We tell real stories about the South.
Tucked away in North Jefferson County in Tarrant, Alabama lies a 15 acre farm that grows Christmas trees all year long. Most probably don’t know the farm is located there and many probably pass by the farm’s sign on North Pine Hill Road. But if you want a traditional Christmas experience and a Christmas tree grown with care and love, then Pine Hill Farms offers that and more! [Read more…] about Southern family has grown Christmas trees for 50 years
When I moved back to Birmingham from Washington, D.C. several years ago, I began a tradition of cooking breakfast Christmas morning. [Read more…] about Christmas memories found in cooking Christmas breakfast
There was no grandma I knew or know that was too happy with the Christmas song that was released in the late ’70s: ‘Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer.’ In fact, my mam’maw Kennedy despised the song, so much so she would leave the room when it came on! It was common for her to have music playing over the speakers at her house all year, and especially during the holidays. She loved Christmas music, but when the above mentioned song came on she would roll her eyes and leave. Whoah be unto us grandchildren, if we started singing it to her, and we did. We would run after her singing the song, she would laugh because she had a fabulous sense of humor. Oh how I wish I could sing that song to her now. I miss her everyday and even more so during the holidays. I can see her now, giving me that look when the song came on, but lest we forget, she drove me crazy playing the Alvin and Chipmunks Christmas Song over and over. The Chipmunks song and Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer make me smile every time I hear them, and I hear them often during the holidays because they always are a part any Christmas playlist I create.
Here is my 2016 Christmas Tree Decorating Playlist:
It’s Thanksgiving again, and most southerners, including me, love to serve casseroles at holiday dinners. Whether it’s the famous green bean casserole my sister makes or the sweet potato casserole, topped with marshmallows, my mom makes, casseroles are a quick and easy addition to any meal. I found a corn casserole recipe last year that I love, and have cooked it again for this year’s Thanksgiving feast. Once I find a recipe I like, I typically add it to my book and use it over and over. This casserole is quick and easy to cook! Enjoy!
Here’s the recipe:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 1-1/2 quart casserole dish.
Pour margarine or butter and corn into dish. Blend in sour cream. In separate bowl, beat eggs and stir into casserole. Add muffin mix. Blend thoroughly. Bake 35 – 40 minutes or until center is firm.
I for one am happy to see 2014 leave, and to welcome with great anticipation 2015. I don’t about how your year went, but probably just like everyone else it wasn’t without it’s trials and tribulations. Leaving all of that aside, I look forward to whatever 2015 may hold for us all. On a side note, I don’t make New Year Resolutions because quiet frankly it puts too much pressure on me to hold on to them and succeed. However, I will say that I do set goals and I have some in mind for 2015.
So Adieu 2014!
It would not be fitting to end here, so for Wordless Wednesday, I am attaching a video from Youtube of Auld Lang Syne sung by Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis’. It is a reflective, somewhat acoustic version of the song that has been adapted from the poem written by the Scottish poet Robert Burns in the 1700’s. The phrase translates to “times gone by.” A little trivia according to ABC News, Burns never intended for the song to become a “holiday song,” but Guy Lombardi used the song in between a live performance of two radio programs in 1929 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, and since then, the song has been associated with holidays. Cheers to friends old and new! Happy New Year!
