i know some may feel
i'm old fashioned in many aspects. however, i like to call it sentimental!
i remember my granny
farris working out in her flower garden all the time. she had the most beautiful roses not to mention she
still knows everything about any flower or plant available! so, i have worked hard to learn all i can from her and learn about flowers and plants to make my home look welcoming (just like hers)...AND i want my children to develop a green thumb too!
the same granny also has always been a great cook. our holiday meals have always been a cooking extravaganza! i also have always enjoyed the times with my adorable husbands family in south
texas with everyone in the kitchen and wonderful smells filling the house -often things from the garden! i too want to be able to cook for my family with comfort meals that let them know i have made it special just for them(the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, right?- and I have three boys!!!). i also want to make my guest feel welcome and special with meals from the heart. i heard one day while at a restaurant two older women saying that making homemade biscuits and pies would soon be a lost art- not if i can help it! along the same lines...my mother has always used a cast iron skillet-yes, i cook with one too. it should be a staple in every kitchen! another staple in the kitchen is an apron! even better...an apron for a friend who is helping you in the kitchen.
quilting is another secret love of my mine. my great grandmother (
gramz) was a quilter and her memory lives on with her beautiful handmade quilts that are now a part of our family. i remember watching her with a thimble and needle in hand working away while all the women chatted. Sewing is something I feel may soon be also a lost talent. I remember going with my mom to pick out fabric for the perfect summer dress and watching her spread out the material and pattern across our dinning room table. I
remember taking naps to the
hummmm of the sewing machine. I have a sewing machine and it need to be used more!
my adorable husband's grandparents (
pawpaw and
nanaw) and his great grandparents have always had a garden. i love to hear him talk about there being so many potatoes picked it would cover an old barn floor or watching his mother and
nanaw snapping beans together on the porch.
so, to continue the family tradition we too have a garden.
we hope to teach our boys how to grow a garden and enjoy working hard at something that is rewarding in many ways.
my adorable husband's mother has always canned pickles and green beans...so, what have i been doing over the last couple of days??
Yep!
i have waited years to get the family recipes for these!
well, i had to get a garden first!
so, while some may feel i am old fashioned- i think i am honoring those i love and keeping their love alive! i feel things have changed over the years...and many of these things i value and enjoy were done in a slower and more personal time. sometimes i really miss the times when people talked face to face while cooking, snapping peas, canning or quilting. hmmm. maybe I am a bit old fashioned-but proud of it!
Our garden, Gordon, has been generous to us this year. We have put canned green beans and squash (plus we have been eating them fresh like crazy), we have frozen some purple hull peas (like black eye peas) and we have tomatoes, sweet potatoes, okra, and cantaloupe that are still filling our fridge. If that was not enough...we decided to have a bit of a pumpkin patch this year.
The K-man planted "Mega" pumpkins
-and Little Bit planted "jack-o-lantern" pumpkins.
