Welcome Skylar Alexa!

Have you sent out your Christmas cards already? I usually do mine over the long Thanksgiving weekend. This year, they just laid on the desk staring at me everytime I went into the study! I do a Christmas Letter to include in the card and  I wanted to include the BIG announcement of our Great-grand daughter's birth! Her due date in November came and went, another day and another. We were so anxious! Finally, last Friday December 4th she made her grand entrance into the world! Skylar Alexa, 9 pounds and 1 ounce, 21 inches long and heart-melting beautiful! 

“It is no small thing, when they, who are so fresh from God, love us. ”   ― Charles Dickens

So I set down yesterday and the words just poured out...

CommeSo, I set down yesterday and wrote from my heart... the words just poured out! 

Merry Christmas!

Big news this past week, we achieved “Greatness” when Skylar Alexa Athey came into the world December 4^th! Who would have ever thought that being a great grandparent would be just as exciting as becoming grandparents 21 years ago when Jackson was born? 

Shannon and Jackson are doing well, Nana and Pop (Stephanie and Ken) are walking on air, and we are all learning that this is what it’s all about… welcoming the next generation! How our parents would have loved to have held them close, I do hope Heaven has a window! 

We are looking forward to a trip to Amy’s before Christmas. Hopefully the weather will hold until after the holidays are past and everyone can be with loved ones without having to worry about icy roads. It would be nice if we had a few flakes of snow! 

Every gift I wrap, every cookie I bake- I think of Mom and Dad, my Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and cousins who filled my whole life with memories to last a lifetime! Feeling blessed beyond measure this year and wishing you and your families good health, happiness and prosperity in the coming year!

                                             Love from Memaw and Papa! 

Southern Cornbread Dressing

Upside down, Thanksgiving is being planned later this year than ever before. With Mom in the hospital we had the holiday meal on hold, but thank God she is improving so it's Katy Bar the Door... menu planning full steam ahead!  One thing for sure... Daddy's Cornbread Dressing will be on the table. It's a family favorite made with homegrown sage that comes from my Mom's farm. My Dad planted that sage over 40 years ago and even though he's gone now, the sage thrives in the garden at Lead Hill. Every fall before frost I pinch off several stems of the fragrant herb, bring it home and dry it. The fragrance of that sage reminds me of years of happy Thanksgivings on the farm. 

My Dad loved preparing his famous chicken and dressing for the holidays. It was his offering, as much from his heart as from the simple ingredients that went into the dish. He had made it so many times for family and church potlucks that he could have made it in his sleep! If you’re from the South, dressing is made from unsweetened cornbread, sauteed onions, celery and sage; slow simmered broth from the chicken and generous amounts of butter make this a cardiologist's nightmare! But it is “Slap Dab Delicious” and comfort food at it’s finest! This is the time honored recipe that Daddy used to make and has been passed down to me and to our daughters to share with their families. It is remembered fondly in our family and immortalized in the Risley Family Cookbook.

Memories... my Dad always used the Crockpot, it smelled so good when we would walk into the house on Thanksgiving!

Daddy's Dressing

1 pan crumbled cornbread (no sugar in cornbread, please!)

1 pan biscuits

1 large onion, chopped

1/2 bunch celery, chopped

1 stick butter

2 eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons dried whole leaf sage

4-5 cups rich chicken broth 

salt and pepper to taste

Prepare cornbread and biscuits the day before. Cook onion and celery in butter and broth covered until tender. Pour over the crumbled breads in a large bowl, add beaten eggs. Rub the sage between your palms to release the flavor adding to bowl. Add broth to make a very moist consistency (almost soupy, as this bakes it will dry out). Adjust seasonings adding salt, pepper and more sage if desired. Bake 350* for 45 minutes until hot, or place mixture in crock pot on HIGH until hot then turn to LOW to keep warm. 

I see the red barn...

I think of my Grandma Keeling often this time of year. I associate a warm kitchen and the aromas of the holidays with her. Although she's been gone for 40 years now, I can still see her in that little kitchen at Lead Hill. Thanksgiving was always at Grandma's house. We'd make the trip down to Arkansas after Daddy would get off work. I'd sleep part of the way, waking up when we headed down the big hill that turned into their gravel driveway. You could see the porch lights and the glow of the kitchen windows shining brightly in the cold November night. The house would smell delicious as we came through the service porch, pies and broth and sage all mingled together.

The next morning when I woke up, she and Mom would have already started the preparations for the big meal. Grandma in her apron with the big pockets, their voices would go up and down depending on what they were discussing. Grandma was always cheerful and she spoke often of friends and family. She was a prayer warrior, sprinkled into her sentences were the mention of those who were in need of a prayer sent up. "Bless Cora May, she's going through a hard time right now." We always knew who was sick or sad or down on their luck. Grandma would laugh and talk non stop as she cooked dinner, making trips to and from the pantry. In that pantry were rows and rows of tomatoes and green beans, pickles and relishes, jams and jellies. Every jar she opened, she'd say the same thing... "Isn't it good to have plenty?"

Today as we celebrate with a table loaded with our favorite dishes, in a warm house with family all around us, we feel blessed and loved and her voice rings in my ears. Happy Thanksgiving!