First, I would like to apologize for delay in getting this article to you. I have been incapacitated for a couple weeks. I am undergoing therapy and am improving.
Merry Christmas to all. I can’t believe it’s 10 days till Christmas as we celebrate the birth of a Holy Baby and the creation of a Holy Family. Every month we gather to celebrate the gift of being born into this loving and accepting family. We also celebrate being able to share these days with you.
This December we gathered at the home of Mary Jo Crider. She has been waiting years to get her turn in December. The house was beautifully decorated. The breakfast table was set with lovely Christmas dishes. The table was laden with scrumptious homemade delights. There was harvest bread with pumpkin and apples, Eggnog bread, Boston Brown Bread, and Christmas Bread. We had butter and pear honey for topping. We nibbled bread and sipped coffee and teas and talked.
We discussed back pain, epidural shot, I’m going for one. Politics and Corvid. How much crazier can it get? The governor of California has ordered the release of 50% of the people in the penal system. They are down to the murders, rapist and child molesters and haven’t met the 50% mandate. The wardens are fighting having to realize them, but the governor is refusing to resend the order. This does not seem like an acceptable Corvid solution. I’m glad we don’t live in such a crazy state,
Mary Jo always has great creative project. This time she took a cue from the ugly sweater rage only we would see if we could make ugly masks. Time ran out and she couldn’t get the stuff together for the project. This did no stop her however, she had old Christmas cards and a box made from them. She unfolded the box but couldn’t figure out all the cuts and folds it turned out to be a lot more complicated them it seemed. She finally filled a Christmas dish with gummy candies of different sizes. We tried to guess how many pieces it had in it. The closest guess got the bowl and the candy. Susie came closest to the count of 97. Lucy is moving to senior housing in Wardsville. Mary Jo said how do you all feel about it. They all moaned and said they would miss her. I cheered and said I would love having her so close. We will be living about 3 miles apart.
We talked about the Christmas Mass schedule for Brinktown and Vienna.
Mary Jo took the roll of Santa and passed out the gifts. We drew names in October and keep it secret whose name we picked so it’s almost as much to find out who got your name as it is to see what you get. Mary Jo passed out the gifts one at a time. The gift was opened and shown so we could see what everyone else got too. When it was all over the paper was picked up, Mary Jo turned around toward me. I put a proper pout on my face and said don’t I get one? I was afraid Santa had finally caught up with me. However, my gift was behind tree leaning on the window sill. It was well worth the wait. A weathered barn wood plank with a ribbon at the top and the word “Thankful” stenciled down the length. It will be a beautiful reminder in my home of all I have to be thankful for and that there are folks out there who are thankful for me. Thank You Susie!
We talked about Christmas traditions and how they are changing. As the kids grow up, get married and must decide which family to blend into which forms new traditions.
We went through books Lucy brought so she doesn’t have to move them. I’m glad because I was out of reading material and couldn’t get to the library. Now I’m good for a few weeks without having to resort to Charles Dickens or Ellery Queen. So, thanks sis.
Lunch time arrived and we were well fed. Mary Jo made chicken noodle soup with noodles shaped like Christmas trees. We also had hot ham and cheese slider sandwiches and a wreath made of broccoli and cherry tomatoes. It looked so cute when we started but not so much by the time we finished.
Dessert was perfect for a Christmas gathering. We had a platter of homemade cookies, 4 or 5 different kinds, and a yule log with cool whip and chocolate syrup drizzled over it. It tasted as good as it looked. With Mary Jo that is a given. I think if I had to choose between getting a project ready and cooking all this beautiful delicious food, I would pick cooking too. Thanks for the effort Mary Jo.
We talked about crackers packed in snack packs. They are wrapped in smaller bundles for when you only need a few at the time. It helps keep the rest fresh until need.
We have played many different dice games. We talked about the rules for some of them like greed and pass the coins. Mary Jo had a snack full of almond bark puffs. It was a corn puff covered lightly with almond bark. We tried to figure out how they got the almond bark on them without melting the puffs. We decided we would just have to try it and figure it out by trial and error.
We have come to the end of another sisters day and another year. I’ve heard people say, “I can’t wait for 2020 to be over. 2021 has to be better.” I’m afraid to say anything like that in case God takes it as a challenge. I just hope people realize they won’t wake up New Years day and find the world back the way it was before the Corvid. Its just like last year and every year before that. We will have to take what we get. Hope for the best and cope with the rest.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Sisters Day gang.
Thought: Patience is not an ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.
Advice from an old farmer: If you start thinking you’re a person of some influence, try ordering someone else’s dog around.