This time of the year is hard for me, as it is for many! So many of us have lost loved ones, I am no different! I write about this on the eve of my wife’s death, from a house fire, several years ago! She always told me she would haunt me if she died first, and she does! I see her in the brilliant colors of the trees. She taught me, to see the beautiful reds and yellows, reflected in her sky blue eyes! That is another story! (LOL) It has to be the right shade of red!
The time was so different then, people were trusting, we had never locked the doors till I was 18 years old we knew all our neighbors, and quite frequently ran next door to help one another! People watched out for each other and you did the same for them. Harvest was almost over and everyone had purple fingers from shelling Purple Hull Peas and snap beans. People would stop by early walking to town! Have a cup of coffee and a bacon biscuit! Someone stops by to sharpen Moms knives for her and someone else stops by drops off 3 more bushels of Purple Hull Peas to be shelled before tomorrow! We would see Uncle Sugg walking and ask if he would like a ride, “no thanks I’ve got to get there quick to take care of my business” he would say! Away he would go walking to town.
The day before Thanksgiving, we were rushed out of the house; Mom would be cooking all day! Of course, if you wanted you could help make the biscuits, mixing the dough and rolling them out cut and put them on a pan! Did not matter to us when we had finished our chores we would rather be out in the woods barefoot going to the lake, to play ball in a pasture! Do not dare come back early if you opened the door and her cake fell you were in trouble! I was always barefoot, I think I started wearing shoes full time when I was 16, of course, we had to for school but I would rather have been barefoot!
When we got to the house around 5:00 pm for supper, you ate what was on your plate and helped wash and put dishes up! Tomorrow is Thanksgiving everyone would be there, all your entire family, aunts and uncles, grandparent everyone! Be on your best behavior wash your hands. (still stained purple after 4 washes ) most times if we came in there was always something to eat hot on the stove. We never went hungry!
Thanksgiving day, people would start coming right after breakfast, bringing food-helping get everything finished! We had Biscuits, eggs with red eye gravy orange juice and milk! Then the men would set up the television to watch the game! The house would fill up, to almost standing room only then round about 12:00 we would be called to lunch with fried chicken and string beans peas and corn on the cob, with buttered corn bread, sweet tea, peach cobbler and apple pies cakes of every kind! Way too much for us to eat! We had an apple tree right outside the front door we had put apples up all summer and there was applesauce! Then when you finished eating we would all go take turns on the crank making the Ice cream in a bucket pouring salt on the ice in the wooden bucket! Then after having some of the ice cream, you would let it set in the freezer till later!
Then at 5:00 PM, you would return to the feature event the carving of the turkey that had been cooking for the entire day! It would absolutely melt in your mouth, don’t forget there is mashed potatoes and beans of every kind tomatoes and giblet gravy and onion! Then you would have some blueberry cobbler with ice cream! Then you were full! And would not eat a bite for the next 3 days!
Stir Pot, "lets talk food"
Stir Pot, "lets talk food"
