You can always make soup

Arrived home to discover fresh asparagus left behind in the refrigerator while we were gone. The tips were sorely compromised, but not desiring to waste food, I salvaged together a creamy soup with the remaining stems. Everyone agreed it was a very good addition to our meal.

Creamy Asparagus Soup

Saute in pan until tender:
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced

Then add:
5-6 cups of chicken broth
chopped asparagus
1-2 teaspoons of fresh thyme( I used lemon thyme)
!/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cook this 25-30 minutes and add 1 tablespoon of white wine or vermouth.
Blend in small batches until smooth and add 1/3 cup heavy cream.

Serve warm with garnishes of asparagus tips*smile* or toasted croutons. Delicious!

Endings and Beginnings

It was a week packed with flurried activity, color, laughter, and lots of history! I thought I would share a few of the things that have engraved deep crevices in my heart and mind. You know those simple things that are cherished along life's way.

After a traditional Christmas breakfast at home of sausage and egg casserole, cinnamon rolls, and ambrosia and then, of course, present opening, we loaded the car and headed to Williamsburg, Virginia where we "donned our gay apparel" and dined at the Kings Arm Tavern strictly by candlelight in true Williamsburg fashion. By far the easiest Christmas dinner I have experienced in years.



Witt and Alan left the next morning while the rest of us continued on and spent the day touring Colonial Williamsburg. At the Governor's Palace Rose and Charlotte mounted the horse stand and I loved how Charlotte was caught in mid-mount.



There was quite a bit of water to behold and the girls certainly embraced this moment by running along the sands of the York River.

I fell in love this week. And since I am already madly in love with my husband, it was an entirely new sort of love altogether. The little historic town of Yorktown unabashedly stole my heart. I asked my husband if we could possibly relocate there. Immediate dreams of a possible B&B and Yarn Shop were tantalizing my soul. We had a very pleasing lunch at The Carrot Tree. Since the owner was known for her desserts we tasted the carrot cake which I must confess was the best I have ever eaten. As I rolled each forkful in my mouth I was trying to discover how I could improve my own carrot cake recipe....more ginger perhaps?


The city streets of Philadelphia in December might be noteworthy, but I only had eyes for these three. This was a day that had turned out to be quite warm which made these southerners quite satisfied.

Fortunate indeed we were to drive by this covered bridge, the oldest in Pennsylvania.

Finding interesting places to eat was one of my jobs. I reasoned because we must eat anyway why not make it memorably memorable. Taverns can always be relied upon to give character and feeling. Another candlelight meal which was needed even during the afternoon because this room was located downstairs, no windows, but a copious amount of charm and coziness oozed from every seam.



It was getting close to dusk when we finally met success by finding our state's monument on the battlefields at Gettysburg. Yes, it was a different war, but we decided since we had traveled this far we would jump ahead 70+ years in history. The day spent here was very sobering, so much American bloodshed.



Returning home to one last night of "Christmas" at home with all the home lights brightly burning. All this emblazonment along with the tree, wreaths, garlands, bows and seasonal decorations were taken down today, securely packed and carried up into the attic to be stored away until next year.


New beginnings with 2009 at my doorstep. I am gratefully content.

Christmas Eve

Who, being in very nature God,

Did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

but made himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself.

Philippians 2:6-8

Christmas Eve finds us all waiting in anticipation. I can still remember so vividly those days before Christmas when as a child I would patiently wait for those long days to finally end. That's a good description of my girls these days too. Charlotte asks every morning, "Is this the day we open our presents?"

But now the longing has a deeper desire, a more permanent residence has taken hold of my heart.....to see Him face to face. The true Christmas longing.

We leave tomorrow morning for Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia and then we travel on to Philadelphia,Pennsylvania. This will culminate our Early American History studies. We have spent months reading and writing about it, now Rose shall experience some of the things firsthand.

Merry Christmas to all! I will return the first of the new year......

Some Favorite Christmas Watchings

On the second day before Christmas.......

Because I was too tired to do anything else this afternoon, I watched Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" all by myself while knitting a blue wool sock with a most soothing pattern. The girls played outside with friends.

There are certain favorite Christmas videos that have become our traditional watching fare on the days leading up to Christmas. Tomorrow all six of us have plans to watch our all time favorite "It's A Wonderful Life". It would seem we had skipped a huge part of Christmas if we failed in watching it sometime over the holiday season. They just don't make them that good anymore.




A priceless joy of Christmas is the timely blooming of this red amaryllis. I randomly photographed it for the past two weeks from bud to full glory.

Cookies and Caroling

On the fourth day before Christmas........

We did what we always do every single Sunday morning, we went to church to worship. That afternoon Charlotte performed her ninth and final performance in "The Nutcracker" ( five were during the weekdays for the public schools in town). After a small party gathering, we were able to come home wonderfully tired and ready to cozy in for the evening and light the fourth Advent candle as we read from the Gospel of Luke.


On the third day before Christmas......

The girls and I whipped up a batch of cookies. Charlotte bundled herself up to go outside to play in the wintry weather we are presently experiencing. Upon realizing that she needed to decorate another batch of cookies with M&M's, she slipped off her mittens and held on to her hat ties as she decorated the cookies with her own rendition of smiling faces. She urged me not to take a picture of her in her fluffy coat. For some reason Charlotte calls this her fluffy coat and she is certainly not partial to it, I'm really not sure why.






Some of the neighbors and children braved this cold still night and walked around the neighborhood Christmas caroling. It was a welcomed feeling to come in from the cold, shivering but ready to enjoy good company while feasting on all the shared goodies.

However, Charlotte does at least like her knitted hat.

Wrapped Up

On the fifth day before Christmas......



......Gift wrapping central became the scene in my bedroom.

My husband has been wrapping all our gifts since our very first Christmas together as husband and wife. He looked at my gift wrapping ability and decided it would not do at all. Since I have never mastered the art of wrapping lovely packages and figured that is the reason "those bags" were invented for people like me, I calmly got out of his way. He is now trying to train the next generation by teaching Rose how to cut, fold and wrap. Unfortunately, he is under no obligation to write the name tags so I must undertake that job. It behooves him that I do not attach and write them as he is wrapping each gift. Obviously, he does not know my technique of keeping track of which gift belongs to whom. But then I also have a backup plan...... that is the one that bugs him the most......*smile*.

dancing steps and blowing candles

On the sixth day before Christmas........

Ballet performances were attended and birthdays were celebrated.

This is Charlotte's first year of training in classical ballet. The dance studio she attends performs"The Nutcracker" every December. Rehearsals began in October and for a nonprofessional group of students from kindergarten through twelfth grade they do an excellent job of performing this classic ballet. Charlotte was a beautiful angel who gracefully danced little steps on the stage with the cutest little pasted on smile. Friday was opening night, she performs twice on Saturday and the final performance will be Sunday afternoon. We shall rest after this exhausting week!

In the midst of all this we managed to celebrate my husband's birthday with a family supper. He requested a pecan pie since we have had so many cakes lately.

I honestly can't say what my recent deal is with putting only one candle on celebratory birthday "cakes" since I did the same with my own a couple of weeks ago. We certainly are not that old and winded.........

Merry Makings

On the seventh day before Christmas..........

A glorious afternoon spent making memories at a Mother/Daughter Christmas Tea.

Duets were played on the piano.


Crunchy pastry cups filled with delectable chicken salad served along side other tasty treats.


Spicy mulled cider simmering on the stove and then offered in red etched glass mugs.

And don't forget the presents! Soft hand knitted scarves, colorful stripped hats, embroidered pieced pillows and twisted wrist bracelets with intricate designs all made by the girls themselves.

Thank you Lord for my daughters.
And for allowing me the satisfaction of spending a part of my day with their lovely selves and in the company of other precious kindred spirits. Amen

Biscuit Maker's Granddaughter

On the eighth day before Christmas.......

.........Buttermilk biscuits were made for supper using my grandmother's red, wooden handled pastry cutter.

If this little gadget could talk it would tell of all the many batches of biscuits it has helped "cut" through the years. My grandmother made biscuits in the morning and once again in the evening without fail. She had a little pantry off her kitchen with a window that overlooked a handmade bird feeder. The shelf was low since my grandmother was a little woman with a stature of only five feet. On it rested a wooden board, a wooden rolling pin, the wooden handled pastry cutter and the biscuit cutter. Every morning she put together the ingredients for her biscuits, tossed a dusting of flour over the wooden surface and began the timeless movements of creating.....a humble batch of biscuits.

When my brothers, sister and I barreled into her house later on during the day, we could always anticipate finding cold biscuits setting on a plate on the kitchen counter. To us no other snack would be as special. It was only later, as a grown-up woman, that I realized she had a way of making the simple things seem divine even in a treat of leftover biscuits.



I love the heritage of carrying on the task of biscuit making. I by no means make them every day, but I can not think of any better way to say love than in a batch of biscuits!

Shopping

On the ninth day before Christmas.....

My husband and I finally went Christmas shopping, even if the night was cool and rainy.

Sensibility is the key to Christmas gift giving, so while our children do receive gifts from us, it is done in moderation. We always like to think about the three gifts Baby Jesus was given by the Wisemen and try to stay with that same idea when buying Christmas presents for our children.

My younger children watch very little TV so they are not as savvy about what the commercials and ads are attempting to ignite as the "wanta and gotta have monster". Of course, they do not live in a vacuum either, so choosing gifts they would like to have and of which they know we will approve is done without any difficulty whatsoever.

Just in case you are wondering, the carolers sit atop my piano in the living room. At one per year it took us six years to complete our collection. They make me smile and that's reason enough to pull them out every December.