{"id":5388,"date":"2018-12-27T03:45:03","date_gmt":"2018-12-27T06:45:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?p=5388"},"modified":"2018-12-27T20:35:30","modified_gmt":"2018-12-27T23:35:30","slug":"christmas-in-the-kitchen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?p=5388","title":{"rendered":"The HEART of Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Christmas dinner at 6416 Three Chopt Road mid 70’s<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

“Fla’Leigh, I need the table.” This will be my grandmother pleading with her oldest to please move her Christmas present wrapping project so that the big dining room table can be set for dinner. I haven’t quite got the spelling figured out; but, my grandmother is extremely good at blending my aunt’s given name of Florence Leigh, which is what she is always called by her parents, into a one syllable word. Others call her Flo. Most call her I.G. I think I get that tag for trying to say Florence Leigh and coming up with an overly simplified version that sticks, but no one else calls her like her mother does. It’s a definite mother daughter thing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Yes, Ma’am,” everything is swiftly moved to a beautiful round cherry side table that collects odds and ends. It would be dining room table enough in any standard size room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I wrap up another year of present wrapping using our own long dining room table with gifts stretched out in a long line by family, I.G. and her Christmas present wrapping flurry always comes to mind. After dinner, back come all the presents still to be wrapped and the fixings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s a cozy set up. The dining room is centrally located with its floor to ceiling pocket doors always open. One doorway is a view of the open staircase in the central hall ever busy with eternal holiday bustle. Carolers easily fit there when they stop by to fete us. Because there is plenty of room we invite them in for a moment of warmth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another pocket doorway gives access to the living room where an eternal four hand game of bridge rotates between the six adults. It is also where the tree is, so wrapped presents quickly get dispatched to a spot in the ever growing pile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Placing packages under the tree mid 70’s. The dining room pocket door is on the right.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

How did I.G. score this perfect wrapping spot? Mom always wraps presents before we leave Ohio. She plans to be ready to play bridge and shop at a moment’s notice. She even puts on bows and it is up to Dad to see that the car is packed in such a way as to minimize crushing. He could easily have created the game of Tetris. He is an expert at working all the angles. But even so, some bows suffer. Finally after too many years of even slightly smashed bows, Mom compromises. She will add bows in Richmond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My other aunt, Keese and her husband Martin, always stay in the former maid’s room located next to the kitchen with its own outside door to the second story back porch that spans the back of the kitchen. Thankfully for cold weather this room also has an added tiny access door at the back of the connecting closet that opens into the pantry. It’s like a small apartment complete with bathroom and enough space for wrapping presents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so the dining room table is free for the having as my grandmother will have wrapped her few gifts before the thirteen of us arrive. She always give country hams to her three children. We grands get the balance of her gifting attention. My freshman year in college she gives me a much longed for wrap around skirt. They are the current rage. Mother Leigh has no idea what a wrap around skirt is, but that does not deter her. She gets help from a friendly clerk at LaVogue, a high end store out of her shopping league, but it’s where fashion happens. It’s my favorite present that year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the dining room table, I.G. can wrap presents and still be part of all the fun activities. She’ll even take a rare break, allowing me to take over after I prove my worth at proper wrapping. Together we will put ribbons on her last gifts mere moments before Santa arrives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dining room has one more door. This door leads to all the things that wrap every one of our family gatherings up into a figurative bow. It’s a swinging door to the back hall and beyond that the kitchen. The kitchen is where my grandmother holds court from sunrise (well before any of us are up) to sunset. She sits in the chair behind my dad in the photo and makes biscuits, rolls, and so much more but these two stand out in my mind. She cuts perfect biscuits, a few at a time from an enormous dough ball, with a drinking glass. Alton Brown has nothing on her ingenuity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My beautiful cousin Jett gone too soon, my Dad and my Aunt Keese in the only picture that I know of that exists showing the kitchen at 6416 Three Chopt. It had our heart and is our core.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Mother Leigh’s cooking is traditional southern comfort food. She gets a real ham deep in the country. Her favorite spot is a dusty two pump gas station between Suffolk and Whaleyville. I take her on this journey one time. Those of you who know of Cindy’s Kitchen sixteen layer chocolate cake procured at the gas station in Coinjock, here’s to gas station food always ringing true. Prior to our arrival, she cooks the ham to perfection. She makes red eye gravy from the drippings. All through Christmas a bit of it will be simmering on the stove, ready to go on a freshly baked biscuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The smell of Mother Leigh’s legendary coffee drifts throughout the enormous house and nudges late sleepers awake. There is a steep switchback staircase between the kitchen and dining room that gives quick access to this family hub. Breakfast is an ongoing affair, something hot always waiting for each of us as we stumble down the stairs in haphazard fashion all morning long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I make myself learn to like black coffee like my adored Uncle Dick (also godfather), husband to endless present wrapper I.G. It’s a drip affair. Eight O’clock blend beans ground to drip specification on the spot at the down the street A&P. Not content to settle for ordinary and not willing to pay more for the richer Bokar Blend, Mother Leigh cleverly pours the economy Eight O’Clock through twice making it even richer than Bokar. My sibs, cousins and I have cut our teeth on her coffee milk, mostly milk & sugar with a splash of coffee. But as the oldest grand it is my responsibility to take up the mantle of adult coffee drinking. Only Dick is a hard core purist. It’s an acquired taste but I persevere and to this day prefer my coffee just this way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mother Leigh’s kitchen is the heart of our Christmas. It’s where we air differences. It’s where we make up. It’s where we solve the world’s problems. And we cherish every moment. We know we are blessed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Fla’Leigh, I need the table.” This will be my grandmother pleading with her oldest to please move her Christmas present wrapping project so that the big dining room table can be set for dinner. I haven’t quite got the spelling … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[26,70,583,602,601],"tags":[431,675,570,677,676,554,543,674,430,439],"class_list":["post-5388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christmas","category-family","category-richmond-va","category-richmond-va-west-end","category-three-chopt-road","tag-6416-three-chopt-road-richmond-va","tag-cindys-kitchen-coinjock","tag-clarice-keese-williams","tag-eight-oclock-coffee","tag-florence-leigh-jett-hamlin","tag-jett-williams","tag-starke-jett-iv","tag-suffolk-virginia","tag-three-chopt-road-richmond-va","tag-whaleyville-virginia"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5CT4u-1oU","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1120,"url":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?p=1120","url_meta":{"origin":5388,"position":0},"title":"A Flower by Any Other Name","author":"sandy jett ball","date":"April 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Pick it like so. Run your hand down the stem. Then snap. That gives you a long flower for your vase.\" My grandmother, Mother Leigh's, sage advise. And we all paid attention. Her love for jonquils, and us, was strong. She wanted every aspect to be as right as possible.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "family"","block_context":{"text":"family","link":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?cat=70"},"img":{"alt_text":"oakland road daffodils","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/oakland-road-daffodils-300x203.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2884,"url":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?p=2884","url_meta":{"origin":5388,"position":1},"title":"Christmas MAGIC","author":"sandy jett ball","date":"December 24, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Shhhh...listen. Hear that? It's the reindeer on the roof!\" We believe, my cousins and I. Never mind that we are teens, the closer it gets to Christmas Day the firmer our shaky faith becomes. Between middle school and college years my family makes the long pre-interstate trek from Whitehall, Ohio\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Christmas"","block_context":{"text":"Christmas","link":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?cat=26"},"img":{"alt_text":"6416 three chopt","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/6416-three-chopt-300x211.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/6416-three-chopt-300x211.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/6416-three-chopt-300x211.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/6416-three-chopt-300x211.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2927,"url":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?p=2927","url_meta":{"origin":5388,"position":2},"title":"Branch Leigh Arthur Jett","author":"sandy jett ball","date":"December 31, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\"I'm your youngest daughter,\" time and again I tell my grandmother, whom I am named after and whom I decide to call Mother Leigh. I live with my paternal grandparents (I name our grandfather Other Dad) so much in my single digit years that it feels like that to me.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "family"","block_context":{"text":"family","link":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?cat=70"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mother Leigh & Other Dad","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Mother-Leigh-Other-Dad-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8294,"url":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?p=8294","url_meta":{"origin":5388,"position":3},"title":"The Postal SERVICE Rocks","author":"sandy jett ball","date":"September 4, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"No, not that Postal Service although their original Such Great Heights (covered by Iron & Wine) is on my short list of all time favorite. I mean the USPS, so much in the news these day of summer 2020. Easter 1948. I am second from left. My paternal grandmother factors\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "family"","block_context":{"text":"family","link":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?cat=70"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/IMG_1181-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/IMG_1181-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/IMG_1181-scaled.jpeg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/IMG_1181-scaled.jpeg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/IMG_1181-scaled.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/IMG_1181-scaled.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4272,"url":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?p=4272","url_meta":{"origin":5388,"position":4},"title":"Waltzing Through TIME","author":"sandy jett ball","date":"August 3, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I got an out of the blue email recently from the son of a college friend of Dad & Mom's. 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Neppe and Close put it \"..we live in a 9-dimensional spinning finite reality, not just our traditional\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Spirituality"","block_context":{"text":"Spirituality","link":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/?cat=173"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cabell Powell (she lived on the other side of Three Chopt Road), me, Patsy Tyler, my cousin, Jett.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sandybeachgirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/patsy-300x201.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5388"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5533,"href":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5388\/revisions\/5533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandybeachgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}