COOKIES!

These are a few of the kinds of cookies brought to the exchange:

Crisp Peanut Butter, with the traditional crossed-tine lines, and Oatmeal Raisin:



Brownies and a plate of sugar-dusted Lime Meltaways---like the traditional Wedding Cookies, with a lovely citrus breath:

Some rich Ginger/Pumpkin bars and Toffee Bars:

More of Caro's Mini-Brownies with the Reese's Cup centers:

Like that one party guest who won't behave (not that we'ver EVER entertained such a person)this picture just WILL NOT face correctly---it's lying down neatly in the display, but just won't DO RIGHT when I upload it. The Snickerdoodles were a special request from me when my dear neighbor asked what kind should she bring. Her roots are in Germany, and I don't know if these are a modern invention or from her Mother's kitchen, but they're splendid---crisp and sweet, with the most beautiful fault-lines where the dough burst and cracked through the cinnamon-sugar crust.

And Caro made the Chex-Mix sweet in the green bowl---I think they all called it Puppy Chow; it's tossed with melted chocolate, butter and peanut butter til every little pillow is coated, then you shake it in a bag with powdered sugar. And somehow, through all the coatings, the cereal is still crisp and crunchy, though it's stored in the fridge. The almonds were my idea---Chris came home with a gallon plastic jug of chocolate-coated ones from Sam's this week. I thought they'd have the bitter flush of pure cocoa, but it's as if they ran it though a light mist of semi-sweet chocolate, for it's not a shell, but a film of pure chocolate flavor over the crisp nut.

It's like the Trail-Mix of your dreams:

The larger of these are Peanut Butter, the smaller are my neighbor's famous homemade Ginger Snaps---ohhhhh, My! And for those with little ones, she made sugar cookies coated in that irresistible colored sugar:

And in her other hand, she was carrying these---frosted butter cookies, with SPRINKLES!

This is a swirly, many-chocolates bark, broken into nibbling size, and the most sumptuous soft Pumpkin Teacakes, with creamy frosting.

More Toffee Bars---who can ever have enough of those? and Pecan Sandies:

And a pan of nostalgia: Rice Krispie/Marshmallow squares. This crowd of ladies all went, "AWWWWW!" and I wonder if ANY of these made it home:

And, made by my own DDIL, the most wonderful Orange Teacakes, soft and melty, with a lovely hint of orange peel in the icing. Something about biting into one of those tender orange cakes just brings back memories of when Mammaw used to make them and have them waiting on a pretty plate in the big old Hoosier Cabinet. The icing on these had that magical quality of some frostings---it's smooth and feels mysteriously chilly on your tongue---just a lovely cookie.

And somehow, they had a place beside the Mammaw Bowl---quite apropos, I think, though the two ladies never met. Mammaw would be really proud of my DDIL, and especially glad that she's the Mother of her Great-Great Grandchild.

This was a wonderful evening---we talked and laughed and ate and it was wonderful to have the house full of young folks again. Many dozens of cookies changed hands, as did recipes and e-mail addresses and invitations to other outings.

And quite a few little Tupperwares and baggies were filled at the buffet downstairs for husbands left behind at home whilst we ladies had a Girl's Night---croissants and potstickers and sandwiches and sausage balls made their way out into the night alongside trays of cookies.

Each guest also went home with a little baking pan of Caro's brownies and a pound of our homemade fudge, as well as a big bag of savory-salty Chex Mix with pretzels, melbas and pecans.

I wish you every one could have been there---I hope you liked sharing it this way.

And since we found so many things we'd even forgotten we HAD whilst getting out the cloths and trays and silverware, we've started planning our LAWN TEA for the Spring.

CHRISTMAS TEA

The promised snow did not fall until after midnight, so all was clear and bright and very cold as our guests arrived at five. I was downstairs putting on finishing touches, and down came DDIL and Our Girl---they were the only “backdoor guests” this time---even the two next-doors came round to the front, arriving in bright coats and smiles, with a little breath of the cold ushering them in.

Chris and Our Girl had a date to go to Cracker Barrel and ride around a bit to see the Christmas lights, so after introductions, they departed into the frosty night. They DID come dashing back in, all bright-eyed and eager, about the time the cookies were all unwrapped, and I think that between them, they probably sampled every kind in the house.

You may click on photos to enlarge.

The living room dresser, with our little pans of brownies, and the smaller pans are 1 ¼ lb. homemade fudge. Homemade Chex Mix in the Mammaw bowl---Caro made gallons and everyone got great scoops of it in baggies to take home. I love that cloth---it's in shiny silky jewel shades, and it was one of the very first Thrift Store purchases after we moved up here---I paid five dollars for it in 1991. We had a tiny apartment, with the freezer in the living room, so I draped it with this cloth, and it made it look like just a piece of furniture.

At the far left is Jeeves, a little wooden butler that Daddy made for me years ago, holding a tray of favors---you can just see his feet, with the neat stripe down the side of his butler suit, and the top of his little pink bald head.

The couch’s summer green has been exchanged for its original burgundy, whence our whole color scheme has evolved over the years. Caro did all, and I mean ALL of the decorating up here---Christmas and furniture arranging and everything.

Everyone seemed to arrive at once, as if they'd all boarded the Christmas Bus and rollicked in from all over town, to step off at our curb. I went up to a roomful of bright chatter and warmth and the scents of vanilla and peanut butter and chocolate wafting from all corners, as the many trays and boxes of cookies were set out. Holiday sweaters and sweatshirts and sparkly earrings and tiny red-bowed wreaths-on-lapels added even more color to the festivities as everyone mingled in the upstairs kitchen for wine and mulled cider, cheese and fruit and salty nibbles.

Caro's kitchen corner.

Her kitchen window, all spruced up with a whole choir of Frosty people.

They sat and chatted in the living room and in the sitting area, finally furbished with its row of stockings beneath the windows. The old “waiter” on the ottoman made a handy spot to set down a glass or cup.

And the guestroom, in case anyone peeked in on the way to the Powder Room. Another little Snow Family taking their ease.

I finished up downstairs, setting out the sandwich stands, putting the hot foods on the buffet, lighting the candles, and went up to call everyone down to tea. We had one table of six,

and two tables of four---one down in the end by the buffet--and yes, that IS my red hat atop the torchiere---it makes a nice rosy glow in the evening.

And the other was the breakfast table, in its usual place, but all Cinderella-ed up for the party, like little birds had tied those very bows with their beaks.

I forgot to photograph the tables AFTER the sandwich stands went on---each table had a stand of little Paminna Cheese triangles, and little squares of ham, Havarti and pears on nutbread, like in a teashop. Everyone served themselves at the buffet, and went into my kitchen for tea and ice water and wine.

The Buffet, Clockwise from top: The green tray is Jalapeno Rolls with a bit of taco seasoning in the spread; Crudite with homemade Ranch, Devilled Eggs (always with paprika for Christmas), Chicken Salad in Croissants, Cheese and Grapes, Hot Artichoke Dip. Caro made the Potstickers in the big white bowl, and beneath the butterbell is an almond-covered cheeseball, made by my Mother’s always-for-Christmas recipe. Sausage Balls in the pink napkin, and, of course, Cucumber Sandwiches.

The Cheese Ball with the butterbell removed---we made three of this size, to fit into the well of the dish. This recipe has been in our family for probably fifty years, usually with toasted pecans in place of the almonds. And I love the look of a cuddle of old silver spoons on the table.

A better look at those divine Potstickers---the pink napkin in back holds tiny salt dips and ramekins, for pouring in individual servings of the ginger/sesame dipping sauce. And the Artichoke Dip is really four ingredients; I made up the recipe in a hurry one night when a gluten-free friend was coming to dinner. (And that's Our Girl's kitchen shelves in the background---she has a set of stainless cookware that I'd steal if it held more than half a cup).

Dessert, served from the Pass-Through---the top tray of the silver stand holds tiny brownies with a Reese’s cup pushed into the dough before baking; the bottom is Lemon Cheesecakes in a vanilla crust.

The green cups are Peanut Butter Cheesecake with Ganache.

Strawberry Trifle. Coffee and Tea in the kitchen. The trifle is not one of my most beautiful creations---it was getting VERY close to five, and I was sort of cascading berries into the bowl and glopping on creme anglaise like mortar with a trowel.

And on that charming note, I think there's been a surfeit of telling for now.

Tomorrow---COOKIES!

ALMOST DONE

Sometimes you feel as if you've gone through all of Alice's Doors:

Company this morning, plus a plumber, plus a quite lively little girl---those have delayed my posting just a bit. I have all the pictures lined up ready to download, the words written, and a willing heart, but it will take a while.

I think I'll even have to post a second half tomorrow, because of so many pictures.

I hope everyone is warm and well and happy---we've got a snowstorm headed this way, plus very high winds tonight, so batten down the hatches and snuggle in.

moire non,

rachel

And I had a lovely surprise yesterday---after all the work and the cleaning. My Darling Sis called and said, “Look at your e-mail---you deserve a rest after all that work.” She’d sent us a marvelous Christmas Gift---a certificate for the New Year’s Eve celebration at an out-of-town hotel---LOVELY. And SO welcome.

Now I KNOW I'm in Wonderland.

OOOO MONDAY

I'm still washing dishes and putting things to rights. There are enough cookies upstairs to build a Witch's House and have enough left for a good-sized gathering of elves.

My mind is so tired, I can't get two words together--I'm still awash in burgundy chair skirts and where-is-that-tray, so I'll be a while.

It was really pretty and much fun and I hope to share all that later today.

You're a dear, patient lot and I love that about you.

PARTY PREP II

We have our party prep well under way---The Paminna Cheese is made. Also the filling for the Jalapeno Rolls, the two Corned Beef Cheese Balls, the ginger-soy dip for the potstickers, as well as the filling, the Garlic/Dill dip for the crudite platter, and the Artichoke Heart Gratin.

The dining table is awash in sparkly-bright glasses and plates and cups, sherbet glasses for the trifle, some silver trays and bowls I polished this week, and the last load of glasses and trays and bowls is still in the dishwasher.

Cloths and napkins are pressed, and the little pound-and-a-quarter pans of fudge with their cute snowman lids are stacked upstairs on the living room dresser. We'll pick up the fresh green things and the fruit tomorrow, wash and cut and bag them, and make the stuffing for the Devilled Eggs and the chicken salad. Chris will do the errands and toast the pecans, and we'll get the cloths on and the skirts on the chairs.

We'll have a little buffet for the savories, and the trifle bowl and tree of Lemon-Curd Muffins and Reese's Cupcake Brownies will be in the wide pass-through, with a little tea-stand of Paminna Cheese sandwiches, cucumber hearts, and nutbread-with-pears on each table.

There will be wine and mulled cider and a cranberry cocktail in the upstairs kitchen while people gather, and then they will all come downstairs for tea. Pitchers of iced tea and fruit water and pots of Earl Grey, as well as the percolator, will be down here in my kitchen.

OOPS---I forgot to pick any mint. I wonder if the frost got it---it's been in the Twenties all day.

LOST BLUE WILLOW

This is the little Blue Willow teaset which I got from Santa when I was six. I had many a lovely teaparty with the little dishes---Pot, C&S, Tray, four each cups, saucers, little plates.



And every single piece has survived, possibly due to the dishes' long incarceration in a little blue box, wrapped in bits of newspaper from the Sixties. And after I'd left for college, married, and had children of my own, I continued to ask if anyone had any clue what had happened to my dishes, but no one could remember.

Mother said that we'd probably given them to my younger cousin---who signs in as Anonymous, and then signs her sweet messages with "Maggie." So I gave up on ever finding my childhood treasure.

THEN---as I've related in another post back in the past year, I was cleaning out the huge cedar closet in their Master Bedroom, after Daddy had sold our family home. I reached up onto the big deep shelf amongst shoeboxes and albums and hats, felt the heft and weight of my own little stationery box with the hearts and birds on the lid, and there was my teaset. I sat down in the floor, amongst the dangling ties and pants legs, beneath that bright 100-watt bulb, and cried for the finding, for the loss, for the day, for all the feelings and emotions involved in such a momentous undertaking and change.

I gently unwrapped each small piece, thinking that perhaps time and handling might have done some damage, but not a single chip, not a single missing handle or spout.

They sit now on the ledge of the old linen-press from the room in my parents' house that we called "Mammaw's Room" for the Grandmother who lived with us for part of every year. And now that we're here, the furniture inhabits what we continue to call "Daddy's Room," long years after he's passed away.

And see the slightly-taller cup hovering there in the back, just above the knob of the teapot lid? That cup and saucer, child-sized instead of the doll-size originals, was a Christmas gift from Caro before the set was found---she presented it beautifully wrapped, with a little note saying, "You have to start somewhere."

Having never seen the originals, she had no idea what size they really were. And she intended to continue the collection from time to time---but then came the happy reunion with my own dear pieces.

So, they all sit there in the hazy sunlight through the white curtains, keeping company with the furniture from the house which was their home for so many years. And I've never washed the set from that day to this---I give it a nice wipedown with a Windexed paper towel now and then, but not inside. I cannot bear to erase the faint traces of the childhood dolltea still visible in those tiny cups.

HAPPY DECEMBER!!

This is the lovely sight which greeted me when I wandered out of our room this morning. The Good Fairy of Decorating had been busily at work as we slept. This is the little chandelier over the dining table downstairs.

Click to see details, if you'd like.


I got my first cup and went up toward the voices in the little sitting area---Chris and Caro were up there in the sunshine, discussing the new sink---an uplifting subject for a sunny morning. The house has never looked this lovely. She's been getting out stuff I didn't even know we HAD, making bows and swags and lovely little vignettes and arrangements all over the house. She's having a few friends to tea on Sunday afternoon, and she takes her entertaining seriously.

This is a cozy little corner---what is meant to be the "dining room" in all these tiny ranch houses in our Fifties neighborhood. The brass letters in the windows will later hold the stockings---it's too much temptation for a little one this week, so the row of stockings will not go up until Sunday, right before the party. They're all ivory---some satin, some linen, and some have to be double-hung like extra socks on the clothesline. We no longer have a mantel with the handy nails for hanging, so when the weight of the goodies goes into the stockings, they have to be ranged like soldiers all down the couch and chairs. We always leave one item sticking out the top, each of significance to the recipient, so everyone will know their own.

Note the stack of pretty green boxes beneath the tiny tree---they hold some of the reams of my writings and midnight musings over the years. I don't know how she managed to gift-wrap the heavy, unwieldy things, but she did.

And to gild the lily---she gift-wrapped the air conditioner. I kind of like it. That center cushion on the couch is where FuzzyPup has established his upstairs domain. He has a big old burlap pillow which goes on just for him, and he lies there in all his golden glory, surveying his realm, and jumping down to go to the windows and warn away the neighborhood cats.

We've brought in all the outdoor pots, and this begonia has just gotten out of hand---it's always been one of those flop-over-the-sides-of-the-pot ones, but now, with that steady sunshine and Caro's careful attention, it's heading for the ceiling---I've never seen one do that.

The Magi are papier mache, and live in a neat slotted box---they were old when I got them, smelling of old paper and Christmases past.

The ornaments have been collected over many years, and are swapped out from year to year, with a few favorites always on the tree. They're mostly glass and clear this year, with a lot of sparkle, and a long spiraling strand of the same burgundy ribbon that's on the swags, the chandelier, and the doors. There are angels and swans and satin balls, blown-glass hearts and even a couple of tee-ninecy brass chandeliers, with little Lilliput crystals like grains of rice.

The dove candleholder is always on the coffee-table; that table was in my parents' den, where my Mother kept her ashtray and set down thousands of cups of coffee.
There are even a few light ring-marks beneath the glass from the condensation of the frosty glasses of iced tea set down over the years.

I wish you were every one here to sit and chat for a while in the calm of the morning---there's a place for you, a cozy chair and a warming cup, and I bid you always welcome this Blessed Season.