DAY 25 -- ANOTHER SKIMPY CHRISTMAS WITH INA

Sadie was allowed to slip down and get her sock before everyone else was up. We only stipulated that it should not be too early morning. I put a book in the top of it, so as to keep her quiet till we were up. After breakfast she was allowed to take off gifts and hand them around and was delighted. It was another “skimpy Christmas,” with everyone well-remembered. – Ina

And Ethel wrote:

We had a jolly time and much clacking of tongues was heard in the land. A large and varied menu was enjoyed, to which everyone did justice until the dessert was reached, then one and all “passed” until a later date. Ruth was the only one who felt able to have dessert but balked when she found she’d have to solo on it.

Vintage Advent Calaendar

We women gathered in the kitchen after the table was cleared, opened the oven door and gathered round in various attitudes of comfort. Then we “let our hair down” and visited. The men trickled off  to do chores, but “Aunt and the girls” stayed until later. The holidays faded away gradually . . .

And now our Christmas 2018 slips quietly into the past, joining 1934 and all the other past Christmas celebrations in the annals of time.

But – Christmas 2019 is in the offing, and we have a lot to do to get ready. Will one year be enough? Oh! I can hardly wait till Christmas! KW

DAY 22 -- ANOTHER SKIMPY CHRISTMAS WITH INA

December 22 it began to snow and gave us about six inches, just right for Christmas. -- Ina

A white Christmas has never been a given in this part of the country, but it’s so much more fun if there’s snow on the ground, isn’t it? So, let’s give our imaginary family some snow. Of course, it makes travel more difficult, even treacherous, but this is the imaginary past, so we don’t need to worry about that.

This morning when Sadie awoke in Aunt Shirley’s room, she looked out to the south and saw a winter wonderland of white. “It snowed!” she exclaimed. She would have awakened anyone who was sleeping, but of course, the adults were already up. And then she remembered – today she was going with Ernest to meet Aunt Lynn at the train station in Orofino. She scurried downstairs where Ina and Ethel were busily preparing breakfast and hastily dressed in the warm kitchen.

After breakfast, Sadie could hear her parents talking in hushed tones. “The grade might be slick. Maybe I should leave Sadie here,” said Ernest. “. . . so looking forward to going,” countered Ethel. “. . . not so much snow towards town.” And to Sadie’s delight, they decided to let her go. Ethel helped her into her snowsuit – because kids in those days had snowsuits (and wore them).

Yes, the grade was slick – snow and then mud – but Ernest drove slowly and carefully so that they had no problems. They crossed over the bridge into Orofino, turned left, and headed directly to the station, arriving just as the train pulled in. The platform was bustling with lots of happy holiday activity – many people arriving home for the holidays – and then Ernest spotted Aunt Lynn, who greeted Sadie with a warm hug and a “my, you’ve grown!” (Adults always say that to children they haven’t seen in a while.) Ernest found Aunt Lynn’s suitcase and a big box she brought, undoubtedly Christmas surprises, and loaded these into the car. Sadie now sat in backseat for the ride up the grade. She wasn’t very interested in what Daddy and Aunt Lynn were saying.

 

And then they arrived back at the farmhouse, where the family warmly accepted Aunt Lynn into the fold. Gram had prepared a wonderful mid-day meal, knowing that Aunt Lynn would be hungry and tired after traveling all night from Portland.

Now that Myrtle was home, it really seemed like Christmas to Ina. KW

DAY 21 -- ANOTHER SKIMPY CHRISTMAS WITH INA

 I’m standing the Christmas doing fine. Most of my letters and cards are written and my last box went off today. -- Ina

Your box came the day after Xmas and so prolonged it for us. I gathered them all around and all enjoyed the beautifully wrapped gifts and the verses on them. The holly decorations were so lovely, too. Shirley and Henry immediately began to further embellish the house with them. -- Ina

“It’s easier when Christmas falls at the end of the week,” Ina muttered to herself as she rolled the pie dough. “Likely the boxes I sent to day won’t arrive for Christmas, but that’s just the way it is.”

Sadie was now officially “home for the holidays” because of Christmas vacation. It would last until after the New Year – and she’d heard from the other students that if it snowed, it might be an extra long holiday. But – there wasn’t a lot for Sadie to do just now, so Ina allowed her to look through the basket of Christmas cards again.

 

“Gram,” said Sadie suddenly, “why do some of these cards have pictures of a ship? And we sing that carol, ‘I saw three ships come sailing in.’ What does that mean?”

Ina, still making a pie for supper, was taken aback. “Let me finish the pie. Then we’ll talk.”

When the pie was in the oven, Ina sat down by Sadie, and together they looked at the cards in question. Ina explained that camels are also called “ships” because they journey across the desert, and three camels carried the three wisemen to Bethlehem. That might be one meaning, she said, especially relating to the carol. Or, a ship might mean Christianity or the church, guiding us over the sea of life to heaven and eternal happiness.

This card was sent by my mother & uncle in 1926.

Sadie was thoughtful. Does the ship hold special meaning for you?

DAY 20 -- ANOTHER SKIMPY CHRISTMAS WITH INA

Forgot to say that Bertha helped me out by dressing a fat young rooster and bringing it ready for the roaster. She also insisted on making pies since I had my hands full – mince and pumpkin. One of each would be plenty, I said, but no – here came two each and ginger cookies frosted. She’d tried a new recipe. So, we had mince and pumpkin pie with whipped cream on it, ginger cookies, fruit cake and do-nuts, and fruit and whipped cream for that, coffee, oranges, nuts and candy besides the after-dinner mints. Well, we just parceled out the leftovers. -- Ina

Please forgive the tardiness of this post. In real time, Mike, Bess, and I went to the farm today, where the landscape remains largely the same as it appears in our fictional story of 80+ years ago. And without snow, we see how bleak it is at this time of year. We were grateful that today we didn’t travel in snow, but it IS muddy there.

Back in the 1934 of our story, Sadie awoke and stretched. She could hear the sound of Gram cooking breakfast and smell the coffee and bacon. She knew she should get up but decided to stay in the nice warm bed awhile and think about last night.

The play had been so much fun! Eight little children danced over the platform in gingerbread boy costumes, telling the story of the King of Jalapomp who punished his cook for not using baking powder in his baked goods.

“But this is not true of the cooks of Gilbert,” called out the gingerbread characters in unison. And Sadie continued, “We gingerbread boys and girls are ever so plump and tasty because the good cooks of Gilbert know about Royal Baking Powder!” And this brought cheers and laughter from the audience.

There was only one mishap. Little Johnny Smith, a first grader, fell off the platform. He wasn’t hurt, and he bounced right back up, so it just looked like part of the play. In fact, it added to the fun.

As the play concluded, everyone sang those familiar traditional songs:

“Up on the housetop,” “Jolly Old St. Nicholas,” and finally, “We wish you a merry Christmas.” Then sleigh bells announced the arrival of Santa, who gave all the children a sack of candy and nuts with an apple or orange and a popcorn ball. And everyone received one of the frosted gingerbread cookies that decorated the tree.

Note: "British Manufacturer"

A variety of gingerbread refreshments lined a long table at the back of the room. Children munched gingerbread boys while adults sampled cakes and pies as they visited. And you know how it is – slowly people began to leave. As the crowd thinned, Bertha quietly parceled out the leftovers to certain families she knew could use extra food during the holidays. The Dobson party was among the last to leave, making sure that Miss Johnson was properly escorted to her home.

Sadie was asleep by the time they arrived at the farmhouse, so Ernest carried her right to bed. After all, the costumes were drop-seat pajamas, meant to be useful when the play was over. KW