Mrs. Elizabeth Cooper Crockett Smith

           April 4, 1942 -  November 30, 2008

                   

Ambrosia

Ambrosia- Am-bro-sia ( Greek) - food of the gods, a Southern delicacy

In Mississippi, my Nonnie would cut up oranges. Lots and lots of oranges. Whoever could use a knife would volunteer to cut the oranges. I even remember my cousin Steve, who was only into watching and playing football, cut up oranges. His favorite thing about Thanksgiving and Christmas was the ambrosia!

Orange sections cut up, pineapple, coconut, pecan pieces, maybe a little sugar and a cherry on top. This is Ambrosia with a capital A! A Southern tradition in my family.

It could take all afternoon to cut up enough oranges to fill up the largest bowl we had, which was usually the top of the cake dome. This took time. And there were so many of us that we had to cut a lot, because it would disappears so fast! There would be trouble if anybody wasted a bite of their ambrosia. Take only what you can eat. It was like pure gold!

Your fingers will sting with the acid from the oranges and you will probably get a callous from the knife blade. But the reward is worth it! Ambrosia is delicious, but it really brings back the wonderful memories of everyone peeling oranges, visiting with each other, and sharing in the fruits of our labors!

Just taking that first spoonful of ambrosia up to my mouth reminds me of my sweet grandaddy having his first bite. Joy!

O Turkey Day!, O Turkey Day!

How lovely are your trimmings!

First comes the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade,

Then come the Preparations,

Then comes the Turkey,

Then comes the dog show,

Then comes the nap,

Then comes the Cowboy's Football game,

Then it all starts over again with the Turkey and Trimmings!


Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I am so grateful for YOU!

Oh How I Love Thanksgiving!

Oh how I love Thanksgiving!!

I love the holidays where you HAVE to see  your loved ones!  Valentines is nice, Easter is a Blessing, and the 4th of July is patriotic, but Thanksgiving and Christmas are my favorites!  It's when we plan on getting together with as many loved ones as we can.

This year we will be at the beach with Mom and Dad celebrating Thanksgiving.  Mom and Dad have been busy chopping, sauteing and grocery shopping.  It takes a little extra time for them to fix her famous Southern cornbread stuffing.

Savannah has been dying for a break.  The teachers have been piling on the studies and she is looking forward to not having to think for a little while.  She loves to crawl up on the top bunk and draw, draw and draw.

I look forward for walks on the beach and listening to music on the front porch swing.  

It is my hope and prayer that everyone that reads this has a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I am so grateful for all my family and friends!!  God bless!

Alabama is Beautiful!

Having been through Birmingham, Alabama numerous times along the expressway, I had never seen the beauty of the city before.  We just assumed it was mostly steel plants and factories. Well, Kimberly and I discovered for ourselves that there are a lot of beautiful little towns around Birmingham.  And everyone we met was so hospitable!

We arrived at the Birmingham Convention Center for the Junior League Christmas show sponsored by Southern Lady with no problem. Thanks to Bryan, Kimberly's son, for letting us borrow his Garmin GPS thingy, we didn't get lost.  We shopped for a couple hours, ate our breakfast there and got to hear Lord Wedgwood of Wedgwood pottery speak.  They gave away lots of ornaments of the jasper ware but Kimberly and I didn't snag one. 

After the Junior League Southern Lady show, we headed out for some cute local shops around the Birmingham area.  Homewood, Vestavia Hills and Mountain Brook.  Kimberly had the addresses, so we just punched in the Garmin the next place on the list.  'Harmony Landing' store was a favorite.  There is a picture below of a room with the most candles I have ever seen in my life.  The Christmas decor was out in full.

A lady at the convention center suggested  O'Carr's for lunch and it was delicious!  More shopping followed and then around 3:00 we started off for the hotel. On the way we were traveling past some beautiful homes and we saw a gate and thought it must be a private school or something.  Turns out it was the college campus of Samford University. We were both blown away at how beautiful the buildings were! 

The Ross Renaissance was gorgeous!  It is only three years old and it feels like you are in a remote spot in the mountains. It reminded Kimberly of the new Biltmore Inn.  At sunset a man played the bagpipes too, kilt and all. How enchanting!

 

Our room was right across from the Presidential Suite. I went up with the bell man with our luggage while Kimberly parked the car.  I asked the bell man if there was anyone staying in it. He said, "It's empty right now, would you like to see it?" I said yes and called Kimberly and she said she would be right there.  It was gorgeous!  Soaring ceiling, a beautiful view of everything, kitchen, lots of flat screens, a dining room, and best of all, a huge tub that the water fell from the ceiling to fill it up.  Very cool!

That evening we headed off to the spa downstairs for our massage and facial.  We got there a little early, changed into our robes and slippers and hung out and had tea, healthy little snacks and just relaxed. We both enjoyed our services. I think it might have been the best part of the day.  We tried out all their yummy lotions and the extra amenities they had out for us.  What a treat!

We headed back to our room, ordered a light supper in our room, chatted, giggled, chatted some more and before we fell asleep, we both agreed that it had been a FABULOUS and WONDERFUL day.