Advent Memories

Advent is a huge part of our lives not only at this Christmas time season but also through out the year. I have a homemade wreath that David and I made together about 20 years ago that I still use every Christmas season. Traditionally David will buy me five large jar candles each Christmas. He labels them for each week in Advent so that as I use them through out the year I am pulled into meditation for that candle and that message.

I remember the first time I saw an advent wreath was at David's house the first Christmas we lived in Dallas. I was always nervous going over to the Mooring's house. There was always too much noise (four kids) and too little space for so many people. Cleo was always nice, but I worried she didn't like me. I think every little kid wants to be accepted. It was on a Sunday afternoon that David rode his bike over to my house and asked if I could come over to decorate Christmas cookies, and then go to the church for a potluck supper and a small candle light service. He had me at the word Cookies.

We walked back to his house together as he pushed his bike. I remember it was already cold outside and very windy. The leaves were off all the trees and despite the sun and cloudless day with deep azure skies, it was downright cold.

The decorating of cookies was a huge success. Cleo had everything planned out with stations for icing and sprinkles and decorating. They even packed a box for me to take home to Mom and Dad. We all piled in their station wagon. David and I were allowed to sit in the last seat facing backwards. That was really cool too.

At the catholic church the parking lot and church building were bursting with people and laughter. I clung to David's hand not wanting to be lost or trampled. Cleo carried new baby Ben and Robert, David's dad, had Molly up in his arms. Charlie, David and I had to make our own way. We shared pot luck with about 200 families and there was more food there than I think I have seen in a lifetime.

After the supper we all headed toward the church and quietly filled in the pews. The sanctuary was beautiful. I could not stop staring at everything and of course felt totally full of God as I sat there. Up near the alter on a stand was a wreath with candles. It was that night that I shared with David's family the lighting of the first candle on the wreath. I cried that night sitting there. Cleo passed me a Kleenex, and she made sure I was with them every Sunday night during advent.

These memories are so sweet and I pray that my children and my grandchildren will have good times to look back upon. One day they will find this journal filled with all my writing. David was always the writer; I am the artist.

Lauren
3 December 2008

My Art Friend's New Book

Click on this link. HERE IS MY Friend's NEW BOOK! NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE.
This book has 77 pages filled with both artwork of Laurie Pace and thoughts from her
daily blog. If you do not read her blog now, you should. She keeps me painting right now!

Will post later this week. Have so much wash to do after the Holidays!

Lauren

The Wish Bone

Here are some shots of one of the tables set for the 20 folks that showed up yesterday. I am pretty tired this morning after doing all the cooking and the clean up. The sink stopped up too and poor David missed eating dessert with everyone as he was in the kitchen with me mopping up the mess and repairing pipes.

We each took turns yesterday sharing out things to be thankful for and I can share with you my life is very full. One thing that stick out to put in this journal is the first Thanksgiving after we moved to Dallas. David had eaten Thanksgiving dinner at Nanies, which was next door to where I lived. I am so tremendously jealous to see all the kids bursting from Nanie's house running about playing hide and seek and having so much fun. There I was with my parents in our dining room with full view of Nanie's yard and all the family love exploding everywhere.

My mother asked me to stop staring out the window several times, but it was difficult. I stayed pretty glum even through dessert. I was half-way through my Pumpkin Pie and whipcream when the doorbell rang. I shot up out of my chair and raced to the front hall. Mom's voice was behind me, "Slow down Lauren, do not run in the house." I flung open the door and there was David.

"Can you come over and play?" I didn't even blink as I yelled at my mom that I was going over to Nanies. To be included in the love and action of that family was more than I could ever want.
I played monopoly with the David and his older cousins. After that we played charades with all the kids. Molly climbed up in my lap and I instantly felt like she was my little sister. She reached up and patted my face and said "Pretty Girl". My heart was won.

It was dark outside before I knew it. David said he would walk me back home. He had something in his hand hiding it from me. I kept trying to look behind his back to see what it was but he laughed and told me no. On my front porch we sat on the new swing my dad had bought. David produced in front of me a funny looking bone shapped like a "y".

I remember scrunching up my face and twisting my mouth saying, "What is that?" It looked pretty yucky.

David looked at me like I was totally dumb. "It's a wish bone, haven't you ever seen a wish bone before?"

"I guess not" I answered. "What do you do with it?"

David explained how two people were suppose to hold each side of the top of the bone and make a wish. Then at the count of "3" each pulls . He told me the bone would break and the person holding the largest side would win and their wish would come true.

He offered up that funny looking bone and I took a hold of it. Felt different to touch it; I almost felt a current through it. I close my eyes and made a wish. I heard David began to count and I held my breath and opened my eyes and tugged on "3".



My wish came true. Here I am fifty years later surrounding by a huge family that fills me with love and joy. God is good.

Lauren
28 November 2008

Thanksgiving 2008

From the kitchen where David has been shelling pecans from our trees in the backyard and where I have been preparing Nanie's Homemade Cranberries.

I started this blog to record memories from the past fifty years and with this being Thanksgiving today I definitely have some memorable turkey days.  The worse was the Thanksgiving Mom put the Turkey in the oven and set the temperature but did not turn on the oven.  The second worse was when she tried to roast a bird that was still frozen inside and we had warm bloody turkey.  That is when I became a vegetarian for about six months.

David shelled enough pecans for a pie. The recipe I used was as follows:

One 9 inch pie crust unbaked

Mix:

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup pure Maple Syrup

1/2 Light Corn Syrup

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup light brown sugar packed

1/2 stick butter melted  (4 Tablespoons)

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1  1/2 - 2 cups pecan halves ( or pieces if David is shelling)

Bake in preheated oven 40-50 minutes.  

I also made Nanie's fabulous cranberries.  

12 ounces fresh organic cranberries

2 organic apples diced

2 organic naval oranges cut into piece

honey to taste.

I never follow the directions of course. I throw it all in the bowl once it is chopped and then use my hand food processor to chop it up. Thank you Aunt Charlene for the hand food processor, makes life SMILES!  See pictures above.

My daughters and sons will all be here today with their families.  Counting my parents and David's dad, (We lost his mom Cleo in 1995) we will have at least 18 to 20 people.  I better get busy.  I need to polish the silver. More memories later this weekend.

Lauren

27 November 2008

Nanie's Cherry Pie

Well, I don't know about you, but I am going to be in the kitchen today. On the list is a cherry pie, an apple pie, St Louis Gooey Butter Cake and IF I shell pecans, a pecan pie for David.
We have two pecan trees in our backyard and I have bags of pecans and have not shelled any for baking yet.

Nanie made the best pies and all of my recipes are from her. I remember once when she was baking for the Fourth of July Block Party she had pies cooling on the back porch. The party was at seven that night and then we would be walking down to the Lake (White Rock Lake) to watch the fireworks.

I was minding my own business sweeping our back porch off when I saw the bushes moving over by Nanie's house. I stopped still hoping not to make a noise. I figured it was a wild animal driven crazy by the smells and had decided it would have pie to eat. For a crazy moment I debated sneaking over with the broom and being ready to clobber the animal with the broom, but remembering my dad's warning about critters wandering up from the lake, I decided to just watch from where I was. I didn't even think about going inside to tell mom or dad. I didn't want to miss spotting the animal.

Seems like I waited for an hour, but it was only a few moments until I saw a dark brown head pop up from the bushes. It was Charlie, David's brother. I saw him look back behind and give a wave. Here came David. He was fast as he stayed low below window view and rounded the steps up to the porch. He grabbed the pie nearest him and was back off the porch in seconds.

I know my mouth fell open. I could not believe those boys were stealing pies we were suppose to eat that night. I was not a kid that "told" on others to get them in trouble, but I knew I would have a word with David later that afternoon. Sure enough about twenty minutes later David joined me on my back porch. I had finished sweeping and was now using the hose to rinse off the porch from any other dirt. David's face was smeared with cherry pie left-overs.

Do you know what I did? I turned the hose on that boy squirting him in the face. He was caught off guard and then tackled me on the porch. I then had cherry pie all over me too. We were both soaking wet, smeared with cherry pie collapsed on the porch laughing when my parents found us.

We both got in trouble. No one every knew Charlie was in on it. David and I took the rap. We had to stay home when the families went to watch the fireworks. I didn't think it was too bad. David had his tablet and he wrote a story about a pirate sailing the Carribean raiding pies from ships. I had my sketch book and I was drawing the pirate ship sailing a flag with a cherry pie on it.
Here is Nanie's famous Cherry Pie Recipe:

Crust:

2-1/2c all-purpose flour

1tsp salt

2T sugar

1 cube + 1T cold unsalted butter, in 1/2” cubes

1/2cup cold leaf lard

4-6T ice water

Mix flour, salt, & sugar in food processor.
Cut in butter cubes with five 1-second pulses.

Add cold lard and pulse four additional 1-second pulses or until butter bits are no bigger than small peas.

Transfer mixture to a medium-sized bowl.
Sprinkle with 3T ice water. Fluff with a fork to mix thoroughly.

Squeeze a handful of dough; if it doesn’t stick together, add remaining water, 1T at a time. (I used the whole 6T.)

Divide dough into two balls, one slightly larger than the other (the larger will be the bottom crust).

Flatten each ball into a 6” disc; wrap each separately in plastic wrap; refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Roll dough out to fit 9” pie plate.

Filling:

2 (14.5oz) cans pitted sour cherries, drained (reserve 1/2c cherry juice)

1c sugar

3 T cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pure almond extract

2 tsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1 T unsalted butter, softened

1 egg white

1T sugar

Preheat oven to 500ºF.

Drain cherries, reserving 1/2c juice.

In a medium bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, & salt

In a small bowl, combine cherry juice, almond extract, & lemon juice; add to dry ingredients & mix well.

Add cherries and mix well.

Add softened butter & let stand for 15 minutes.

Pour cherry mixture into prepared pie crust, topping with lattice pie crust.

Whisk together egg white & sugar. Lightly brush lattice crust with sugared-egg wash.

Reduce oven temperature to 425ºF.

Place pie plate on jelly-roll pan, lined with foil, on lowest oven rack.

Bake for 25 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 375ºF.

Bake for 30 minutes. Cool for two hours or longer.

Lauren
26 November 2008