Good Morning Friday Foto Friends! I didn't have anything new to share with you today, so I thought I would go back into the archives and find something from an earlier October post to share with you. This was written while we still lived in our previous home, the one I called our "Camp in the Woods House". I wish I could say it was chilly enough here now to do this again, but we haven't quite reached that state of bliss yet. So this can be a wishful thinking post for today...something to look forward to hopefully not too much farther into the future! What are some things you are looking forward to doing this fall? Is it cold enough yet where you are to light a fire and have some hot cocoa?
(Original post 10/27/2017)
Come sit beside my fire with me.... 
The cocoa is warm...and the friendship is free...
"A man ( or woman) who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."
Proverbs 18:24
"Therefore comfort each other and edify one another,
just as you also are doing."
I Thessalonians 5:11
"And above all things have fervent love for one another, for
love will cover a multitude of sins."
"Be hospitable to one another without grumbling."
I Peter 4: 8-9
"And now abide faith, hope, love, these three;
but the greatest of these is love."
I Corinthians 13:13
Welcome to Friday Foto Friends...inspired by the first cold snap of the season here in Florida...a wonderful excuse to turn on the "wood stove" (yes, it is electric...but still warm and cozy...with no mess to clean up!)...and bring out the old fashioned stacking cocoa mugs that I grew up with, first as a child on the farm in Pennsylvania, and then in our home in Florida...(where we moved when I was six years old)
There were originally six of these cute little cups, one for each member of our family. When we were settling our parents' estate, my sister and I each took three of these cups because we had such happy memories attached to them of homemade hot cocoa with marshmallows on a chilly day...and family gathered around the fire enjoying Mom's homemade cookies fresh out of the oven, which made it perfect...(wish I had some of those right now...)
I believe my mother bought these sturdy little cups from a local restaurant in Clarion, PA. They have to be at least 70 years old...and not a crack in them!
Mom always made the hot cocoa from scratch using Hershey's cocoa.
I assume this is the recipe she used, but she most likely doubled (or tripled!) it for our large family:
Recipe for Four Servings from the Hershey Cocoa Can:
Combine 1/3 cup Hershey's Cocoa, 1/2 cup sugar, dash salt in a saucepan. Blend in 1/3 cup hot water. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil and stir two minutes. Add 1 quart milk, stir and heat. Do NOT boil. Remove from heat. Add 3/4 teaspoon vanilla. Beat with rotary beater until foamy. Makes about 1 quart or 4 servings.
Nowadays I make Hot Ovaltine in the microwave...that's my favorite hot chocolate and the quickest way to do it!
What are some of your favorite family traditions on a chilly fall evening?
I hope you've enjoyed these cozy memories with me. They have certainly made me smile in a nostalgic happy way.
Have a blessed and happy Friday...and go ask someone to come and share a cup of hot cocoa with you!!
Back to the present: Click HERE for a previous post from our current house about having some hot cocoa in front of the fire. I sure hope it cools down enough soon so we can do this again.
