Time to bake and cook with family and friends

(On top of a wooden table covered in sprinkles of white flour are cinnamon sticks, pine fronds, raspberries, star anise, eggs and cookie cutters all arranged in a circle.)

It’s one of the most wonderful times of the year and I just love humming that song sung by the late Andy Williams! A song that will be played over and over each year.  A Christmas song forever!

Ah, yes!  The smells!  The tastes!  The chatter and laughter in the kitchen!  Everyone just ready to pitch in and do their part to make those cookies, cakes, pies, and so much more!

Never mind sitting down to eat all of these yummy goodies accompanied by glasses of hot drinks: hot chocolate, cider, and more.

Then the turkey, ham, pork, duck, goose, chicken, all being cooked and baked!
Ah, yes!  Those wonderful smells intermingling with each other.

Yes!  This is the time to enjoy.
Time to bake and cook!

I'd like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas! Happy holidays! But most of all! A 2024 that will bring us lots of blessings, good things, and hopes and dreams to be fulfilled.
Merry Christmas!
Happy Holidays!
Joyeux Noèl!
Feliz Navidad!
Buon Natale!
Happy Hanukkah!
Please take a moment to give a gift of accessibility to families with children with a disability!
Visit https://donorbox.org/author-donna-jodhan
Would love to hear from you as well.
You can reach me at donnajodhan@gmail.com

 

A wonderful time: Cake-making with the family

This was one of the fun things for me for Christmas 2021; when the family, that is the ladies, came together to bake the Christmas cake.

For the most part I sat in the gallery chatting with Charmaine and catching up with her but it was so very good to hear the family chatting in the kitchen and to smell the cakes as they baked.  

It was a pleasant, easy going, and overall comfortable day.  Everyone seemed to have had a good time.  At least Mom was able to share Granny’s precious Christmas cake recipe with the family and she also got to pass on some very important techniques.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly sight-loss coach and advisor, wishing you a terrific day.

If you would like to learn more about me as a sight-loss coach and author then I invite you now to visit http://www.donnajodhan.com

There you will not only learn about me as a sight-loss coach and author but you will also gain insights into my campaign against bullying and why I strongly believe that you need to consider joining me in order to insure that the future of our kids, with their wide eyed smiles and infectious laughter, is secured forever.

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Holiday Baking

 

I can still drum up those cherished and marvelous memories of being in the family's kitchen with Granny at Christmas time.  Those wonderful and loving moments when I spent time in the kitchen helping Granny to bake her Christmas cakes, breads, and those wonderful delicacies called pastels.  

These were all-day affairs. Granny would be up early in the morning preparing the ingredients and setting them aside in neat piles. By the time I entered the kitchen she would be well on her way to start mixing, sifting, peeling, and getting the pans floured, greased and ready to receive the various mixtures of ingredients.

Granny was so very patient with me; painstakingly directing me in her gentle voice.  She would give me a small task to do while she concentrated on the more important things to carry out.   She showed me how to chop the cherries.  How to flour and grease the baking pans.   How to do so many things and I never got tired of listening to her telling me what to do.  

The kitchen was always filled with those warm and inviting smells of Granny's baking and while we worked we chatted about all kinds of things.  Granny was so gentle-natured.  She never raised her voice and never scolded me.  She was always making sure that I did what she wanted me to do.

I always relished spending time with my granny and by the time it was all said and done, it was mid afternoon and time for Granny and me to have a nap.

I'd like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas! Happy holidays! But most of all, a 2022 that will bring us lots of blessings, good things, and hopes and dreams to be fulfilled.
Merry Christmas!
Happy Holidays!
Joyeux Noèl!
Feliz Navidad!
Buon Natale!
Happy Hanukkah!
Please take a moment to give the gift of accessibility to families with
children with a disability!
Visit https://donorbox.org/author-donna-jodhan

Christmas is for Me

I have had the good fortune to enjoy many wonderful Christmases; with and without vision and it does not matter!  Christmas is for me.  The smells and the sounds, the laughter and the merry making. 

 

When I had enough sight, I used to enjoy going out to window shop.  To see the bright colorful lights, the flickering candles in the Church, Santa's bright red suit, and streets crowded with throngs of folks of all ages.  I also loved to smell the scent of rich pine, cakes and goodies baking in ovens, and taste the various Christmas foods and drinks.  I also loved to walk in the snow and watch those big white snowflakes race each other to the ground but most of all, I loved to ice skate around those huge outdoor rinks decorated with Christmas lights. 

 

That was then and this is now but not much has changed for me.  True it is that I can no longer see the flickering candles, the colorful Christmas lights, and the big fat snowflakes, but this does not prevent me from enjoying this special time of the year.  My sense of smell is still in tact along with my sense of taste and I use my memories of years gone by to help me along.  I focus on the times when I could see and inter mingle those memories with the now.  I am blessed!  I am lucky!  With or without sight, Christmas is for me!  I am a kid at heart, playing with my talking games, playing my electronic keyboard, and my Christmas CDs. 

 

Merry Christmas, happy holidays, Joyeux Noèl, and Feliz Navidad to you all!

I'm Donna J. Jodhan.  Will see you again in the New Year.