Christmas at the Manor a special time of year.
Yes, each year at the manor Christmas was made special. All the relatives would arrive the night before or the next morning, and it was a festive time. Christmas eve the adults would gather around the bar that took up most of the main room, and drink and be merry. The kids would run around all excited and be happy as can be.
Sleeping was hard for Santa was on the way. The house guests were always up and about all hours of the night and we kids, found it quite hard to sleep.
The house guests mostly were made up of great aunts and uncles. And always the following morning, Christmas Morning after the farm chores were done, our grandfather would drive out to get the even older generation.
Looking back I should have spent more time with them to get to know their stories a bit better. Uncle Jack, the WWII veteran and pilot was sure to get your ear and tell you all about the fighting and the air battles and mystery of it all. As we tried to run past him, every now and then he would reach out and grab hold of one of us and sit you right next to him and off he went with the war. The other kids would tease and laugh about how you were the one to get caught this time, knowing it easily have been them.
Doing the farm chores on Christmas eve and on Christmas was easier for some reason, it didn't feel as cold or the work as hard. The cows seemed more cooperative with the milking and the dogs seemed more cooperative in the kennels.
Christmas morning we were only allowed to open two or three gifts each. The rest had to wait until the evening when all the family was gathered around the tree. And that was only done after the dinner.
Christmas dinner was a big affair, there was a Turkey and all the fixins, and a few special things my grandmother did. She would always prepare some poached wine pears well ahead of Christmas and they were a big part of the dinner. Desert was a tall glass with vanilla ice cream topped with creme de menth, but only for the adults. We had the ice cream only.
Then finally after the dinner was all cleaned up and put away and everyone was seated in the living room, only then would the ladies of the house start handing out presents. It was done one item at a time the name called and the gift handed out.
Those who could not make the event were sure to call the house at some point. The phone would ring and everyone got all excited wanting to talk to the person who was not there. As the phone was passed and the presents passed out, the excitement would grow, and the air was filled with that excitement. Oh it was just as hard to sleep that night as it was the night before.
Christmas at the Manor was a special time.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Farming and Camping
Looking back when I was a bit younger, say a day or two, I recall my grandparents camping. The had a little trailer at a camp site with other trailers there. Theirs was called the Pondorosa. They had built a covered porch and that made the little trailer seem a bit larger.
When they camped, they would get up in the morning, and my grandfather would go down to the farm and milk the cows. My grandmother would prepare the dog dishes for all the dogs. Each wold get a special meal depending on if they were showing them or they were breeding them or whatever their circumstance was.
We would run between chores milking the cows and putting out the dog dishes, depending on who got grabbed by my grandmother. We preferred helping in the barn, not so much that we enjoyed milking the cows but we preferred my grandfathers company.
After chores and breakfast we wold all head up to the lake about a forty five minute drive. Of course as kids our mission would e to get to the beach as soon as possible but there were always more chores to be done. We would also be looking for my cousins, they camped there as well. And they lived in the same house as my grandparents on the side dependency. It had walls inside so inside you could not get from their part to the main part. Well you could through some closed and locked doors but it was not allowed.
Once we were all settled and swimming was done and dinner time came around, my grandfather wold drive back to the farm to m ilk the cows, and once again we would feed the dogs special meals and put them in the barn for the night. There were usually 15-20 dogs at any given time so it was quite the chore.
Looking back it amazes me that they were dedicated to camping. It took a lot of work and coordination to be able to go to the camp and yet have to run back to the farm twice a day for the chores. The chores weren't the only issue, see my grandfather also drove a cattle truck. he would head to the auction houses to get the cattle and bring to the slaughter house.
Our name for him was Apa, and for my grandmother it was Mimi. She did not want to be called a grandmother and we were not allowed to refer to her as such. She was Mimi, and to her friends and adults it was always Charlotte. My grandfather was always Apa, it was a name my mother gave him when she was a little girl, so the story goes, and it seemed to pass along to us when we arrived on the scene. Apa was a derivative of his name being Abram, and she wanting to call him Pa.
While Mimi despised being a grandmother and all that it entailed Apa was on the opposite end of that. he seemed to revel in the role as grandfather and was always spending time with us kids. He wold teach us and play with us while he got the farm work done. He seemed to have endless patience with us, while Mimi was always short and didn't have the patience for us or the time.
This all comes to my mind in today's world, we camp and we live and we socialize and life goes on. However I find it a struggle to simply hold a household and make it to camp with one child! How did they do it, and seemed to do it without complaint. They were a different generation our grandparents, they went through the great war and the great depression. As farmers here in this part of the country they held their own whereas many did not.
I suppose they put it in perspective, and saw a bigger picture and knew what hard times were. we think we do, but I suspect true hard times would put us in a position whereby we sink or swim and maybe give us a better sense of life.
When they camped, they would get up in the morning, and my grandfather would go down to the farm and milk the cows. My grandmother would prepare the dog dishes for all the dogs. Each wold get a special meal depending on if they were showing them or they were breeding them or whatever their circumstance was.
We would run between chores milking the cows and putting out the dog dishes, depending on who got grabbed by my grandmother. We preferred helping in the barn, not so much that we enjoyed milking the cows but we preferred my grandfathers company.
After chores and breakfast we wold all head up to the lake about a forty five minute drive. Of course as kids our mission would e to get to the beach as soon as possible but there were always more chores to be done. We would also be looking for my cousins, they camped there as well. And they lived in the same house as my grandparents on the side dependency. It had walls inside so inside you could not get from their part to the main part. Well you could through some closed and locked doors but it was not allowed.
Once we were all settled and swimming was done and dinner time came around, my grandfather wold drive back to the farm to m ilk the cows, and once again we would feed the dogs special meals and put them in the barn for the night. There were usually 15-20 dogs at any given time so it was quite the chore.
Looking back it amazes me that they were dedicated to camping. It took a lot of work and coordination to be able to go to the camp and yet have to run back to the farm twice a day for the chores. The chores weren't the only issue, see my grandfather also drove a cattle truck. he would head to the auction houses to get the cattle and bring to the slaughter house.
Our name for him was Apa, and for my grandmother it was Mimi. She did not want to be called a grandmother and we were not allowed to refer to her as such. She was Mimi, and to her friends and adults it was always Charlotte. My grandfather was always Apa, it was a name my mother gave him when she was a little girl, so the story goes, and it seemed to pass along to us when we arrived on the scene. Apa was a derivative of his name being Abram, and she wanting to call him Pa.
While Mimi despised being a grandmother and all that it entailed Apa was on the opposite end of that. he seemed to revel in the role as grandfather and was always spending time with us kids. He wold teach us and play with us while he got the farm work done. He seemed to have endless patience with us, while Mimi was always short and didn't have the patience for us or the time.
This all comes to my mind in today's world, we camp and we live and we socialize and life goes on. However I find it a struggle to simply hold a household and make it to camp with one child! How did they do it, and seemed to do it without complaint. They were a different generation our grandparents, they went through the great war and the great depression. As farmers here in this part of the country they held their own whereas many did not.
I suppose they put it in perspective, and saw a bigger picture and knew what hard times were. we think we do, but I suspect true hard times would put us in a position whereby we sink or swim and maybe give us a better sense of life.
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