In last week’s article I described in some detail the house in which I was raised. That was not exactly what I set out to do, so this week I share with you my earlier intentions.

My father insisted in having his bed in the living room where the heating stove was located. The spot upstairs directly over the heating stove held an unfinished baby casket.

There came a time when a noise could be heard upstairs every night, as if something huge was being dragged over the bare, dusty wooden floor.

So you bought a bigger bird than you needed and now you are swamped with leftovers? Here is another good way to tackle that problem.

We don't usually make fried turkey cakes. Why not? They are easy to do. You have the cooked turkey. This recipe called for instant potato flakes. If you have leftover mashed potatoes, use 2 cups of them instead. Just omit the water in the recipe.

I was looking at a somewhat fuzzy picture recently that was dated December, 1986. It was a picture of our daughter, Danielle, opening up some of her Christmas presents for that year. She was two months shy of her fourth birthday. Among the My Little Ponies, stuffed animals, and homemade embroidered pillowcases, there was an innocent game—Memory. It was the basic edition with 72 matching pictures of butterflies, kites, balls, bunnies, etc.

Union County Under the Tree Children’s Charities has successfully fulfilled Christmas morning wishes for nearly 500 children in Union County for 2019. This program has a humbling effect for those receiving, distributing and donating.

Rule number one: be sure to consult your doctor of chiropractic before beginning any exercise program.

Walking just 12 minutes every other day can offer important health benefits. But in order to increase your longevity, try to walk for up to 30 minutes, five days per week.

Move your arms freely, in coordination with the opposite leg. Don’t stoop your head or look down as you walk. This will challenge the normal forward curve of your neck, which, in turn, will cause you to carry your weight improperly.

As a kid, it was one of those times I actually wanted to help.

When I was growing up, my Mamaw Jo always put her Christmas tree up the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It was artificial, so she could do that. Of course, that excited me since I enjoyed decorating it.

I like hearing the song 12 Days of Christmas, which generates imagery of a lot of interesting people and animals. While it is considered a nonsensical sort of song, it’s been suggested that it’s actually a secretly coded song of Christian instruction.

As soon as it turns November, the craziness starts. I am bombarded with, “When are you going to make your cookies?” Or “Have you started on your cookies yet?”

I have even taken vacation days to make my Christmas cookies. Every year, I make hundreds of them by hand. Hundreds. No exaggeration.

So what is this wonderful cookie? It’s a Ritz cracker/peanut butter sandwich dipped in white chocolate.

My daughter Anne's favorite cookie is chocolate chip. There is no doubt about that. But Spritz Cookies run a close second. She seems to crave them around Christmas time. Every year I make a variety of candies to give as gifts during the holidays, but I must bake a batch of Sprtiz just for Anne. It is not Christmas unless she has her special cookies.