Category Archives: Family

The Electric Color Wheel Christmas Tree

When I was a kid Christmas night meant a trip to my maternal Grandpa’s home for the Cunningham Christmas. A day that usually began well before the sun came up was extended to well after dusk with food, games and gifts as relatives gathered in the farmhouse Grandpa called home.

I had been in this house many times and often our visits took place in the combination dining and living room. Grandpa dwelt there, where his easy chair sat; the television on the opposite wall, a dining table to one side, with a stairway to the upper floor tucked away in the room’s corner. It was in this space that we visited, ate, and shared time with Grandpa – here, and outdoors on the farm itself. But not on Christmas! No, on Christmas we were fancy. This meant we went into the home’s front room, a room largely unknown to my siblings, cousins and I, and gathered round Grandpa’s spectacular aluminum Christmas tree. Continue reading →

So what’s your Thanksgiving dinner “must have”? What do you look forward to more than any other menu item in your annual Thanksgiving feast? Turkey? Dressing? Ham? Sweet potatoes? What leaves you saying, “It just isn’t Thanksgiving without . . .”?

I’ve used that question as a conversation starter with folks before. It helps if you are in the season of Thanksgiving. They don’t look at you quite as perplexed as they would in the middle of July. I like the question because 1) it makes people think (usually about something that makes them smile), and 2) it often produces not just an answer but a story. As in, “this is my favorite Thanksgiving food, and let me tell you why.” Sure to follow are tales of Grandma’s favorite recipe for a cherished dish, or a family tradition of feasting that goes back generations. Continue reading →