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Posted on 12/03/2003 2:36:53 PM PST by carlo3b
Where is spirit of Christmas? Have you seen it?I am really getting worried that it's lost and we won't be able to find it in time.
I am just heartbroken, somewhere over the last few years we seem to have misplaced the heart and soul of Christmas. The season appears to be right, the weather has a nip to it, and the decorations have been up for a very long time, and I am constantly being reminded that it's just around the corner, but somehow I have this terribly feeling that something is wrong.
It is more than just one thing that isn't quite right, there isn't any laughter. I can't recall what it was that used to make me smile and sing at this time of the year, but it for sure isn't there anymore. Can you help me find the warmth, and love that Christmas has always brought into our lives, have you seen any joy in peoples eyes? Maybe it's just me, oh my, is it just me?
I seem to recall that this season was a time that brought everyone together, families and friends, and even strangers. Wait, I don't remember thinking at this time of the year that there were any strangers, only wonderful people that we hadn't had the opportunity to meet yet. People smiled at each other, held the door, men and boys offered every woman their seat, and everyone said GOD BLESS YOU, when you sneezed.
Heirloom decorations were unpacked, families went out together to choose a tree, and that inexhaustible calliope of mystical music filled the air. The smell of fresh pine was abundant in each and every house, and colored lights blinked as kids giggled and whispering and scribbled notes to Santa.
Old folks and children where the center of attention, and picking just the right gift was a very special achievement, well thought out and mulled over for days. Some presents took all year to make, and some took all year to save for. Only a very few were expensive, but all had a special meaning. Gift wrapping was an art, and unwrapping was deliberate and magical.
The center of the community was your neighborhood church, and talk of God, and baby Jesus was the main topic of Grace before dinner, and bedtime stories. Mangers, Santa's, holiday decorations, and lights were everywhere. Snow was a conversation piece, and when and if, was debated and recalled.
Food, ah yes, holiday food was researched, planned, plotted and prepared for days leading up to the big event. Everyone was involved, and everyone had a job. The location of the Christmas Eve party was usually determined by the age of the grandparents, and where they lived in proximity to the bulk of the family. However that was no sure thing.
Each family was represented in the choice of menu items. Every wonderful cook in each branch of the family offered to prepare their own special version of the chosen food. This made for a memorable feast indeed. The competition was playful and fun, but most importantly, filled with love... lots and lots of love and lovers.
This is the time of the year that we built mountains of warm love, enough to store up for cold dark days ahead. If we lose Christmas, who will tell the children about the baby Jesus, who will love you and remind you how lucky you are to have freedom, and family, and bring memories to the old folks, and memories that you can recall when you are old. Don't let it happen.
Won't you help me find Christmas, I know it's somewhere.. Do you know where it can be, perhaps it's just hiding deep in the warmth of your heart.. Thank you for your friendship. Thank you for your love. Thank you for being you..
THANK GOD FOR AMERICA.. God Bless you all... MERRY CHRISTMAS..
Either way, I prefer it Room Temperature... Deeeeeeeeelicious.. :o)
Call me, or 1-800 PIG GUTS to get some really fresh LARD... ... Yummmmmmm.. Bwhahhahahhahhah
lardons; lardoons
[LAHR-don; lahr-DOON] 1. Narrow strips of fat used to LARD meats. 2. The French also use the term lardon to refer to bacon that has been diced, blanched and fried.lard
n. RENDERED and CLARIFIED pork fat, the quality of which depends on the area the fat came from and the method of rendering. The very best is leaf lard, which comes from the fat around the animal's kidneys. (...sigh)Unprocessed lard has quite a strong flavor and a soft texture. Lard can be processed in many ways including filtering, bleaching, hydrogenation and emulsification. In general, processed lard is firmer (about the consistency of vegetable shortening, has a milder, more nutlike flavor and a longer shelf life. Lard is richer than many other fats and therefore makes extremely tender, flaky biscuits and pastries. It's a flavorful fat for frying and is widely used throughout South America and many European countries. When substituting lard for butter in baking, reduce the amount by 20 to 25 percent. All lard should be tightly wrapped to prevent absorption of other flavors.
It may be stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator, depending on how it has been processed. Always check the label for storage directions. lard v. To insert long, thin strips of fat (usually pork) or bacon into a dry cut of meat. The purpose of larding is to make the cooked meat more succulent, tender and flavorful. These strips are commonly referred to as LARDONS and are inserted with a special tool called a LARDING NEEDLE.
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If you're looking for the Christmas spirit, it just might be right here, because the gift isn't just toys and soccer balls, it's Hope. Something some folks haven't known in a long, long time.
God Bless you and yours this Christmas season!
Oh, the Weather Outside is Frightful
By, The Grinch, Nannyville, USA -- Many children will find sleds under the Christmas tree this year, but while sledding can be a fun thrill, it can also be dangerous.
More than 34,000 Americans needed emergency room treatment last year as a result of sledding injuries, and there's been a 30 percent increase in sledding injuries in the United States since 1990, says the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Children aged 5 to 9 are most susceptible. That's because they lack experience with speed and have underdeveloped coordination.
Sledding on a street is five times more likely to result in an injury than sledding in a yard or park. Most sledding accidents happen on weekends in January and February, and people who sled in a headfirst position are most vulnerable to injury.
The American Academy of Pediatrics offers the following safety advice:
Use sleds that you can steer rather than snow discs.
Sled only where the bottom of the hill is away from motor traffic.
Watch out for trees and snow-covered hazards.
Don't ride flat. Sit up and face forward.
Wear a bike helmet and mouth guard.
Climb back up the hill on the side of the sled run, not in the middle where you may be hit by another sled.
Don't ride sleds onto water hazards, such as rivers or streams with thin ice.
NOW BUNDLE-UP, GET YOUR FLU SHOT, WEAR THIS GLOW IN THE DAYLIGHT BEANIE CAP, AND STAY OFF OF THE STREETS, CULVERTS, DOWNGRADES, AND MOLEHILLS.. just have some fun!.. Geeze!.. :)
Hey stanz, still got those long-johns, I see it's starting to snow up there.. HA!
Scrumptious Fruit and Almond Mille-Feuillantines ALMOND WAFERS LAYERED WITH BLACKBERRIES, RASPBERRIES AND CREAM
Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees, and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- 1/2 c. almonds, blanched
- 1/2 c. sugar
- 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 large egg whites
- 5 tbs. unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3 c. heavy cream
- 3 tbs. sugar
- 1/2 pint raspberries
- 1/2 pint blackberries
- confectioners' sugar
1) Combine almonds with sugar and grind in food processor. In a bowl, whisk together almond-sugar mixture with flour, salt, egg whites, butter and vanilla until well combined.
2) Drop rounded teaspoons of batter 5" apart onto baking sheet, and with back of spoon, spread into 3" rounds. Bake wafers in oven for 8 minutes, or until golden. Transfer wafers to a rack to cool.
3) In a chilled bowl, combine cream, vanilla and sugar, and whip mixture with an electric mixer until it holds stiff peaks.
4) Place a wafer in the center of a plate, and add about 2 tablespoons of whipped cream onto wafer.
5) Top with one tablespoon of each of the berries. Place another wafer on top of the berries, top with whipped cream and berries, and place a third wafer on top of whipped cream and berries.
Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve immediately.
LowCarb Sweet Laurel Acadian Peppered Shrimp
1) In large heavy saute pan, melt butter. Add all other ingredients except the shrimp and cook over medium heat, stirring, about 20 minutes.
2) Add shrimp to the sauce, mix thoroughly and cook over medium heat 6-8 minutes, or just until the shrimp turn pink.
Serve at once.
Add some of the sauce with each portion.
(Have French bread on the table for sopping and plenty off napkins on hand) Serve with red wine Voila!
Hi Carlo. I have *no* Christmas spirit either. I am happy & well but I have no desire to have Christmas this year. I haven't bought a single present & no decorations are up at my house. Christmas dinner is here this year & I am looking forward to cooking & having a beautiful table but I wish it was January not December. Mr. Ditter & I are giving each other puppies for Christmas, mine is here now & his comes in January. No one else is getting anything. Bah Hum Bug!!!OH NO!!! This won't do.. get a cup of cocoa, and pull up a chair, and I'll tell you why this is such a great time in all of our lives, things weren't always so sweet...
I'll wait until you are comfortable. tapping my fingers.. whistling.. lookin at my watch.... OK
A Christmas Eve to Remember
We was workin' for a outfit
Way out Arizona way;
It happened on a Christmas Eve,
A cold and snowy day.
Me and Mort was at a line camp
When old Cookie, he showed up
A-bringin' us some Christmas cheer --
A wagon-load of chuck!When he had fixed us dinner,
We was baskin' in the glow
Of the best durn meal we'd eaten
In about a month or so,
When it suddenly got colder;
Snow'd been fallin' kind of slow,
Now it really come a-drivin'
Old north wind commenced to blow!We told Cookie he'd best stay the night,
To bring his bedroll in.
He'd just gone out to fetch it,
Midst the blizzard and the wind,
When he come acrost this hombre--
Kinda small and mighty thin --
Lookin' froze plumb to the marrow.
Cookie up and brought him in.That young stranger was a-shiverin',
Why, his lips was turnin' blue!
His jacket out both elbows
And his shirt a-showin' through!
I handed him hot coffee.
Mort tried to make him sit,
But he shook his head and stood there --
Wouldn't have it -- not a bit!He said, "My wife's in labor!"
Hands was tremblin' from the cold,
"It's her first and hard a-comin',
And she's just fifteen years old.
I'm afeered I'm goin' to lose her!
It ain't uncommon, so I'm told.
Is one of you a doctor?
I can pay a little gold!"Cook looked at me; I looked at him
-- Then both of us looked at Mort,
And Cookie to the stranger says,
"He's a doctor -- of a sort!"
Now, Mort warn't no physician --
Why that sure would be a laugh!
But he was best of all us hands
When a heifer dropped a calf.Mort looked a sight bewildered,
But he didn't know the half
Of what we was gettin' into --
'Cause this warn't no dadburn calf!
Mort went to gatherin' up some stuff.
Stranger said his name was Joe,
And he finally took the coffee
When he saw we meant to go.He said, "I finally took a place.
Come west on the Santa Fe trail.
I hoped to make it pannin' gold,
But it seems I always fail --
Be it farmin' or at minin' --
Just most everything I've tried.
Then I met and married Mary,
Now her mama's up and died."And the baby's comin' early,
That's the way it seems to be;
And my Mary's sure in trouble --
Only help she's got is me!"
Cookie'd packed a bag of vittles,
And him and Mort and me
Was a-puttin' on our dusters,
And the stranger looked relieved.Me and Mort rolled up our blankets
Because it was cold as sin!
Tossed some firewood in the wagon,
Then we throwed our bedrolls in.
Well, it still was fairly snowin,
Though the wind had slacked a bit.
Then I run back for my mouth harp.
(I'd just up and thought of it).Back at camp they called me Preacher
(Though that sure was not the case!)
'Cause I owned the only Bible
On that rough and reckless place;
So I thought I'd take that also,
With this new event in view.
Stuck 'em both in my vest pockets,
'Cause it seemed the thing to do.We'd never seen Cook drive them mules
The way that he did that night
Through that awful blindin' blizzard
With the stranger on his right
A-holdin' high the lantern
For to light us to his home,
And I couldn't help but notice
How well he sat that roan.In that modest little cabin
The fire was burnin' low.
We heard sounds--like sobs and moanin';
Then a quilt began to show.
In a corner, on a pallet,
In the dim and dusky gloom,
Long dark hair flowed 'crost a pillow
In that small and chilly room.Cookie went right to the cook stove,
Mort and Joe went to the bed
Where that sweet young girl lay cryin'.
I was hurryin' to the shed
To mind the team and bring in wood
When I saw a brilliant light
Where the heavy clouds had parted --
One bright star lit up the night!It seemed a awful Christmas Eve --
That sweet darlin's moans and screams.
I never know'd could be like that --
Never in my wildest dreams!
I took out my mouth harp, thinkin'
How that poor young girl must feel;
I played some hymns real soft to help
her get through that rough ordeal.Now, when the worst was over,
That new family in their nest,
The mother and baby sleepin',
Takin' of their needed rest,
Ol' Cookie served up breakfast,
All the flap jacks we could hold.
Joe offered us a tiny pouch
With a few small flakes of gold.When he knelt down by that bedside,
An overwhelming sense of peace
Seemed to settle on that cabin;
Sky was lightnin' in the East.
The snow lay unmolested,
And the air was crisp and clear --
Like God was buildin' promises
For a clean and prosperous year."Preacher," Cookie says to me,
"It's Christmas Day, and so
That star that's slowly fadin' there
Makes me really want to know:
Does the good book say the Savior
Will return to earth again?
You reckon we just witnessed that?!"
Cookie said it with a grin,
But I could see he meant it,
"That's Mary in that bed!
And I reckon we're the wise guys,
'Cause there's three of us!" he said.Then I remembered -- on the table
We'd left gifts -- just like of old:
Bag of vittles, my old mouth harp,
Bull Durham sack with flakes of gold
To which we'd added several coins
And what bills we had among us.
That quiet peace -- just like a hymn
Some angel band had sung us."Yes, the Bible says he'll come again.
Guess the West could be the place --
Arizona's good as any.
We might fill the shepherds' space!"
"If you guys are right," Mort ventured,
There'll be changes in this world --
Mary's real name's Maria,
And that baby is a girl!"© 2000, Dee Strickland Johnson ("Buckshot Dot")
Merry Christmas and an O Holy Night.. kiss them puppies for us.. HUGGGG.. :)
Oh Cindy, that is just a beautiful link.. it brings it all back into focus.. Bless you.. :)
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