To the grocery store I go

I want to go to the grocery store today so I can start cooking tomorrow. There will be eight of us (including TLP) for Christmas dinner on Friday.

We used to tease my mom about cooking enough in case the Air Force arrived unexpectedly for dinner. She would start cooking days before Thanksgiving or Christmas to ensure that her grandchildren had their special desserts. Sweetness always requested a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, when all she really wanted was the whipped cream on top. Each year, Mother would bake a pumpkin pie for Sweetness, which usually went untouched except for the topping. I don't think anyone actually liked pumpkin pie.

Today I'm celebrating memories of Christmases at my grandparents' home in Bryan, TX. We always went to their house because my grandfather was part owner in a men's clothing store, which meant he worked on Christmas Eve. Daddy was an only child so there were only six of us until Christmas Day when many of my great aunts and uncles would come for Christmas lunch. Tons of people in a really small house with delicious food (especially desserts). Great memories of fun times.