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We have a Christmas Eve service here, but no Christmas Day service. Last year, our first Christmas here, the Christmas Eve service was almost ‘magical’ - the church was gorgeous, the Pastor’s husband played his big harp, the choir (such as it is :-) sang .... looking forward to this year.

Ok, the oyster problem ...

Option 1: If I order from the country market grocery, the latest I could probably get them would be the 17th. I have no idea if/when the brothers are coming. Pints $21, Quarts $42

Option 2: The little market next to where we get our hair cut: pints $20, no quarts, gallon $120. We will be going by there tomorrow & I am going to stop in & see how late I can order. We can do 2 pints ($40) which is slightly less than the other place.

Option 3: There is a seafood market in the ‘big’ city. They open tomorrow at 11. I have to take mom for a 10:00 appointment so we can swing by after & check out prices (they will be expensive, I know that already) & what their order schedule is like.

Option 4: Last idea - mom & I had it more or less at the same time: both brothers have access to oysters. The one brother lives at the beach & his best friends there have a seafood company. The other brother, where we used to live, can visit the seafood company where we always got our oysters. So, if they visit & want oysters, they could bring a quart with them - mom will pay them back.

As for me/mom - I plan on getting a pint (maybe 2) just for us on Christmas Day & we’ll have the traditional oyster meal we had on Christmas morning when dad was still around.

I looked up recipes for oyster casseroles/scalloped oysters yesterday & found one I like. I had thought about freezing the oysters if we got them & couldn’t eat them before the boys visited. They can be frozen, but they soften up - soups, stews, casseroles, etc. would work for the frozen ones. I don’t think I’ll have to do that with the 4 options available ... one of them will work out. Getting the boys to bring oysters is my “favorite” of the 4.

I have never been a fan of oyster stew .... I like ‘em fried & that’s about it, although my SIL’s mom made an oyster stuffing that was good. My brother did Oysters Rockefeller on his grill one year & I managed to eat a couple of those - pretty good. Maybe one day I’ll give oyster stew another try :-)