The plan today is to bake some Christmas cookies. Being retired I have developed a habit of planning the day. That doesn't mean that is what will happen though, just a plan. When I was in the Navy there was an actual Plan of the Day every day. Usually issued after the evening meal it listed in chronological order what was to take place the next day. It also contained notes and bulletins about things to come. It was always highly anticipated. Having been retired now for twenty-nine years I wonder if the Plan of the Day is just an electronic message these days. I wonder if they actually print those anymore. I don't print mine, sometimes I'll text my wife though, to keep her informed. But anyway, today I plan on baking Christmas cookies.
We'll be making cookies more for the tradition than anything else. Home baked goods are a staple for the holidays. The grands are all grown now so we won't be baking for them as much as we used to. We remember baking for the kids' school parties and such. A great deal of that has been curtailed these days. Maybe they aren't even allowed anymore, I really don't know. In today's world we all have to be aware of allergies, allergic reactions, and passing our germs around instead of cookies and cakes. Not sure what happened over the years but apparently peanuts turned against us! George Washington Carver would be a villain today!
All of this brings back memories. Now my mom wasn't big on baking cookies and all that, although she was certainly capable enough when the mood struck her. But it wasn't like a tradition at our house. Grandmother Bennett was an excellent baker. In fact, she had gone to school to be a baker. She had been sent to America to care for a sick aunt. She did so until that aunt passed away. As a sort of reward her uncle paid for her to go to a baking school. Following graduation from that school she obtained employment with a wealthy family. The Gardiners of Long Island and Gardiners Island fame. While working there she met and married Horace, my grandfather and had ten children. She knew how to bake! After she passed there wasn't much baking going on. I was young but still remember her Swedish cookies and pastries.
I do think it is important to have a plan. That is especially so as you get older. It makes it appear like you know what you're doing. Goes a long way in avoiding confusion. Also, surprises aren't nearly as much fun when you are a senior citizen. It messes with the pacemaker. Without a plan you begin to sound like Joe Biden, you know, we'll be making, you know, those things. So that's the plan for today anyway. We will be using the rolling pin and cookie press that belonged to my wife's grandmother, Elizabeth. Grandma Mo, mother to Uncle George, was born in 1890 and passed in 1987. Her rolling pin and cookie press continue on. Call it a tradition.
There is one other tradition that I had all but forgotten about. Do you remember getting those little boxes of Christmas candy? The boxes that were the same size as the boxes animal cracker came in, with a little string handle. I haven't seen one of those in years. I'm guessing they still make them. I remember getting one from the church every year. Seems like other places handed them out as well. Was it when you visited Santa? Well, that candy and an orange was in my stocking every year. A bowl of that candy also sat on the coffee table, and you had to pry a piece off the pile. Oh, and ribbon candy. I have seen that in stores. Well, time to bake the cookies.
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