Another Death

 My brother-in-law died in his sleep early this morning. He and I did not always see eye to eye but he was so good to my children. I respect him for that.

He was only in his early 80's. That may sound old to some. He was only a couple of years older than me.

I spoke to him on the phone just a couple of days ago and he was fine. I will take comfort in knowing he did not suffer.

When my husband left our family this brother was the one who was there for my children. My daughter needed a father so much and he stepped in to be that for her. I could count on him to help me if I was having problems with my car.

All my children are mourning him. My daughter is crushed. She is helping her cousins write his obituary at this moment. Everything she can do for him will make her feel a little better.

May he rest in peace.

Watch

 I watched all my favorite Christmas movies. And a few extra. I love Christmas movies; even the ones that are love stories disguised with Christmas decorations.

There are some that are required watching.

It's A Wonderful Life

White Christmas

Call Me Claus

Christmas Chronicles (1 & 2)

The Santa Clause (1,2, & 3)

Elf

Fred Claus

Miracle On 34th Street (original and remake)

The Grinch

Cartoons like Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Frosty, Santa Clause

This year there was a new movie by Dwayne Johnson better known as The Rock. It is Red One.

It is not the best Christmas movie but it is pretty good. I hope your Christmas was full of love.

Welcome Christmas

Christmas is my favorite holiday. It is not because of the gifts although that is a part of it.

Christmas is the time when we are all a little nicer, a little friendlier, a little more caring to our fellow human beings. We should be that all year but we are not. And shame on us for that.

I love choosing the gift that is just right for a person I care about. No gift cards for me. I love to see the looks on their faces when they open a gift. It is the best part. Of course I would feel pretty unloved if no one got me a gift but the really important thing is that I got them something they will enjoy.

In my family Mom always cooked a huge meal. She baked and the house was full of warm cookie smells. When I began my own family we still went to my parents 'on Christmas. I always took baked goods of my own to add to Mom's. 

Eventually my little family began to grow and I thought we should spend Christmas day at home. Daddy could not understand that. After all Mom was going to cook. If he had his way none of us would have ever moved away.

When I was a teenager we started our Christmas eve tradition. We had all begun to buy gifts for each other and our parents. We continued that because it was so much fun.

We served cold cuts and cookies. No cooking for Christmas Eve.

Then came the opening of presents to make room for what Santa would leave overnight. Daddy passed out the gifts. The first one went to the youngest person there. That person would open the package and hold the present up for everyone to see. 

After that the next youngest did the same. We went through each member of the family until each of us had opened and displayed a gift. Then Daddy just passed out a gift. Whoever opened it had to hold it up for all to see.

It took all evening. It was so much fun. A big deal was made of each gift. We all went home happy and tired.

After my parents died we each continued the tradition with our families. I added one feature. I made little goody bags for each of the children. It gave them something to do before everyone was there and we were ready for the major event. I filled them with kazoos, Chinese finger traps, candy necklaces, ring pops, little tops, small puzzles...that sort of thing. Sometimes I think they looked forward to those more than the gifts.

So have a Merry Christmas and make it last.

Christmas Eve

  I am sharing a post from 2018. I hope you enjoy it.

***********************************************

When we were little Christmas was an expectant time. We went to bed early so that Santa Claus could come and leave us presents. We had written letters to him assuring him that we had been good. We let him know what gifts we wanted.

It was so hard to go to sleep. We would try and the harder we tried, the harder it was to relax enough to finally drop off. But eventually it happened.

Christmas morning was glorious. We would get up and file to the living room. That is where the Christmas tree was with all the presents beneath it. There was an order to opening gifts that has been followed from then on. I will tell you more later.

Some Christmases we went to spend the day with my mother's family on the farm. It was fun getting so many people together. But most years it was just our family and that was special.

One Christmas when I was 5 or 6 I awoke to hear the sounds of nuts cracking. That was Daddy. I cannot pass the nuts in the store at Christmas without thinking of him. He loved them so and Christmas was the only time they were available.

There were voices. Had Santa been there?

I got out of bed and went quietly to the door. There were Mom and Daddy wrapping gifts and putting them under the tree. Most people would say that was proof there is no Santa Claus. Of course I know better. He is real.

Every year Santa left a giant Hershey bar for each of my brothers and sisters. Mom and I got big boxes of chocolate covered cherries. They are still my very favorite.

Another year my brother and I woke up early. It was about 2:00 in the morning. We went to the living room and there was the tree with all the presents under it. We were much too excited to go back to bed so we decided to wait quietly until everyone else was awake.

We spent the time guessing what was in each package. The round one had to be a basketball. It was fun. The problem was that even our whispering got louder and louder. Mom got up and shooed us back to bed.

Then there was the year my brother and I decided to play sick and stay home from school before Christmas. We knew where Mom was stashing the gifts and we were going to take a peek. Mom was working at the time so she took our youngest sister to Grandma's. We were alone. Yay.

We went into the closet and went through everything. I found two dresses that I assumed were for my sister and me. Mom sewed most of our clothes. She had outdone herself with these and they were gorgeous. I even tried mine on. Perfect fit.

That was a terrible Christmas for me. I discovered that a major part of the fun is the expectation and surprise in the packages.

When I was about 15 I went to my boyfriend's house on Christmas Eve. I had a wonderful time with his family. He was to take me home so I would be home by 11:00.

There was a terrible blizzard that night. I lived at what amounts to be the top of a steep hill. He drove home the way we usually went. His car could not get to the top of the hill. He tried another way. No luck. We went around and tried to get up the hill past the cemetery. It was steeper than the rest.

Then we decided that perhaps he could go part way up and then turn into a subdivision. By winding through streets that only went up for a block we were finally able to come out on my street and I made it home. He had no trouble going to his house because it was all downhill.

Because it was so late I went to explain to Mom why I did not make curfew. She understood. She was wrapping gifts for my brothers and sisters and told me I could help so that she could get a little sleep. I was happy to do it.

Then the next morning we opened our gifts from Santa. I was miserable because I knew everything the other kids were getting. I do like surprises.

As we got older the kids started buying gifts for our parents and each other. In order to make room under the tree we opened those gifts on Christmas Eve.

When I was a teenager I realized how much my parents loved Christmas and what they did to make sure that our Christmas was a good one. We did not get gifts for birthdays and other occasions. There were special things we did but money was hard to come by.

At Christmas my parents went all out. They would go into debt or sell something that was precious to them just to make sure that our Christmas was a good one. And they never ever let on. I knew but I never mentioned it to them. That was my gift to them.

One year I got my first wristwatch for Christmas. I was being recognized as the soon to be adult that I felt I was. It was before we had digital battery-operated watches. It had to be wound by the little stem to keep it running every day. No problem.

The problem was that it felt hot. I told my parents but they just chuckled and told me that I would get used to the feeling of wearing it soon. I kept complaining and they kept being amused.

Then one day I showed them the blister on my arm where the watch had burned it. They took it back to the store. It seems that the watchmaker had not put in that teeny tiny drop of lubricant that keeps the gears from creating the friction that eventually caused my burn.

As we got older and began having families of our own we still tended to go to Mom and Dad's for Christmas Day. Mom always told us she was cooking and we were all welcome. Just don't get between her and the television during the football game.

Daddy never understood why any of us moved into our own homes, much less why we would want to spend Christmas Day at home. As my family got older I wanted my children to develop happy memories of our Christmases like the ones I had. So we began to spend Christmas Day at our house. Daddy did not understand.

Now Mom understood about Christmas Day. However she had a strict rule about Christmas Eve. Everyone in the family was required to be there, no matter what.

We had baked goods, candy, cakes, and pies. One year she even decided to make every fruit cake from the recipes she had been collecting for decades. I always took some of the things I had made. There were cold cuts and chips, pickles and relishes, vegetable trays... all easy to eat and no work at the time.

We all sat and talked and laughed. The kids played and told the adults what had been happening in their little lives. Daddy just sat in his chair and reveled in having his family around him. Mom even was able to enjoy herself because all the work was done for a time and she could join in without interruption.

We are a large family. We were not blessed with those soft genteel voices. As we talked the noise level would rise. So we talked louder. The noise level would keep rising and we would keep talking louder. To new members of the family it was disconcerting but they would learn to adjust.

Then came time to open the gifts. We all took our gifts to each other to Christmas Eve. Christmas morning was reserved for Santa Claus.

Daddy played Santa. He did not dress up or anything. He was the person who passed out the gifts. The first gift always went to the youngest member of the family. We would all watch as the gift was opened then ooh and aah at the gift. Then the next in line would receive the next gift and the same oohs and aahs were issued.

After each person in the family had received a gift in the order of their age and the appropriate responses were given, the gifts were not necessarily given in order. But each gift received the same presentation... we watched as it was opened and then appreciated the wonderfulness of it.

As I said we are a large family and there were a lot of gifts. Gift opening took a long, long time. We loved every second.

I miss those huge Christmas Eves. Mom and Daddy are gone. Some of the children are no longer with us. There have been divorces and marriages that have changed who is a present member of the family. Two of my brothers, one of my sisters, and a nephew and niece have died. But the spirit of Christmas lives.

I tried to keep the big Christmas Eve celebration going. But people would move too far away so they could not come. Soon it was just my children and grandchildren. There were still enough of us to have a raucous, noisy party.

Now I have moved away. I came back to the part of the country where I was raised and away from the big city that I hated. My children and grandchildren had to stay where their jobs are. My Christmases are quiet now. But I have all those happy memories and they are more than enough.

By the way, for any who doubt, Santa Claus is real. He still leaves presents (and chocolate covered cherries) for me under my tree.

Road Trip

Mom and I went on a driving trip. She had always wanted to see New England. I took some time off work and away we went.

We went from Detroit across the Ambassador Bridge into Canada. It is a shorter drive to New York that way.

We entered New York by Niagara Falls. It is one of my favorite places. We stopped and watched the water fall for quite some time.

As we drove through New England we stopped at places of interest. We both bought lots of souvenirs. I love tourist traps. Cheap merchandise that costs too much. Heaven.

As we drove through the Adirondack Mountains I saw colors there are not even names for. It was early autumn and the leaves were turning in the most exquisite hues.

We drove through every state of New England. We stopped when we saw something of interest.

When we returned to New York state we stopped on Cooperstown. We were both baseball fans. Memorabilia from baseball for a century was there.

The most astounding thing I saw was two statues. They were carved from wood but looked so real. The clothing even looked like it was blowing in a soft breeze.

We also went to Seneca Falls to see the Women's Hall of Fame. Learning about all those women was fascinating.

Our trip ended in Kentucky where my sister was living. It was one of my favorite trips.

Robbery

When my husband had the junk yard there was a family of men who worked for him. After he no longer had the yard they worked off and on for some of the other junkyards in the area. 

They were all fairly young men with young families. All of them except a cousin who was older with a wife and no children.

I began to manage one yard of three that a friend owned. One of that family worked for me. He was a good worker and I could depend on him.

Our family moved to another state and we lost touch. I did get newspapers from the other state however.

One day I read some upsetting news. It concerned the family who had worked for us.

The young man who had worked for me and the older cousin were working for a yard in a bad area of Detroit.

Someone entered the yard intending to rob it. They shot the young man and killed him. They also shot the older cousin and I do not know what his condition was.

But the tragedy does not stop there. Someone called the other young man. He was the older brother of the young man who died,

He immediately got ready to go to his brother. As he frantically ran out his front door he suffered a heart attack. He died right away.

They left 6 young children to grow up without their fathers. 

Walnut Chews

My mother was an extremely generous and giving person. She was creative and talented. What I am about to tell you will surprise you. It certainly surprised her children.

When I was a teenager she found a recipe in a woman's magazine. Mom thought it looked good enough to try. She made them at Christmas that year. They were good but nothing to write home about.

The next year Mom made them again with a few slight changes. They were better.

Each year Mom would tweak her recipe a bit. It took a few years before she got the perfect bar cookies. They were a family favorite.

They are called walnut chews. You can find recipes for walnut chews on the internet. They are not the same nor are they even close to as good.

Mom's recipe had a sort of short bread layer covered by chewy filling and topped with walnuts. The bars are very rich and you cannot eat too many.

When we would ask her how to make them she would shrug her shoulders and say that she just put in a bit of this and that. I understand a bit of this and that but I do not have a clue about what the ingredients are.

One year while Mom was making the walnut chews my sister saw the recipe laying on the book of recipes. My sister leaned over to peak at it and Mom slammed the recipe book shut!

As I said Mom was generous. She taught all her children to cook. But she would not share that recipe.

After Mom died my sister and I were going through her things. When we came across that recipe book we looked for the walnut chews recipe. Not there. We never found it. Mom took it with her I guess.

I have tried many times to make anything that comes close to walnut chews. I have not been successful.