We were invited by my second cousin, Mary King Flowers, to her dear friends' (Nancy and Weldon) for Christmas Dinner. Nancy and Mary's friendship goes back to their days in school, and they both have lovely homes on St. Simons Island.
Weldon had smoked a turkey overnight, and I must say that it was fabulous! Tender, juicy, and full of flavor. We dined with several other friends of theirs, along with Mary and John, her husband of 54 years. We were made to feel at home, and enjoyed ourselves and new friends immensely.
After dinner, Nancy led us around the corner to a neighboring house, where a huge Poinsettia bush was in full bloom. It seemed like the perfect photo opportunity!
Nancy and Weldon, our hosts for Christmas Dinner:
Nancy and my cousin, Mary King Flowers at right:
A thoroughly well-fed couple - Walt and Susan King:
We invited the group to come aboard KINGDOM for a New Years' Eve cocktail hour. It was a most convivial evening, and I think everyone enjoyed seeing our boat. Nancy and Weldon, Mary and John, and their delightful daughter and son-in-law Sherena and Bryan attended. They brought along fine home-made dips, gourmet crackers, and added to our boiled and peeled shrimp on ice, nobody went away hungry! We toasted each other and the New Year with a small glass of Champagne, and we were all back in our own beds by 10:30pm.
New Year's Day - I made two pans of cornbread as our contribution to New Year's dinner at John and Mary's home. This was the highlight of our stay in Georgia! It was a real Southern-style dinner, with a menu of Honey-baked Ham, roast Turkey, Weldon's 15-bean soup, collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, peeled and boiled turnips, string beans, macaroni & cheese, flour rolls, cornbread, pinto beans and rice, a 15-layer chocolate cake, and Mary's old fashioned banana puddin'! Not to mention a snack table filled with chocolates, cookies, chips, nuts, and home-made dips! Thank goodness there was a much larger group for dinner; extended family, friends, kids, and grandkids and neighbors actually made a sizable dent in all that food!
After dinner, some of us gathered around the piano in the living room to sing some of the old gospel favorites. Adam played piano, and Red Flowers (John's brother) strummed along on his guitar. I felt right at home, since this was the typical after-Sunday-dinner activity for my sisters and I when we were growing up.
Another group gathered at the big table for a hotly-contested game of Mexican Train (a wild version of dominos).
All this, and football, too! Bowl Game after Bowl Game...
I ask you: What more could a couple of wandering retirees want, to start the New Year off right?
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