Memories of Christmas Dinner Past – Missing Mom

Our silver tinsel Christmas tree, decorated with hand blown glass ornaments, stood regally in our home’s entry hall on Meramec Street, South St. Louis in the Dutchtown neighborhood. Visible from the road, strands of multi-colored cone-shaped ‘C’ style bulbs (as they were called in the 1960’s) brightly illuminated our porch, shining through the glass front door, and stationery French door (complete with mail slot).

Mom, of German heritage, cooked up the tastiest meals, preparing holiday feasts for our large group of cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandmothers.

“Turkey should only be served at Thanksgiving!”, she’d exclaim.

The choice of meat for Christmas – baked ham, coated with brown sugar, covered with pineapple rings and maraschino cherries. Beef roast with red onions often accompanied the baked ham.

I’d like to think Mom was a cross between Lucille Ball and Julia Child.  She possessed the hilarity of Lucy mixed in with the masterful culinary techniques of Julia.

The precursor to preparing mashed potatoes – sipping sherry or a Tom Collins from a cordial glass or water goblet. She saved up enough S&H green stamps to buy an entire cut glass collection. Her potatoes always turned out buttery and fluffy, no matter how much she sipped.

Of course, there’d be Bing or Frank on the radio singing carols, with Mom’s voice as back-up, all the while concocting a divine creamed spinach, broccoli, or strawberry jello dish. Light on her feet, she was known to dance around the kitchen table while cooking.

Baking was another art that came easily to Mom. Donning an apron of lavender, crimson and yellow flowers (which I inherited), using the wooden rolling pin (with lacquered green handles) she’d skillfully craft pie dough on the countertop. The rolling pin, a gift from Grandma Muskopf, later was gifted to me.

Dad’s favorite pie was mincemeat – a combination of dried fruit, distilled spices and spirits, and sometimes an unrecognizable meat. (The mincemeat concoction was purchased at Bettendorf’s grocery and didn’t always list the ingredients.) Apple, coconut cream, pumpkin, or lemon meringue pies were sure to find a place on the Christmas menu, as well.

Leaning over the festive table complete with china and linens, Mom, still in her apron, struck a match, lighting the tall white candles of the shiny gold-plated hurricane lamps. As everyone took their seats, Dad carved the ham and the roast, and plates of savory sides were passed.

Long after the meal settled in everyone’s bellies, she’d be up on her feet clearing tables, hand-washing china and silverware. Grandma, aunts and cousins took turns drying the dishes.

Finally, she’d garner a seat at the kitchen table, kick off her black flats, puff a Kool menthol cigarette, followed by a sip of Folgers. Dad, with a twinkle in his eye, admired her from across the room.

The house was warm, family was content, and “It’s a Wonderful Life” played on the RCA console tv, complete with rabbit ears antenna.

______________________________

If anyone has foolproof recipes for the following, please send them my way, or feel free to comment below. I have yet to master these dishes. They were favorites from my childhood.

Some of my favorite meals that Mom rocked

• Russian tea cakes
• Pan fried chicken and milk gravy
• Stewed chicken and dumplings
• Homemade beef chop suey
• Lemon meringue pie

_____________________________________________

Sheree K. Nielsen is the award-winning author of four books  –

Her newest poetry and photography collection, Mondays in October, recently won the Royal Dragonfly Book Award: First Place – Poetry, First Place – Fine Art/Photography, and Honorable Mention – Coffee Table Books. Mondays in October is Sheree’s love song for the beach, and her eternal companion water. She’s dedicated the book to the Siteman Cancer Center Nurses who helped her make chemotherapy more bearable.

Ocean Rhythms Kindred Spirits – An Emerson-Inspired Essay Collection on Travel, Nature, Family and Pets, based on her adventures (Chanticleer Semi-Finalist for Nonfiction Guides – Insight and Instruction)

Folly Beach Dances is her 2015 Da Vinci Eye Award Winner, a healing coffee table book inspired by her lymphoma journey

and coauthor of, Midnight the One-Eyed Cat, 2019 Chanticleer Little Peeps First Place Winner for Early Readers, Montaigne Medal Finalist, and Foreword Indies Review Finalist

Letters From All Over – Missouri Life – Tribute to Frank Lloyd Wright

I received my copy of the Missouri Life April/May 2013 in the mail yesterday.  A thick magazine, it’s full of stories and fun things to do in Missouri.

I flipped open the copy and began browsing.

Much to my delight, on page 16, the second comment in the “Letters From All Over section” was a nice thank you letter from Joanne Kohn, Board Chairman for the Frank Lloyd Wright home on the feature article I penned with photography in the February 2013 issue.

Last month Joanne sent me an email, thanking me for the article and the photography.   I immediately forwarded the email to my editor, Danita.  Little did I know she’d be publishing the kind words in the April magazine.

In turn, I sent her a nice thank you for using Joanne’s comment.

Attached is the comment for your reading pleasure.

Also if you want to read the original article “Gateway to Wright” click here and it will link to my blog post of February 5, 2013.

New Publication – Gateway to Wright – Missouri Life

Last fall, I sent a proposal to my editor at Missouri Life for an idea on a famous home.  I receive a contract for a feature story with photos for the Frank Lloyd Wright Home in Ebsworth Park.  A fan of Wright’s for many years, I was ecstatic to receive the assignment.

After contacting Joanne, the home’s board chairman, we set up a time for a tour.  Although I’d visited the iconic structure before with hubby and family, the second time around left me with a new found appreciation for Wright’s concepts and architecture.

Over the course of my assignment, my love affair with Frank Lloyd Wright deepened.  His Japanese-inspired influence, use of geometric shapes and natural materials made him all the more appealing to me.

Joanne mentioned I was only the third photographer allowed to capture the home’s interior, and the first photographer to have a published photo of the Cherokee Red gate at the entrance of the home.  I’m the first writer/photographer to do a story on the home fact-checked by the board chairman.

Joanne sent me a very nice email on February 8, 2013.

“Dear Sheree,

I was able to buy Missouri Life this week and saw and read the article.  It is outstanding!  The photography is amazing.  Thanks for taking so much time to hone the article and make it as interesting and as accurate as possible.

We are going to distribute the article widely to our friends and patrons.  It is a great tribute to your perception and to the house.

Thanks so much.”

Joanne

_______

Hope you enjoy the article.  It’s one of my proudest achievements.

With the exception of one photo, I used ambient light to capture the home’s essence.

Click on the link and copyrighted material below:

Mo Life Feb 2013 – LR FLW

Life is Waiting…

Some of you might know me as a writer or photographer.  I am an artist, first and foremost.  And while I haven’t created a masterpiece in awhile, I draw inspiration from art and carry it over to my photography and penned works.

In college, I majored in Commercial Art.  One group of classes I especially enjoyed was Design.  So much so, I couldn’t wait to take this elective prior to the rest of my general subjects.

I whizzed through all three Design classes, and gathered valuable information along the way.

In Design I, I learned the basics – use of geometric shapes in a defined area, working with black and white, and more.  In Design II, I learned about creating logos, pixilated images, how balance and harmony play into design, and creating in 2d and 3d.

In Design III, with Monica Mason as professor and mentor, my fellow students and I went wild.  In this class, we learned to appreciate the abstract, the surreal, the sublime, while learning about color.

Even today, I reminisce about the fun and freedom I experienced in Monica’s class.

I remember her words of wisdom, “Design is what you want it to be.”

For the final, one student painted an acrylic on a huge life-size canvas; another classmate’s creation was smaller than his hand.

I began to appreciate and love the abstract.  During this time, I grew fond of architectural style.  (This will become evident in an article due out in Missouri Life, February 2013).

Recently, I tried my hand at design on a smaller scale with the help of my friend Dennis Guinn, a general contractor.

There was a small alcove on the wall to my basement.  An empty canvas of drywall, framed on three sides and a shelf on the bottom, it sat lifeless and neglected for more than four years.

I thought about filling it with mirrored tiles, but that was too ‘disco’.  I imagined it covered with stone, but that was too dense and cold.

That little alcove needed something magical.  A combination of ceramic, glass and stone tile seemed to be the right marriage.

I sketched my vision on paper, and with the help of Dennis (who did a grand job of placing, gluing and grouting tiles) came up with the masterpiece below.

My masterpiece

And even though it took four years to finish this project, maybe that’s the way it was suppose to be.

So what’s stopping you from creating a masterpiece?

Life is waiting. Make it what you want it to be.

(First published – December 2012)