Month: December 2024

Sewing Memes

Miss Laura Mae’s House. Part 11

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I got my biscuit and settled on the back step, singing the alphabet song.

Mother launched right into her conversation before Miss Laura Mae got the coffee poured.
“Laura Mae, I just got the strangest letter from Mama. You remember I told you my brother, John, in the army got married not long ago and his wife was expecting.”

“Sure do. How’s she doing?”

“Well, Mama got a letter from John saying Wanda, that’s his wife, had gone back home to stay with her mama till the baby came. He didn’t say anything at the time, thinking she’d be back. I don’t know if she’d left him, or what, but he hadn’t let Mama and Daddy know. Her daddy was high up in the military on a base up in Nebraska. Anyway, the first thing anybody knew was that my brother John got a letter from Wanda’s daddy saying Wanda had had twins, a girl and a boy, and that she and the babies had been crossing a railroad track and hit by a train. John said her daddy said they’d all been buried and to never contact him again. He said he just let it be.

Mama and Daddy, of course, were all upset, and Daddy caught the first bus to New Orleans to see about John. When he got there, John said he was fine and insisted Daddy go straight back home. He said he didn’t have any leave coming and didn’t even want Daddy to spend the night. Daddy came on home, like John asked. My sister, Annie came in that weekend. When she found out what happened, she told them something strange she had kept quiet about since it didn’t seem right. She’d gotten a letter from Wanda announcing their marriage. She wrote and told her and John she was coming over for the weekend. Well, when she got there, John met her at the bus station and told her she couldn’t stay. Wanda had gone off somewhere with her mama and daddy and he had to work. Annie couldn’t imagine what was going on. She went back home and reread her letter from Wanda, and thought it looked like it might be John’s handwriting. Mama went back and pulled out a letter she’d had from Wanda and thought it was possible John had written it, too. They don’t know if the whole thing was made up or what. I don’t know what to think. It all sounds too crazy to be true, doesn’t it? Have you ever heard such a thing? Please don’t repeat what I told you. I haven’t told another soul, but I just thought I’d pop if I couldn’t talk to somebody. I sure don’t want Bill to find out. He already thinks my family’s crazy. He’d never let me forget it.”

“Now, Honey, I hate to hear all that, but don’t be worryin’ ’bout me tellin’ yore business. That whole story doesn’t sound right, but I didn’t git to be this old without learnin’ when to keep my mouth shut. Besides, since I’m the only one you tol’you’d know where it come from, wouldn’t you? Has your brother ever done anything odd before?”

“No, he’s always been steady as a rock. He went in the CCC when he was fifteen, then on his off time he took any job he could get, and always helped Mama and Daddy as much as he could. He finished high school in the Army since our little country school only went to tenth grade. I don’t know what to think. I’m just worried to death about him.”

“Well, I know you are, but folks deals with trouble in all kinds of ways. You’ll just have to let him be.”

“You’re sure right about that. I’ve got three little kids and I couldn’t go see about him if my life depended on it. I do feel bad for Mama and Daddy worrying about him.”

“I know you do, but they’ll have to make their own way, just like he will. Things have a way of workin’ themselves out.”

Most Happy

When are you most happy?

I am most happy when busy. I have always loved cooking whether it was for family or friends. I also get engrossed in gardening or any outdoor project. It feels best when I get so involved that I am only aware of the feel and smell of the earth, I feel a relationship with the plants I am dealing with. I hate it if I damage an earthworm and hope it regenerates. The fatigue at the end of a working day feels so right.

Update to Miss Laura Mae’s House Part 11

It doesn’t seem fair to leave you hanging with John and Wanda’s story, but Mother didn’t learn any more for more than twenty years. It came by way of John’s second wife, Cathy, who had no particular reason to lie.

John never mentioned any of this. John got out of the army after the war but stayed in the Army Reserves for twenty-five years. He went to law school on the GI Bill, but decided to teach instead. He later became a principal and married a teacher. They both taught the children of migrant workers dividing their year between South Texas and California.

When they were teaching in California, a young man approached him, telling him he suspected John was his father. He was one of twins and had been born a Holdaway, but was told his father was killed in the war before his birth. His mother married an old boyfriend who had adopted the babies, raising them as his own.At the boy’s insistence, the two couples met. The sister had married young. John didn’t meet her.

It looked like the Wanda’s father engineered the whole train wreck story to break up the young marriage, if indeed there had ever been a marriage I couldn’t find a record of John’s and Wanda’s marriage. The young woman’s father was as long-dead, so both couples decided to let it all let it drop, not affecting their long marriages. Wondering if it could possibly be true, I searched and found the twins’ birth and marriage records for Wanda and her current husband. Indeed, there was a person by the right name, born in the right time period born to Wanda. She did have a marriage recorded shortly after the boy’s birth. Unfortunately, John and Cathy never had children.

Most Awkward Christmas Pictures

Top 10 Uses for Fruitcake.

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TOP 10 USES FOR HOLIDAY FRUITCAKES

10. Use slices to balance that wobbly kitchen table.

9. Use instead of sand bags during El Nino.

8. Send to U.S. Air Force, let troops drop them.

7. Use as railroad ties.

6. Use as speed bumps to foil the neighborhood drag racers.

5. Collect ten and use them as bowling pins.

4. Use instead of cement shoes.

3. Save for next summer’s garage sale.

2. Use slices in next skeet-shooting competition.

1. Two words pin cushion.

The Heartbreaking Tale of the Post-Mortem Fruitcake

Egyptian archaeologists discover the world's oldest fruitcake.

Christmas revolved around fruitcake.  Mother pinched pennies for weeks to buy the candied fruit and nuts required to bake the perfect fruitcake.  On December 22, everything else was in readiness for FRUITCAKE baking.  She chopped the nuts, candied fruit, brought out her spices  and pulled out her time honored recipe for the perfect fruitcake which only graced our table during the Christmas Season.  Baking the fruitcake was a sacred tradition, which we looked forward to it simply because it meant Christmas was almost here.  The eating of the cake was irrelevant.  The tradition was what mattered.

My maternal grandmother died December 16, 1964.  We were all devastated. She was the indulgent figure in out lives. Her rare visits had a holiday quality.  Her gifts were provided a few luxuries in our lives  I couldn’t imagine life without her.  She had mailed her Christmas gifts to us on the morning before she died in the night..  It arrived two or three days after her funeral.  It was a macabre feeling, being anxious to find out what she’d sent, knowing she was in her grave.

In the way of kids everywhere, we rallied and had a wonderful Christmas.  The gifts had special meaning, knowing they’d be the last.  I still have a tiny jewelry box from that year.  My poor brother managed to turn this sad situation into a mess.  Grandma had included a small fruit cake in a red tin box.  Mother put it up, intending to serve it on a special occasion.  Naturally, this fruitcake from her mother was elevated to the sacred.  Well, my brother Bill must have had a special occasion of his own.  Mother found the empty fruitcake tin hidden in his room, not a crumb left.

She was furious!  He had eaten her dead mother’s fruitcake……….the last gift she’d ever sent.  He lived to regret his theft.  She didn’t let him forget it for weeks, getting weepy every time she saw the shiny red box, sitting in a place of honor on the table. She keeps buttons and thread in that box till today.

This is probably the only documented story of anyone ever actually eating, much less stealing a fruitcake!

Amazing Times at Cypremort Point State Pork

What was the last thing you did for play or fun?

Before Thanksgiving we visited Cypremort Point State Park on Vermillion Bay in South Louisiana. It is incredibly lovely. The park is pristine and well-maintained with an abundance of amenities. With several pet-friendly cabins and numerous pull-thru camper sites, it is easy to find the perfect spot. The cabins are roomy and well-maintained. The screened in porches. The beach is beautiful. There is a long walking pier extending over the marsh, perfect for nature walks. We saw many birds, turtles, deer, and nutria. Alligator trails were clearly visible. Amazingly, we only saw three pieces of litter in this park. Our visit was a total pleasure. We will return.

Do yourself a favor and check out Cypremort.

Great Homemade Mincemeat Recipe

I wasn’t able to find mincemeat in the grocery store when I did my holiday grocery shopping, so I ferreted out this recipe for homemade. It could save your holiday if you’re craving a traditional treat. It is good! Mincemeat is a combination of dried fruits, spices, sugar, nuts, distilled spirits, and, traditionally, mutton or beef suet. However, many modern mincemeat recipes do not include actual meat. It is often used as a pastry or pie filling.

These are the ingredients you’ll need to make this homemade mincemeat recipe: 

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  • For the spice blend: ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, and ground allspice
  • For the mincemeat: green apple, raisins, white sugar, dried currants, raisins, butter, chopped almonds, grated orange zest, ground cinnamon, and a cup of brandy

How to Make Mincemeat 

  1. Make the spice mix. 
  2. Sterilize the jars and lids. 
  3. Cook the mincemeat ingredients (excepting brandy) according to the detailed instructions in Steps 3 and 4.  If you choose you can replace brandy with orange juice.
  4. Remove from heat and stir in the brandy or orange juice.

How Long Does Mincemeat Last?  

In the tightly sealed sterilized jars, the mincemeat should last for up to six weeks in the refrigerator. 

Ingredients

Original recipe (1X) yields 24 servings

Mixed Spice:

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice

Mincemeat:

  • 1 large green apple, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 ¼ cups sultana raisins
  • 1 ⅛ cups white sugar
  • ½ cup dried currants
  • ½ cup raisins
  • ½ cup butter
  • ½ cup chopped almonds
  • 1 ½ tablespoons grated orange zest
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup brandy( or orange juice)

Directions

Ingredients

Mixed Spice:

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice

Mincemeat:

  • 1 large green apple, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 ¼ cups sultana raisins
  • 1 ⅛ cups white sugar
  • ½ cup dried currants
  • ½ cup raisins
  • ½ cup butter
  • ½ cup chopped almonds
  • 1 ½ tablespoons grated orange zest
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup brandy

Ingredients

  1. To make mixed spice: Combine cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice in a bowl. Reserve 1 heaped teaspoon for the mincemeat. Store the rest in a small jar for a later use.https://0bdf8e0558c21b281d3bfd16bfd94984.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html
  2. Immerse two clean, 12-ounce jars in simmering water until mincemeat is ready. Wash new, unused lids and rings in warm soapy water.
  3. To make the mincemeat: Combine apple, sultanas, sugar, currants, raisins, and butter in a saucepan. Cook over low heat and stir gently until butter has melted. Stir in chopped almonds, orange zest, 1 teaspoon mixed spice, and cinnamon.
  4. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, 5-10 minutes
  5. Remove from heat and set mincemeat aside to cool down for 30 minutes. Stir in brandy. Spoon into sterilized jars.