Wow, Christmas is over and the New Year is almost here. Where does the time go? This Christmas was a whirlwind really, I had to work until 9 in the morning on Christmas eve and as soon as I got off work I was headed to Scotty's to learn how to make pies. Yeah, I probably could have looked up a cream pie or a coconut cream pie on Pinterest but it wouldn't have been the same. The pies I wanted to learn to make are my grandma Hilton's pies. I have tried to make them before without any luck at all they tasted good but never set up. So this year I asked if I could be included in the pie making. I think it's great that Scotty and Mikey get together every big holiday to make the pies just like she did. Every time I take one bite they remind me of all the fun holiday memories I have that she helped to create. This year a new memory was added to the collection. I got to Scotty's house and the crust were already about to go in the oven, so I missed that part. But I was there and the important part was about to start. Let me start by saying that if Cathy and I didn't have bad luck we probably wouldn't have any luck at all on this day. I was super excited to make meringue to top the pies with and well next time I think I will just skip that part. We got the first few pies done and were ready to whip up some egg whites to put on top and let me tell you they looked fantastic. Next we had to put them in the oven to toast the top just a touch. We were all standing around talking and reminiscing about the past and what we could and could not remember from our pasts and how some of the memories we had were 20-40 years ago. Right in the middle of all those sweet memories we realized that we had put the pie in the oven to lightly brown the top...well it was a bit more than lightly brown more like heavily black. Yep we can remember 20-40 years ago but to heck with remembering 2 minutes ago when we put the pie in the oven...that was the first of many issues we had that morning. Burnt the meringue and had to make up some more. It really was all down hill from there I don't know how we made it out with 10 good and yummy pies, but we did. We had an issue with the meringue and the mixer (the mixer decided it didn't want to play well with others and threw the meringue all over the kitchen) Cathy picked up a pie that wasn't quite cool and spilled it all over the counter top...Yea, I really don't know how we got it done but I am betting that Uncle Scotty never lets Uncle Mike out of pie making again (he'll probably beg me not to help again that's for sure). All in all it was a great lesson for me and I hope that when I try to make them on my own they turn out as well as they did for us this Christmas.
Christmas eve with the family was a bit different this year, we usually have sandwiches on Christmas eve because of all the Christmas food everyone eats on Christmas day but this year we made lasagna. Oh boy was it good. My mom was worried that we wouldn't make enough so while shopping for all the things we needed to make it she kept "saying get two, we need to make sure we have enough, there are 11 of us you know." I kept telling her I know what I'm doing but she kept insisting and I was just trying to get her out of Walmart. This is probably a blog post in itself but I will clue you in...She walks slow ( like crazy slow and I worry she will fall) so the girls (Valorie & Haleigh) wanted her to drive the little buggy they have for the handicap people. I was OK with that for all of 3 seconds until I realized how many stinking people were at the store and the fact that she drives that thing worse than she drives her car. She had no regard for shelves or people...if it got in her way she was going to run it over, frontwards, backwards or in circles (me included while I was bending over to get something off the shelf) The girls thought this was great though so they were no help at all. We finally got all the things we needed and got the heck out of there.
If you follow me on facebook or instagram you might remember one of my last garage sale finds...a HUGE roasting pan. I used it at Thanksgiving for our turkey (BIG @#$ PAN) Anyway, with all the stuff mom bought and all the worrying she was doing about not having enough for 11 people I pulled out the big pan and we started putting together one GIANT lasagna (thanks Val for your help) The picture you are looking at is a nearly 20 pound $70 lasagna. It was fabulous and all eleven people ate until they were nearly sick and guess what...we had enough leftovers for about 32 more people. (there is still some in my fridge as I type)
Christmas day! I love when the girls wake up to find gifts under the tree. Yeah they know where the gifts come from but it is always fun to see them light up when they see the things they have been wishing for. This year "Santa" left treats for the dogs under the tree as well and even though the girls were happy I am positive neither of them were more happy than our little doggies. They were running circles and trying to decide which treat they wanted first. It was sweet. (and Marty has not completely destroyed his stuffed toy yet either Janae)
To top off my awesome Christmas post let me introduce you to my newest favorite kitchen item...you can call her Ruby. She has found her new home right up on the kitchen cabinet ready to work at a moments notice. I never really thought about what color I would like to have just that I have wanted one of these stand mixers for several years now. But since being given this bright red beauty I don't think any other color would have worked as well as this one does. Stephen keeps talking about taking better care of ourselves and eating better to lose some weight but I am afraid that with the addition of Ruby we are going to have to work extra hard because so far she has started off with making cookies (hope she knows how to make healthy stuff too) ;-)
Stephen got a fancy new toy this year too (he is just as spoiled as the three of his girls) if you want to see it you
will have to stop by and let him get it out of the safe to show you.
I truly am blessed beyond measure with the love of my family and friends. I enjoyed my whirl wind holiday getting to spend so much time with you all. The gifts mean nothing compared to each and every one of you. I love you all.
I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas and may the up coming New Year bring you exciting new adventures. I know I am looking forward to what 2015 has to offer.
Thanks for reading
always,
tammyc
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