Wait!

Hang on! Hold the phone! I haven't said 'happy' and 'thanks' yet!

Well, November was a blur; non-stop go-go-go until I hit a brick wall and then spent the last half of the month under the covers, under the weather.

And now it feels like everyone is acting as though Christmas is tomorrow. It's not! 

If you are in the throes of decorating for the holiday, wrapping presents and trying to stuff stockings, enjoy every minute! 

I have a fall wreath on my mantle along with several decorative pumpkins. The leaves in my 'woods' are still turning. We have barely finished with turkey sandwiches. So, I want just a few more days of Thanksgiving.

I want to remember the old family dinners when we squeezed around the table laden with turkey and gravy and a dozen sides scattered down the center. We passed every china bowl of goodness plus the gravy boat and bread tray. I need to be able to smell Thanksgiving, not just inhale it. 

I need to hear the chatter around the table, the clink of the crystal, the jokes that Grandmama shouldn't hear. And please be careful when you run your finger through the candle flame. 

What I don't need is to relive washing the dishes, that was the worst chore. I would rather iron the 120 inch tablecloth than rinse and wash every dish and piece of silverware used for dinner. Oh, and pots and pans. There was no double sink ...

So after remembering that horror, I can get on with the change in the season. 

Often the day after Thanksgiving was one to visit the family that did not eat at our house, cousins and aunts and uncles. Luckily it was usually a pretty day for a drive  and ramble outside - I love our mild Virginia Thanksgivings. 

I sincerely hope that you had a lovely Thanksgiving wherever you were, whatever you were eating. I am delighted that you are reading this now and that you share my Stampin' Up! world. 

I am looking forward to the Christmas holiday and all of the traditions and food and songs and flowers that say "Merry"! 

I will share some of that here with you in the next few weeks. Please keep reading.

Enjoy the upcoming holidays!

The Thanksgiving card above was happy mail I received from a sweet stampin' friend and fellow Stampin' Up! Demonstrator. 

 

Don't wait for Christmas!

Making Christmas cards from the Frosted Gingerbread Suite of stamps and dies sent me looking for my favorite gingersnap cookie recipe.

 

Southern Living Magazine was a staple in my home and I relied on it heavily once I married and began cooking for a family. I purchased the annual cookbooks and any special series like The Southern Heritage Collection, copywrite 1984.

When fall rolls around it is time for pecan pies, pumpkin bread and gingersnaps. I still use this recipe and have offered it to anyone asking: 

Gingersnaps

3/4 c. shortening

1 c. sugar

1 egg

1/4 c. molasses

2 c. all purpose flour (I added another 1/2 c.)

1 t. baking soda

1 t. ground cinnamon

1 t. ground ginger

1 t. ground cloves

additional sugar

Cream shortening; gradually add 1 c. sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add egg and molasses; beat well.

Sift together flour, soda and spices. Add to creamed mixture, mixing well.

Shape dough into 3/4 inch balls. Roll in sugar. Place on greased baking sheets; lightly flatten balls.

Bake at 375° 8 - 10 minutes or until browned ~ tops will crack.

Place on wire racks to cool.

Store in airtight container.

Yield 6 dozen.

I love using my old cookbooks. The best ones are those that can be read and thumbed through, with history and anecdotes. The Southern Heritage Collection contains old photos, events, period illustrations, vintage advertisements and stylized pictures of the food, and my handwritten notes. They have been loved and used for many special occasions.

The volume that includes Gingersnaps is titled Family Gatherings. The table of contents reads: "Reunions & Homecomings", "Home for the Holidays", "Special Days", "Once in a Lifetime", "Just Family".

There are seven or more entire menus in each chapter so no special gathering goes without mention.

There are recipes for Dressed Eggs, Pineaple Pie, Krum Kake, Christmas Eggnog, Individual Liver Pate on Toast Rounds, Noodle Kugel, Bar Mitzvah Brownies with 

Chocolate Bourbon Frosting, Grits Souffle, Sally Lunn Bread, Old Fashioned Cheese Straws ...

I have just ordered some fresh pecans for Thanksgiving; Company Sweet Potatoes is a recipe that is always requested of me at family gatherings in November. All the girls in the family now have their own copy because we can't eat together at Grandmama's anymore, but we can all have the Company Sweet Potatoes, and remember.

I hope you have and make sweet holiday memories this season.

Tell them thanks

Tell them thanks...

Please don't put away your fall and Thanksgiving stamp sets yet! I know everything in the stores is beginning to scream Christmas, but let's not forget about what just may be the least commercialized holiday of the year. 

I love autumn! We have stamp sets and dies and papers and embellishments and embossing folders that make for beautiful fall cards. Stunning cards. Handsome cards. What a lovely way to say 'thanks.' 

I will be happy to help you design a card if you like it - just ask! 

Please don't let this season of gratitude slide by without

telling them thanks!