This week is centered around family and food. I would like everyone to reflect upon their fondest memories of growing up and the gatherings that brought their families and friends together. My family has always been into big kitchens and big dining rooms. If you think about it when folks come over everyone gathers in the kitchen. As most of you know my Great Grandparents homesteaded on Deer Creek and I was so very fortunate to grow up knowing them. When I was a little kid my Grandmas kitchen table was the biggest thing I had ever saw. Not a single chair matched but you can bet every dish did. She had the biggest collection of Fiesta Ware I have ever seen. Back in those days you could get it at the Commisary and it was colorful and sat a beautiful table. She would get up early on Sunday morning and have Grandpa butcher a few chickens while she went into the garden to gather greens (grandpa called it loco weed) and after Grandpa feathered the chickens my Grandma would cut them up and proceed to clean them. She took a scrub brush and soap and scrub them in that fresh spring water until her hands would ache. That was the best fried chicken in the world. The heat coming out of that kitchen while she cooked the chicken over the wood stove was almost unreal. People from all over the mountain would come on Sunday. I do believe she truly enjoyed the work and the company. There was a gentle giant named Jake Kettle that never missed a Sunday. Im not really sure how tall he was, but he had to duck to get through the door. And to a little kid he was a giant. I can remember Grandpa Eric telling me to put the peanut butter up because if it was left out Jake would eat the whole jar. My mom tells of a sheep header that lived in a sheep wagon on the mountain and Grandma would have Grandpa saddle up Paint so mom could ride over and invite the old gent to dinner. I wish I could remember his name! After dinner there was always a bottle of something brought out and maybe a deck of card and a cribbage board. They would stay up into the wee hours drinking and BSing and enjoying each others company. I can still smell the kitchen in that old ranch house and it brings me back to family, good friends, fantastic food and great conversation. So this Thursday as you are enjoying your day, remember whats important to you and where you came from. Embrace your memories and youre loved ones and give thanks for those blessings and have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 02:40:42 +0000
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