To Aunt How-How's House We Go

One Christmas tradition I look forward to all year long is getting together with my Mom's family at my Aunt Howard's house. She has mimosas, mouth-watering Brunswick stew, and homemade peppermint ice cream. Oh, my tummy is growling just thinking about it. Her Tudor house was especially beautiful after the heavy snow this year. Cousin David must have been sore after shoveling the long path for us.

No one makes Brunswick stew like Howard. The consistency is absolutely perfect. Mmmm!

In the paper this very morning we found this Q&A in the Wall Street Journal from Frank. He is a star! He hadn't yet seen it so it was great fun to bestow his published work as a surprise.

We had little twist firecrackers at our table with paper crowns in them. Made for a fashionable shot. Unfortunately Connor was sick so she and Kirk didn't make the Greensboro trek this day. They were missed.

Here we are, Frank and Mary Lib's Grandchildren. I blinked and my kid cousins became adults!

Howard's home is always inviting, especially at Christmas. I covet her Christmas pillow collection.

She also has holiday photos in decorative Christmas frames all over her coffee table. You can't help but to smile and be merry!Howard's new addition this year is her wall of family photos in her foyer. Meme also had these pictures framed and hung just right in her hallway. It brought back wonderful memories.

I think of my Meme all the time living abroad. She volunteered through the Red Cross and lived in Europe for several years when she was exactly my age. Of course she was solo during wartime without a husband and child. But our adventures share commonalities. It wasn't til after the war that she returned to North Carolina and met my grandfather.