Harmony Homecoming

This past weekend I read the new Southern Living magazine, which featured a story about the Southern custom of “dinner-on-the-grounds.”  (I don’t know – maybe Yankees have the same custom?)  The recipes all sounded fabulous – especially the desserts -- but the story brought back wonderful memories from my childhood.  Every summer, the little church in rural Arkansas that my great-grandparents had attended held Homecoming Sunday, and my parents made the trip from Little Rock with us kids several times that I recall.  My great-grandparents are buried in the graveyard behind the church, and we always went out to see their headstones and hear stories about them.  I even have a photo of my baby sister holding my daughter as a toddler next to my great-grandparents’ headstones!  (You know you’re Southern, if you take photos of children in graveyards.)  My sister is going to kill me for posting a photo of her wearing tube socks.

A church service was always held before dinner-on-the-grounds, and I remember sitting in the un-air-conditioned building, dressed in my Sunday best and fanning myself for dear life.  I was always more than ready for the service to end and the meal to begin.

My grandmother and aunts would have been cooking for days in preparation.  Each had her specialties, and we knew to look for them on the long tables set up under the pines to hold all the food.  Some of my favorites were Grandma Rachel’s fried chicken, caramel cake, and fried pies, not to mention Aunt Ava’s homemade bread and Aunt Lottie’s “goop” salad.  The grownups usually sat on folding lawn chairs to eat, but the children sat on blankets and quilts spread under the pine trees.  

After lunch was the hymn sing, and I enjoyed that part, too.  As I recall, the pianist was one who could play everything with a real flourish.  We sang all the old-time hymns, but my favorite song was Little Brown Church in the Vale.  It was a song I learned from my parents, who would sing with us on long car trips.  My daddy and my brother would sing the “Oh-oh, come, come, come, come” part while my mother, sisters, and I sang the refrain.

In wonderful synchronicity, this past Sunday was our church’s annual Gospel Sunday, and we sang FOURTEEN of the old beloved hymns, including Little Brown Church in the Vale.  After standing on the promises – and Jordan’s stormy banks--, leaning on the everlasting arms, and counting our blessings, all present were singing When the Roll is Called up Yonder with conviction!  (By the way, my offspring have strict orders to include that last one in my memorial service.)

I am thankful for the fond memories I have associated with dinner-on-the-grounds and old beloved hymns. 

Fun Family Time!

We had a lovely, family-filled Memorial Day weekend at our house.  Our first "guests" -- our son, daughter-in-law, and newest grandchild Emily -- arrived several hours before we returned from a conference, so my father-in-law picked them up at the airport. Here he is, meeting Emily for the first time.

The next day, our daughter and her family drove in, and they met Emily, too. Here's our daughter holding her niece for the first time.

Emily also got to meet her cousins, who kept her royally entertained.

And, of course, Grandmama got to cuddle with Emily quite a bit!

There was lots of time for swimming, playing games, reading, and enjoying meals together.  We also introduced Emily to Texas' finest Blue Bell ice cream.  Don't worry -- we didn't give her any at her age, but she enjoyed the container, and I had to share this photo!

Here's a photo of our daughter and son and their spouses and children, just before they all headed home.

The house felt very quiet after everyone left, but we are already anticipating the next time we'll all be together for my birthday this fall. Can't wait!

Sunday Brunch on the Queen Mary

Last week I was in Long Beach, California for a conference, and it was a delightful trip!  The weather was gorgeous -- sunny and cool -- and we enjoyed wonderful restaurants and fabulous shopping.  Since my "hobbies" including eating out and shopping, I was happy!  My husband went with me, and he was in charge of finding restaurants.  On our first full day there, we enjoyed Sunday brunch on the Queen Mary.

The ship, which originally crossed the Atlantic between the mid-1930s and mid-1960s, is permanently docked in Long Beach and now houses a hotel and restaurant.  Tours of the rest of the ship are also available, but after our brunch, we weren't up for climbing ladders!  Here's a view of the gorgeous flowerbeds with the ship in the background.

We had a table along one side of the big dining room, right next to a porthole, so that was fun!  The photo below is the view of the dining room from our table.  The service was wonderful, and our champagne glasses were never empty for long.  There was also a harpist playing, and we enjoyed her music.

There were several buffet areas, including one with traditional breakfast foods, another with salads and cheeses, a pasta bar, a carving station, and a Mexican buffet.  (As Texans, we did not sample from that last one!)  The dessert area was beautifully arranged, and in addition to bite-sized pastries and mini-desserts, they had homemade ice cream with various toppings.

We agreed the experience was worth the money, so if you're ever in that part of the country, consider Sunday brunch on the Queen Mary!

I will be linking this post to The Tablescaper's party, "Oh, the PLACES I've been!", so check out other fun destinations there on Fridays.

Mothers: The Next Generation

Last year around Mother's Day I wrote a post celebrating mothers --  my grandmothers, mother, and mother-in-law.  This year I wanted to celebrate the amazing young mothers in our family.

The first is our daughter, who will be celebrating her tenth Mother's Day this year.  She is a tenured faculty member at a prestigious university, with all the responsibilities that role entails, and she is a wonderful mother to our granddaughter (age 10) and grandson (age 7).

The other young mother in our family is our daughter-in-law who will be celebrating her very first Mother's Day, as she gave birth to our newest grandchild last November.  She has a master's degree and works as a research analyst for a major corporation.

Both of these young mothers are doing a wonderful job balancing professional lives and motherhood -- although both will tell you that a nice nap is close to the top of their wishlists!  It is a joy to see them bringing up another generation of smart, polite, and well-behaved children!  Happy Mother's Day, you two!

Earth Day

Happy Earth Day, 2013!

How many of you were around for the very first Earth Day, in 1970?  I was in high school then, and there was much excitement at my high school surrounding the event.  We were all encouraged to think of ways we could change our usual routines to call attention to the need to protect our home planet.

My boyfriend and I decided we would save fossil fuel by not carpooling to school.  Instead, we decided to ROLLERSKATE the two miles to school.  Now, this was long before Rollerblades or other smooth-rolling skates.  I found this photo of what our skates looked like on Etsy.  They fit right over our shoes, with no need for skate keys (like the skates I used as a child).  I wonder if Mom still has any of our skates?  No doubt they are classified as antiques today.

Source

Can you imagine skating on metal wheels for two miles? Plus, this was in Little Rock, Arkansas, with lots of HILLS along the route to school.  But, as I recall, we had a great time and enjoyed all the attention from passing motorists.  Did we skate home, too?  I don't remember that detail! 

However you decide to celebrate Earth Day this year, have fun!

An Easter Table

We aren't actually hosting Easter dinner this year, but when my husband brought home a large bunch of daffodils from HEB, they practically demanded that I set a festive Easter table.

I've been wanting to use the pretty Castleton Gloria china that Mama surprised me with last year, so I pulled it out of storage.  As you can see below, it has a thin robin's egg blue band inside the gold-trimmed scalloped edge and taupe roses in the center. 

The placemats and napkins from my Nashville sister work perfectly with this pattern.  This photo shows the "lizard" pattern in the placemat.  Belvedere is the silver pattern.

I added a single daffodil to my bud vase napkin rings to bring a little yellow to table level.

Couldn't resist this close-up!

To add a bit more yellow, as well as an Easter touch, I remembered some faux eggs I've had for several years, so added one to each coffee cup.

Then I remembered a couple of small nests I'd picked up when my mother and sisters and I visited Salado a few years ago, so I added those to the table, along with some eggs to match the placemats.

Here's what a placesetting looked like after I added crystal and silver.  I think these shades of blue and yellow play well together!

Here is a diner's view across the table:

Here are the stars of the show, the gorgeous daffodils:

Here's the table, set for four. 

Thank you for stopping by this week!  I will be linking to Cuisine Kathleen's Let's Dish and Between Naps on the Porch's Tablescape Thursday, and you will see many pretty spring and Easter tables there.

St. Patrick's Day Table

I have never set a table for St. Patrick's Day before, but I have admired many in Blogland and decided to give it a try this year.  When I started, I knew only that I wanted to use the vintage forest green "Burple" glasses that originally belonged to my husband's grandparents. I always use them at Christmas, and this year I also put them to work on my Mardi Gras table. 

I especially love the swirly feet of these glasses. 

Then I remembered the Battenburg lace placemats and cutwork napkins my daughter bought for me while on her honeymoon in Ireland.

To show off the design, I layered them with green placemats and napkins.  (Please pretend I ironed that napkin below.)  I don't have any green plates, but I do have my grandmother's wedding china, which features a green band, so I pulled out the dinner and salad plates. The pattern is Admiral, by Heinrich H&C.  I have a large set of it and could serve dinner and coffee to 24 people, if I were so inclined.  This table, though, is set for only four.

For a centerpiece, I remembered an idea I had seen on Pinterest for using gravy boats to hold flowers.  Grandma's Admiral has two gravy boats (Southerners like lots of gravy), so I pulled those out.  I found green and white mums and green hypericum berries at HEB, and they practically arranged themselves. 

The table needed a little more green, so I checked my usual storage places and found this small vase that belonged to my in-laws.  We'll pretend it's a pot o' gold.

Here's a look at the whole table.  You can see the late afternoon sun streaming in. 

Nary a shamrock or leprechaun to be found, but maybe this green and white table works for St. Patrick's Day.  To see lots more festive green and white, be sure to visit Cuisine Kathleen's 5th Annual St. Patrick's Day Blog Crawl!  I'll also be linking to Between Naps on the Porch's Tablescape Thursday. Thank you for visiting!