On Thu, 23 Dec 2004 01:48:28 -0800, Denise~* >
wrote:

I mixed eggs, water, and oil into a Duncan Hines Red Velvet cake mix. When
it cooled, I frosted it with Jiffy "fudge" frosting mix. We all sat around
the Christmas Eve dinner table, scraping some vile brown stuff off the top
of our pieces of cake. These are the things of which memories are made.

>...gather around kiddies, here's my story...
>
>The Christmas after grandma died I all of a sudden realized (thought) If
>I didn't make the Krum Kake, nobody else would. I called my then
>boyfriend (now husband) from college crying & asking him to buy me a
>Krum Kake Iron for Christmas & he had to give it to me before Christmas.
>(we had been dating for a few years, he understood my quest)
>I called my Aunt for grammas recipe & brought the cookies to the party.

<SMILE> You're the only person outside of my family who I've seen call
their grandmother, "Gramma." Thanks for a smile this morning.

My mom (I just called her, "Mom") used to made quadruple batches of every
cookie known to mankind, several different kinds of quick bread, homemade
candies (this marvel of a woman made from-scratch nougat logs dipped in
homemade caramel, and rolled in home-chopped <G> pecans), and her famous
fruitcake.

When she passed, 20 years ago, I felt an intense need to do all of these
things "for" her. Good thing there was an enormous counter top in the
house we lived in back then! Nope, I didn't try making the pecan logs.
Even she said it was at least a 2-person job. I don't know how she did it.
Damn, those things were good!

Christmas Carol
--
"Years ago my mother used to say to me... She'd say,
'In this world Elwood, you must be oh-so smart or oh-so pleasant.'
Well, for years I was smart.... I recommend pleasant. You may quote me."

*James Stewart* in the 1950 movie, _Harvey_