What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?

What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?
Remember: "When God closes a door, He always opens a window!" You never know what might be out there waiting for you!

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

"I'd Still Like to Go to Grandma's House for Christmas"

This morning I was enjoying some special cooking time in my kitchen. It was a chilly morning, and our "kids" (The Newlyweds) were coming over for lunch...

So I decided to make a pot of "Hobo Stew" (See recipe below)

And as I was working in the kitchen, I thought it would be a good time to start listening to some Christmas music, so I pulled out some favorite cd's and started singing along...
And then one of the songs on the "Joy to the World" CD with the Gaither Homecoming Friends was
"I'd Still Like to Go to Grandma's House for Christmas"
You can listen along here:
"Oh I'd still like to go to Grandma's house for Christmas
I can hear those happy Christmas carols ringing in my ear
Oh I'd still like to go to Grandma's house for Christmas
She always sang a happy song, Christmas was a happy time of year
I still remember going through her front door Christmas day
I'd see a proud and peaceful smile on her tired and wrinkled face
I still can smell those pumpkin pies a'coolin' by the stove
But the thing that I remember was when Grandma'd squeeze me close

With all the family gathered, we were sure to have a crowd
My uncles talked about hunting and my aunts just talked real loud
But that didn't bother Grandma, she was glad we all were there
She was queen on Christmas, crowned with silver in her hair

But now she's gone and we all spend our Christmases at home
You see, all the aunts and uncles have grandkids of their own
Lord, let our homes be filled with love and joy like Grandma knew
'Cause I know she'll have a merry Christmas celebrating there with You


Oh I'd still like to go Grandma's house for Christmas
I can hear the angels singing, I hear Grandma loud and clear
Oh I'd still like to go to Grandma's house for Christmas
She's there singing a happy song, Grandma's home for Christmas this year"


And of course I started thinking about my sweet mother-in-law, "Nanny", who loved to listen and sing along to gospel music all the time, and who will be celebrating Christmas in Heaven for the first time this year:

And I really started missing her...Because ever since we moved to this house she was a frequent "guest", most every weekend for about six years, as most of you know. She would spend the weekdays with her other son and his family, and then we would meet 1/2 way and bring her home to our house for the weekends, usually Friday-Monday.  This continued until she finally reached a point where she needed more complete care, and she went to live in a very nice nursing home for the last year of her life.  But during her days here, we made lots of memories together...and many of them were in this kitchen together.
While she was able, she used to help me any way she could...drying dishes and putting them away, helping mix up cookies and watching how I baked things...she loved being here in the kitchen with me, and I enjoyed her company.  I often wish she was still here to chat with while I'm cooking.
 She loved peanut butter cookies...and of course had to sample the results:
Here she is all decked out in her Christmas top, with a necklace that had little twinkling Christmas bulbs on it. She loved showing that off!

And here's a flashback to when our three sons were little and we loved going to "Grandma's House for Christmas"....You can see they were all very excited to be together!!!  (Don't you love that fancy tree?)  Now, looking at this picture, I just realized that "Nanny" is standing behind our son Matthew, with her arms wrapped around his waist, and they are both probably making a very loud noise...and then also Granddaddy is sitting down there on the floor in the front...and now they are all up there in heaven together, where it's Christmas every day!!!

 "Oh I'd still like to go Grandma's house for Christmas
I can hear the angels singing, I hear Grandma loud and clear
Oh I'd still like to go to Grandma's house for Christmas
She's there singing a happy song, Grandma's home for Christmas this year"

Vivian Ruth Martin Steiner, "Nanny", 7/23/1923-8/13/2018  


Here's the Recipe for Hobo Stew:  (Nanny loved this too!)


Hobo Stew
Cook a couple of slices of bacon, chopped into smaller pieces, in the bottom of a large soup kettle or dutch oven.
Brown 2 lbs. ground chuck in the pot, and drain off fat.
Add 1 medium chopped onion to the meat and cover and cook until onion is tender
Add 1 can diced stewed tomatoes (I used the ones with green pepper & onion added)
Add approximately 3 cups of water to the pot, cover and let simmer while you chop up the next ingredients:
Add four medium, peeled and cut potatoes
Add four or five peeled and sliced carrots
Add two cups of chopped cabbage.
Add salt and pepper and garlic powder to season.
If needed, add more water, cover and let cook until all vegetables are tender.

(All ingredients can be added according to how much you want to make! This will make a nice dutch oven pot full of stew)
Serve with fresh, hot cornbread. We like to crumble our corn bread onto the stew.

We used to make this in Girl Scouts, and would put all ingredients in a large metal coffee can, cover tightly with foil, and bury under the coals of our campfire and let it cook all day. It would be delicious for supper!

23 comments:

  1. I love the stew recipe. It is wonderful that you have such good memories of Christmas at grandma's. Thank you for sharing these with us.

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    1. Thank you, Cecelia. We do have great memories of time spent with our loved ones. My own mother included...it's just been so many years now...and "Nanny" is more fresh on my mind these days I guess. Our holidays are changing year by year. We need to cherish our times with loves ones as often as we can.

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  2. She sounds like a really wonderful lady. Won’t heaven be so wonderful when we all get to be together again.

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  3. We love cornbread with our stew, so good!! I understand about missing your mother-in-love, mine went home to be with the Lord 15mos ago. She was a sweetheart and I miss her. Thanks for sharing your recipe, I'm adding it to my recipe box!

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    1. (((hugs))) Yes, especially at the holiday time we miss our loved ones so much. We soon realize that we are the "old grandmas" in the stories nowadays...and that just blows my mind...no older generation left to enjoy. Glad you like the recipe...it is a good one. We love it, especially on a chilly day.

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  4. happy memories :)

    The stew sounds fabulous!

    Both trees are beautiful.

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    1. Both trees? I had to scroll back up to see what you meant...now I get it. Thank you. Nanny never did have a very big tree at her house. Their house was kind of small, and she just wasn't in to "decorating" much. so that was a typical tree for her. She always loved our big trees, however, and had fun watching us decorate it. I'm glad we had those years together to enjoy one another.

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  5. Cabbage makes any soup/stew taste SO good!! Thanks for the recipe, Pam, and I enjoyed seeing all the photos and reading about your memories of Nanny. I know you are all missing her this year.

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    1. Yes, we are missing her. Missed her at the Thanksgiving table, and I know Christmas just won't be the same without her. Hope you are enjoying your new job. Been thinking about you and praying for you. Have a wonderful week.

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  6. I remember that stew and I aways feel ready for a good bowl of stew with cornbread crumbled in it. Yummy! Our loved ones in heaven. How wonderful for you to have that very sweet relationship with Nanny. Such a lovely lady. Christmas times a comin!

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    1. Thank you, Nonnie. Yes, our loved ones in heaven are singing a happy song...where it's Christmas all the time. We are missing Nanny, but I know she is happy there with all her loved ones she had missed for so many years. She's having a great reunion there. Have a blessed week as we inch closer to Christmas each day!

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  7. Pam, this post made me cry . Oh i feel your heart my precious friend . The previous memories we have are indeed beautiful . Brings us a little sadness but also great joy . But knowing that those i miss the most are with Jesus and that i will see them again one day means the most . Thanks for your recipe . Sounds delicious . Hugs and blessings, Cindy

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    1. So glad you stopped by for a visit, Cindy. Yes, we really missed Nanny at Thanksgiving, and I know Christmas won't be the same without her, but she is having a very happy time in heaven, and one day we will join her and all the rest. Have a blessed and happy week as we get closer to Christmas every day.

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  8. I will have to try making the stew :).
    Nanny seems so sweet. I am sure she is missed a lot. So many good people gone ahead. Makes you want to create even more memories with the people who are still around us. So important I think. So important to have traditions that never end from generation to generation. I would like to do a card exchange with other bloggers this year. We did one years ago but, not since . I think its a nice tradition but, understand if others don't like the idea.

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    1. Nanny was very sweet and a lot of fun. We did have some good times together, and I'm glad we had that time with her. It wasn't all fun and games, but overall I am very thankful we were able to enjoy her until her day of "graduation" to heaven. Regarding your idea of the card exchange, I may have to decline this year because I am hoping to be getting ready to make a move sometime in the near future, and I am curtailing my extra Christmas activities and trying to keep it simple so I don't get overwhelmed. But I do love the idea...I may just have to wait until next year. I hope you will try the stew. I know you don't eat pork, so you don't have to add the bacon. I don't always have it either. It adds a nice flavor, but it isn't necessary to make this stew. It's good without it. Have a blessed and "warm" week...keep those "littles" cozy and dry!!

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  9. Such sweet memories of Nanny in the kitchen! Always with a smile. I love the Hobo Stew recipe and have copied it down.

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    1. Thank you, Melanie. I was thinking about you when I was listening to my "Log Cabin Christmas" cd. It has a lot of dulcimer music on it...and that always makes me think of you now!! You would love it. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas this year, with all of your kids nearby. So happy that you are finally settling in and making good friends too. Such happy blessings.

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  10. Precious Memories! All your photo's of your mother in law made me smile. I know you miss her. My hubby use to make Hobo Stew, he doesn't cook anymore. Sure would love some, maybe I can make it for him.

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    1. It really is easy to make, and tastes so good on a chilly day like we are having now. Yes, we have precious memories and are missing "Nanny" a lot, but know that she is enjoying heaven every single day. That makes me smile. Have a blessed and wonderful week.

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  11. Thanks for sharing your great memories. And how nice are the photos!

    The stew... thank you so much for this recipe. Ik will try it. Also sharing a Dutch winter recipe: (hutspot) https://www.holland.com/global/tourism/information/traditional-dutch-food/hutspot.htm

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  12. Such sweet, sweet memories shared here, Pamela. And believe it or not, I'd never even heard of the song about being at Grandma's house for Christmas - so touching! I love the holidays, but there are always those bittersweet moments when cherished memories of loved ones who have passed on resurface. The best thing for me is to embrace them in the moment, hold them close, and let them go.
    Blessings to you!

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  13. Pam, Thank you for sharing these beautiful memories and photos. Oh...how amazing to experience Christmas in Heaven!

    Memories are precious at times but also difficult at times.

    Love and blessings!

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