Warm memories and cold weather

Today was an unusually cold day for the South. The weather put me in the mood for Christmas music. I find it sad that Christmas comes so early in the winter. I wish it were later in winter as it would surely be a nice pick-me-up from the winter blahs. So, on very cold days I play Christmas music. Today, we ate pizza rolls, yogurt and carrot sticks with a friend as we listened to Nat King Cole.

The cold weather also makes me want to bake something warm and yummy. So I used our ripe bananas to make banana bread. I love making bread because the swishy swirl of the sifter reminds me of warm, happy times at my Nana's house. I can almost feel and see her hands on top of mind swirling the handle round and round. She loved to bake and sew and garden; I guess she loved to create. She was the perfect combination of cultured and home-grown. As I remember her hands, there was always a little scrape or cut from gardening or cooking. She had deep grooves in her fingernails, which I inherited. Her fingernails were always painted, but also could sometimes be found with dirt underneath. Her hands were petite and she never got used to her age spots. Her hands were familiar with hand-holding and hard work. I loved the soul attached to those hands so much! I think of her so often as my daughter is her namesake. Even on a grey, cold, wintery day (my least favorite kind of day), the memories of her love warm our home.

"The family is one of nature's masterpieces." ~George Santayana