Christmas Eve

It’s a white Christmas Eve in the Black Hills of SD and the winds are howling, and it is soooo, cold!!!!!
God bless my husband, Dave, he is all bundled up to brave the outdoors. Dave needs to bring hay and corn to the cows and mules.

Our three labs are very happy and warm by the fire waiting for Santa to bring them a treat!
This year will be a quite Christmas as all our daughters and their families will be celebrating the holidays with their spouse’s families. They are all missed but Dave and I are so thankful they are with people that love them, they’re safe, and warm and we will have fun all chatting on the phone tomorrow morning.

Whether we are all together or not our traditions are the same each year. Christmas Eve is seafood up at our cabin in the hills, the cabin has propane lights and a wood stove, it is one room and we cover the table with newspaper as we spread out the lobsters, crab stuffing, and clams, with hot dishes of butter and lemons. The pickers and crackers are at each seat! Between the noise, laughter, stories and enjoyment of a yearly treat, everyone is happy!

The girls bring homemade desserts, my Mom (everyone calls her Ahmie for grandma) makes stuffed grape leaves and we make a wild rice soup for the little ones and the homemade bread in case they don’t like seafood. After the meal we all pull up the teak wood rockers by the fireplace and tell stories, you would think they would all get tired of hearing the same ones over and over but… they never do!!
Yesterday, I steamed some clams in white wine and made a chowder, so it will be better today. I made a batch of Poor Man’s bread dough, this is Dave’s favorite. A slice of this bread fresh out of the oven with unsalted butter and peanut butter and a cold glass of milk (life doesn’t get any better than that)!

I will roll out the pie crust and smear with butter and sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on top and roll them up to cut into treats for Santa as this is his favorite. When the kids are home this recipe will be quadrupled as they can’t get enough. To think this all started with left over scraps of pie crust!
The cabin is warm and aglow with soft propane lights, I have a little tree with battery operated lights, birds, nests, pine cones, and acorns are nestled in the branches. As we retell the first Christmas story we are reminded of the precious gift we have all be given, the birth of Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas and God’s blessings to you and your families.
Teri and Dave

© High Prairie Life 2017
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#merrychristmas #christmas #family #love #lobster #clams #soup #bread#butter