The eve of Christmas Eve was upon our farm family, and it was another busy day. They finally settled down to making those gingerbread cookies from a new recipe Ina found. She rolled out the cookie dough and allowed Sadie to cut the gingerbread men and other shapes. As always, such activities were teaching occasions. The gingerbread men had to be cut so that none of the dough was wasted. Sadie secretly thought that it would be more fun if she could press the cookie cutter the way she wanted, but Ina was not a force to be reckoned with. It was best to do it Ina’s way.
While
Ina worked with Sadie, Ethel made penuche (brown sugar fudge). That turned out
well and would be a welcome addition to the goodies at the party. By the time
they finished, it was mid-afternoon, and Ina turned from baking cookies to
fixing supper.
In
the evening, Jack brought out his old accordion and began to play Christmas
carols. They all sang the familiar tunes, but Ethel and Sadie sang a duet when
Jack played “Silent Night” – Sadie the melody and Ethel the harmony. Ina thought it so
beautiful that it brought tears to her eyes.
 |
| Ethel and her "real" daughter, Shirley Jean |
Tomorrow would be the busiest day of the year for the womenfolk as they prepared for the Christmas party, including decorating the house.
[I remember Aunt Ethel harmonizing with me when I was a very little girl.]
1 comment:
Love that picture of Ethel and Shirley Jean. I know I've said it before but Ethel had such beautiful eyes. And penuche! I love that stuff!
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