Re: [gardeners] Getting ready already

George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Fri, 22 Nov 2002 16:05:11 -0600 

Yams actually come out of Africa, I've never seen a real yam down here
but the State of Louisiana tends to call rough sweet potatoes, ie field
run, "Louisiana yams." Not a dimes worth of difference in the two to my
taste or eye. The "Louisiana yam" is just a sweet tater with flesh that
is more orange in color than the regular sweet taters.

We've got 11 counting the two of us, 12 if you count Sleepy. The two
youngest are 2 years of age, Nicholas, our youngest grandson was 2 on
11/07 and Zoe, our only greatgranddaughter was 2 on 11/18. Two terrible
two's at the same time. The next youngest is Jordan, Nicholas's big
sister, she is 4 going on 25. Megan, my daughter's youngest, is 16 with
brothers that are 19 and 22. The only one not coming is our DIL, son
says she's staying home to paint the inside of the house while the kids
aren't there. I don't question them, just take what I can get.

With us it's just immediate family. I don't have much contact with other
family members other than my eldest half-sister who is a great person.
You can pick your friends but you can't pick your relatives and some of
mine are real doozies. Miz Anne's family is all up in Southern Maryland
or scattered over half the US of A. A lot of my family, the ones I do
get along with, are living in California, Washington State, Idaho, and
points west. A goodly number of really old cousins on Mom's side still
live in MIssouri and Arkansas and I see them on Memorial Day in odd
years, 2003 will be the next time. Shoot, some of those folks are over
100 years old so gotta see them while they're still here.

Sleepy Dawg gets punished by not allowing her to come near me for an
hour. You would think she's being killed by the way she acts.
Fortunately she's a fast learner and hasn't repeated any of the stunts
that got her punished the first time.

I've got a fresh pone of cornbread cooling on the stove top to make the
dressing Sunday, the cake is made and iced, the eggs are boiled for the
devilled eggs, and the sweet potatoes have been baked, peeled and sliced
and are sitting in the fridge awaiting their turn Sunday. I do need a
bigger fridge during holidays though.

I'll post a report once the festivities are over and Miz Anne and I can
sit down and relax a bit.

George



pennyx1@juno.com wrote:
> 
> George, how many will be coming on Sunday?  How young is the baby?
> 
> We traditionally use yams for our holiday casserole -- they are
> naturally sweeter, I believe. Do you prefer the paler 'sweet potatoes'..?
> And is that rather a universal choice down south?  Nothing finer than a
> well baked yam split open with butter and salt ---  oh, yessss.....
> 
> Our original family of 23 (plus 4 dogs who had to be locked in
> separate bedrooms..) is now down to 12, with one canine who keeps
> getting into trouble and is sent to his cage...  Never could figure out
> that cage bit -- it hits me as cruelty above and beyond. And what's
> more, if the world has now decided that the cage should be used for
> punishment and for sleeping hours, then what's the matter with using
> it for the children..?  We had one great nephew who always insisted
> upon tormenting my young grandson -- sticking his foot out to trip him,
> you know the kind. I would have gladly hit him over the head with a
> cast iron frying pan, to put him out of commission, but I was
> restrained by Jimmie. Had I the choice of ordering him into his cage,
> I would have done it with alacrity -- and every year, at that!
> 
> As usual, Cousin Dick continues his assignment of bringing enough hors
> d'oeuvres for everyone. When his wife was alive, they would concoct
> all sorts of yummies as a team, and we had 6-story baloney & cream
> cheese triangles; a large eggplant studded with tooth picks full of
> rollups of various kinds; devilled eggs, both curried and plain; many
> cheeses with many crackers; and sometimes things like goat cheese
> from Norway...  Now that he is alone, he still makes up the devilled
> eggs, and supplements the feast with lots of dips and cheeses from
> Trader Joe's. It's fun.
> 
> The hostess, Cousin Judy, always makes the turkey and stuffing,
> the yams, cole slaw or a salad, and her very special cheese cake.
> Her daughter, Laura, now a college freshman, is the brownie
> specialist.
> 
> Penny brings at least 3 cakes -- they all used to be home made,
> such as pineapple upside down, lemon chiffon pie with graham
> cracker crust, sand torte with corn starch instead of flour (for the
> allergic), and such. After 50 years of doing this, I discovered that
> they all were just as happy with good store-boughten cakes, and so
> that's what they get. I do bring along a gallon casserole of curried
> canned fruits, yummy, yum -- peaches, pears, mandarin oranges,
> sometimes apricots, sometimes green grapes, covered with a
> sauce of mixed brown sugar and curry, and baked for an hour.
> 
> Cousins Marion and Leona bring wine, enough to go around just
> fine.
> 
> It's a help-yourself from the sideboard dinner, after all the nibbelungen
> 
> and daiquiries first in the living room, and then comes the big surprise:
> nobody has to stay to do the dishes. Judy and Al and Laura beg us to
> allow them to do it themselves. Terrific!
> 
> The trick is staying awake for the hour's ride home on a holiday night.
> T'aint easy.
> 
> Happy  Holiday, all of you -- and we'd love to hear how you celebrate!
> 
> Penny, NY
> 
> .
> 
> ________________________________________________________________
> Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today
> Only $9.95 per month!
> Visit www.juno.com