on something that will end up in the closet a couple of weeks after Christmas and never to be seen again for the next 15 years… You know what I am talking about?

Someone gives you a present for Christmas [normally with good intentions] and after you have un-wrapped it and thanked them and said how wonderful the present is and it lands back under the tree… the life after is it ends up hidden away after the Christmas tree is taken down never again to see daylight again. I love those gifts and seem to have collected a lot of interesting things through the years and wonder sometimes even today- What should I do with the present??? Throw it away? I can’t do that. Give it to someone else??? Bad idea all my friends know each other and that is definitely out of the question, so what do I do put it in the box with all the other stuff that I have collected through the years.

Plus, there is more to the pre holiday season then just shopping. There’s the decorating of the tree or the smell of baking cookies in the oven or the aroma of a warm punch and all the other great things that go alone with this time of year making it a joyous season.

Enjoy your pre-Christmas preparations and take time to enjoy the small things in life too!

Thanks for Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving has come and gone in one country and in another everyone is waiting patiently for it to come. Without those brave folks risking their life and limb to cross the Atlantic to start a new life there may not have ever come about the “Thanksgiving Day”. So thank you pilgrims!

Today we only need to go to the grocery store and pick out a turkey and all the other stuff that you want to eat with it and in no time at all you can serve up a great meal for your family and friends. Boy, how easy life can be!!!

Those poor pilgrims had to invest a lot of time into their Thanksgiving meal and that required good planning and hopefully someone would spot a turkey to shot … I’m tired already thinking about the work involved. Then once a turkey was bagged and back home they went and the guys gal had to do the rest of the work, like clean the bird and cook it in a wood stove (maybe- can’t say because I wasn’t around back then.)or an open fire until it was done…. Thank goodness for electric ovens!

These thoughts bring back fond memories of my mom cooking us a wonderful meal on that day and the smell of the turkey cooking lingering in the air… I’m getting hungry!!! My mom invested a lot of time too.. Ok, not as much as the pilgrim gals, but still it did take her sometime. And I can say it was worth every minute that I waited. Some years it seemed like December because there was snow on the ground outside on Thanksgiving Day. I wonder did the pilgrims have snow on Thanksgiving Day way back then??

Though Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks and be with your family and friends but somehow I feel it has lost its touch and become very commercialized. We should be thankful that we can be together with our family and friends and that everyone is healthy and can enjoy a lovely meal together no matter what you serve on that day.
You don’t need to spend a fortune just to try to impress people on that day. It’s a day of giving thanks and should be remember as that.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving Day this week and remember to give thanks for the great food that you are served and to appreciate the work involved in it.