We became quite close to our neighbors in Folsom, and kept in touch when we moved. Lucy and Chet are parents to Justin, Logan and Morgan. To put everything in perspective, let me just mention that when Mom and Dad moved into the Jobson Ct. house, Justin was 4, Logan was 2, and Morgan wasn't anywhere near existing.
When we left Folsom in 2004, the kids looked like this:
Mom and Dad have seen the boys since; I've only seen Morgan. Yesterday, when Lucy pulled up, the boys were with her. Let me just say...YIKES!! They've grown up so much! Justin is in 8th grade, Logan in 7th. Morgan is in 2nd grade, and I feel a wee bit older than I did on Saturday.
They've always been nice kids--very sweet and friendly--and that hasn't changed a bit. The boys helped a little with decorating cookies, but were mostly content to visit with Dad and watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. They took to Harley immediately, proclaiming him to be a "cool cat," and Harley ate the attention up with a spoon. He played, he purred, and he allowed them to cuddle him and carry him around. Turns out I found me a people purrson.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, we were busy, busy, busy. Mom had me make magic bars, which, unfortunately, I lost track of and allowed to get a little too brown. They still tasted good, though. I redeemed myself when I made Turtle Cookie Bars from a mix--it's basically two layers of chocolate chip cookie with gooey caramel in the middle. Every bit as yummy as they sound.
Lucy's first job was to make peanut butter balls dipped in melted chocolate and left in the fridge to set up. They taste like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.
Mom and Morgan got busy making sugar cookies. The rolling pin belonged to my Grandma Bean. At the end of the day, Mom said, "Mama would have liked this."
"Yeah, Morgan is cute."
"No, she would have liked baking with YOU."
I would have liked that, too.
Lucy, of Italian descent, made her famous biscotti.
At the end of the day, we had a ton of cookies, bars, biscottis, and fudges (I am particularly proud of my first-ever attempt at fudge--I added crushed candy canes and it turned out marvelous), a clean kitchen (that was my big job all day, keeping up with washing out mixing bowls and keeping the washing water from getting too nasty), and one tuckered putty tat.
All in all, it was a busy, fun, and tiring day. Mom and I were pooped last night! We sent most of the baked goods home with Lucy and the kids, but kept some biscotti, a few cookies, and my peppermit fudge. In a few minutes, I might just have some. : )
2 comments:
What a lovely way to spend the day, baking with family and friends! I haven't done that in years and years. Ever since I got started with singing in choirs (about 14 years now), Christmas has always been the "busy" season with rehearsals and gigs galore -- which I don't mind because I love to sing; but I do miss not being able to do something as simple as baking Christmas cookies with Mom and Lil'Sis. I'm happy for you that you're having such a great time on your Christmas break! :)
The last two years, I was out all through December supervising my high school kids at carol gigs. I hated every minute of it. The kids were brats, often late, and I can even recall a time when I had to step in and sing tenor because the tenor was very late and the other kids were freaking out. Add to that the December holiday choir concert each year, and it was madness.
I haven't been able to just enjoy Christmas in a while. I really enjoyed the Pops gig, too, because I CHOSE to be there, and it was a lot of fun. And now, I get to spend some quality time with my family and friends. Lovely!
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