I can’t wait till the next car show at Summit and they always have a couple of HUGE boxes for Toys for Tots donations. I discovered that my financial gurus also are collecting Toys for Tots this year too, so I will drop some off at Edward Jones. Walgreens sent me one of their sales lures about having BOGO toys so I found a great selection of fun for the upcoming donation collectors. I will miss our Christmas parade but was already planning on a leisurely drive around McDonough to check out the lovely trees and ornaments. I will listen to my Jackson radio station as they observe their parade of floats, bands and of course Santa will bring up the rear.

I’m also looking forward to another fun family gathering – this one a delicious array of snack items we all love! I guess I’ll be lazy again and just bring a lot of stuffed green olives, and maybe some little chocolate bites too. I was happy seeing most our crew for an early Thanksgiving thanks to son Ron and Julie hosting our meal and fun. I LOVED the dressing, turkey, green bean casserole, a squash casserole, pumpkin pies and lots more. As we sat, dined and chatted, great-grand Serenity asked me where I had put the cranberry sauce. UH OH! We grew up having that canned good at all our Thanksgivings, but somehow it slipped my mind this time.

I had my son, Leslie, cook a large turkey breast for the two of us and I made the dressing, opened a can of English peas and yes, I DID open a can of cranberry sauce! The numbers are a tad high for that interesting Thanksgiving memory but it still tastes good and makes me think of dining at my parents’ table. I cheated on the dressing though, just opened two boxes of Essential stuffing mix, added a can of Essential Cream of Chicken soup, along with Essential Cream of Celery soup. Thanks Food Depot for that inexpensive but good brand. I had already chopped the onion and celery I’d bought at Publix so I proceeded to mix it all together and popped it in the oven. I looked it up on the internet and it advised cooking at least 45 minutes. Of course I tested the dressing with a thick knife as the time drew near and it was ready just as Leslie arrived with our chopped turkey. I am a tad lazy about cooking now so we opened a jar of Heinz turkey gravy and heated that while we got the rest of the food on the table.

I still smile as I remember the time my Dad got a live turkey one year from his Chevrolet business and brought it in the house for us to see before my Mom wrung its neck. The distressed bird hopped up on our big television set so I guess he’d never been in a house before. Interestingly enough we always got a free Christmas tree too, thanks to one of our Dad’s customers who let us come out to his farm and choose our fir. I loved the smell of those trees and enjoyed hanging the balls, ornaments and more. Well, again I’ve gotten a tad lazy over something else – Christmas decorations. So, I get out my light up table decorations, and then take the artificial tree out of its box, plug it in and watch the lights change color as the tree slowly revolves.

More good memories, and of course I loved seeing our big tree at Mt. Bethel Sunday morning, all lit up and decorated to the max. I love this time of year and part of the fun is enjoying joys past and present that remind us of this wonderful season.

Beverly Wittler has four children, eight grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. She lives in McDonough.