Category Archives: family

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Comfort Food

I’ve had the meatball recipe tucked away in my recipe box for some 20 years, but tonight was the first time I actually made them.

Technically, it’s not Memaw’s recipe; she got it from the Italian girl who worked in the kitchen with her at Bix’s, back in the mid-1970’s. I also didn’t make the recipe exactly as written, since it’s a restaurant recipe calling for 7 lbs of hamburger and three dozen eggs.

I didn’t think of these meatballs as comfort food as I was making them. It was only when I sat down to dinner and tucked into a savory memory that I realized what they were.

I’ve been missing my Memaw more than usual lately, even though she’s been gone for almost 18 years now. Even though it wasn’t my intention, making Memaw’s meatballs helped.

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Merry Christmas 2020

Merry Christmas from Aaron, Diana, Connor, and Mei!

It was weird to have Christmas as just the three of us, but we made the best of it. Connor played his new Nintendo Switch Lite, we played a game of Pictionary Air as a family, we texted family and friends, and we ate ham and sweet potatoes and rolls and homemade cranberry sauce and fudge and cookies.

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A Very COVID Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving cactus Aaron’s grandmother gave me over 20 years ago tends to bloom at odd times. This year, it’s actually in full bloom on Thanksgiving Day.
These sparrows are thankful that I haven’t gotten around to stowing the birdbath yet.
We usually do Thanksgiving out at a buffet, but not this year.
We usually have my Mom and Aaron’s brother over, too, but not this year. This year, it was just the three of us.

I tried something new and prepared the turkey sous vide, which made for THE most flavorful and moist turkey I’ve ever eaten. Outside of the candied sweet potatoes, though, everything else was store-bought: the Meijer cranberry relish, the Stove Top stuffing, the King’s Hawaiian rolls, even the Meijer pumpkin pie.

The rest of the day was pretty chill. The guys played Dave Mirra on Dreamcast while I sewed Connor a new pair of pajama pants, we had Thanksgiving leftovers for dinner, and we called my Mom to wish her a Happy Thanksgiving.

As with so many other things this year, it was different, we dealt with it the best we could, and it actually didn’t turn out so bad.

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Feeling Cute

Last night, I slept with my hair in braids for the first time in years.

This morning, my new hairdo made me feel so retro-cute that I even did my makeup.

Shout-out to Rachel Maksy, one of my new favorite vintage sewing YouTubers, for the inspiration to try something different.

Also? The red hair and bolder lip makes me look even more like my late Memaw. Although, since I’m not a natural redhead, I don’t have to draw my eyebrows on like she did. 🙂