I thought back to Connie's world then before "me" their only child. I heard again my mother talking to me about their Fox Terrier, Cubby. I want a dog!
Time Stood Still
Recently I had a conversation with my friend, Dolores. "Well, it just isn't Thanksgiving and Christmas without your Holiday Cranberry Salad! It's a requirement!" I had taken the salad to a Christmas Lunch several years ago, a girls' day out.
Long ago, my mother also told me the story of Holiday Cranberry Salad. "The recipe appeared in the Augusta, Georgia [USA] newspaper the Christmas after you were born. I've made it ever since!" We made it for every celebration, so pretty and cheerful, a pop of color with the feast.
As I grew older, I helped make the salad. My very favorite part was chopping the fresh walnuts, and eating plenty in the process. I love the combination of cheese and walnuts and was sure to have some cottage cheese as I chopped along. The finished chilled salad enticed me to eat more of the ingredients that rose to the top: walnuts, celery, and chopped apples and less of the cranberry layer. I always play with my food, and still do, taking ingredients apart such as eating the buttercream icing and leaving the cake.
After I married and had children of our own, we continued the tradition. My family now helped chop the walnuts and make the salad!
Holiday Cranberry Salad
Dissolve 1 small package of raspberry Jello with 1 cup boiling water
Add a can (8 oz) of cranberry sauce. We use Ocean Spray Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce. Stir and mix well.
Stir in
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 chopped walnuts
Peel and chop an apple and add. We use a ripe Macintosh Apple.
Stir and Chill
A couple of weeks ago, my husband handed me this photograph....Where did it come from? I haven't seen this one in years! I love the memories and feel my hands again on the sturdy cold grey stonework mantel and fireplace, the stonecutter's art. I love rocks and minerals, connectiion with the Earth. I love the ledge where my horses and dog statues paraded, waiting for me to draw and paint them, teaching me how to develop 3-D shaded believable art work.
As I write, the same horse and dog models, silent companions, salute me again from inside the glass design of my mother's china cupboard. I love taking them out to play and placing them around.
Rewind~Fast Forward
Many years later, I can touch our brick living room wall and feel the ochre sandstone grains with my hands. I have many ledges now where paintings appear and change with the mood and seasons of the heart-mind.
* "....Time it was, and what a time it was, it was
A time of innocence,
A time of confidences
Long ago, it must be, I have a photograph,
Preserve [Y]our Memories...."
Related Posts
Out of Box Experience, (Aug 2011), Running With Horses (Mar 2012), The Immediate Rabbit (July 2012), New Year's Resolution?(Jan 2013), and
Being Is Believing (Dec 2013)
Music Resources:
* Song of the Day: Simon and Garfunkel: Bookends, Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits
Christmas in Vienna, Music Cd from The Vienna Boys' Choir I still love the Cd format, I love holding music in my hands and seeing the picture cover, "Time it Was"
Memories:
Marilu Henner, actress and author, Total Memory Makeover, anticipate, experience, index, and recall your memories
Tai Chi Exercise
Tai Chi helps your memory and all areas of your life, a mind-body exercise.
Dr. Paul Lam, Tai Chi for Health Worldwide, You Tube free lesson, Tai Chi for Beginners
Photos by Robert G. Diess, M.D. my father
Connie and Cubby
Dahlis at Christmas
