Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Yes I realize it's Christmas Eve but as I have volunteered to work on the day of the festivities today is the day I will be celebrating Christmas. Money has been more than tight, so having been unable to provide many Christmas presents I hope that my greatest gift to my family will be the cooking I have done since before I even went to bed last night.

Let me start by saying what all I did last night. I baked nearly 10 dozen sugar cookies for everyone. They aren't just ordinary cookies though, they are very special because they are my Grandmother's recipe. See, for the holidays my grandma goes to South Carolina now, which means we don't get to see her at all. Her absence has left a hole in our hearts that I hope to fill up a little bit by giving everyone what they look forward to the most: grandma's sugar cookies. See what makes them so very special is how unlike ordinary sugar cookies they are. To explain the taste and texture of them would be very difficult, so I will reside in saying you must try them to understand what I mean. They are a very special addition to our family and as you see them on the right they are exactly as my grandma makes them. I think having them for the holidays helps us cope with the fact that she's not here with us to celebrate such a momentous occasion. Do I blame her for wanting to escape the Winter Weather? Absolutely not. I just miss her.

Well as I sit here and type this up, my mother's trailer is filled with the smells of pumpkin pie that I just pulled out of the oven and plan to give a few hours to cool down. As you can see on the left here, it turned out fantastically. This is one of the two pies that I baked this afternoon. All I'm waiting for now is the stroke of 4 to start peeling potatoes and get the sweet potatoes into the oven so they have at least an hour to bake. My mother and I bought an enormous 24 pound turkey yesterday which is in a roasting oven on the counter on the other side of the kitchen. I can hear it cooking now. Another hour or so and it should be done as well. Dinner is at 5:30PM and so far everything is on time for the most part. All I have left is mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, and gravy. Oh and fruit salad! Sure it seems a lot like Thanksgiving dinner was but who cares. Not everyone has to be traditional.

Well fellow bloggers, this is me signing out. Wish me luck to get everything finished in time. And pray I have the patience to put up with so many family members in one place for an extended period of time...

Feliz Navidad!
Cassie