ROCK This House

               Crank it up, Ladies!  Turn the volume on “In The Next County!”- as in, “Turn that record player down! They can hear it over in the Next County!”  Ok, Daddy.
               Blast your speakers out with David Foster and Mannheim Steamroller, Morman Tabernacle and Josh Groban.  Throw in Alvin and the Chipmunks, Theme from Home Alone! Don’t forget “I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas!” When the UPS and FedEx guys arrive, invite them in, if they can hear your invitation over “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer.”  They will refuse, because you have flour all through your hair and splotching your face, plus, you have on a Santa Apron!
              My great-grandmother Gordon and the other Grand Matrons of Camden, Arkansas, developed a recipe for Christmas Cookies that are colloquially known as “ROCKS.”  At least 10 healthy pecan trees were laden with fruit, right there in the side and back yards of the Big House, so we always had pecans for recipes, and all the ladies shelled and picked out pecans. At least 1 cup chopped pecans should be loaded into the Rocks.  Also, cut-up pieces of candied fruit and about ¼ cup of “whiskey.”   Alas, I do not add the whiskey, though it was a standard in many Gordon recipes. I add some Mexican Vanilla, and it gives the cookies a punch.  Well, I rocked out this afternoon to the strands of “Tender Tennessee Christmas,” plus I made a batch of “icebox cookie dough” to top off the afternoon.  That dough is divided into 4-8 portions, wrapped in wax paper, and placed in the “icebox” to set up, prior to baking the next day. These mainstays of Christmas plus a batch of Peanut Butter Fudge will finish up my baking tomorrow.
              I saw on Pintrest a super-cute way to gift baked goods to neighbors, so I’m planning on that Saturday.  And sometime I have to wrap those packages the UPS and FedEx guys have so graciously brought to my door step.
              Now, I am going to ROCK myself to sleep in my comfortable chair, like Richard did one afternoon after pre-school.  He climbed into Poppy’s chair, and started rocking in wild fun, and the next thing we knew, he was asleep! I feel a nap coming on just thinking about it.
             Rock On, Ladies!  ROCK ON! Turn on the Christmas music, turn it up LOUD. Dance, Cook, and Enjoy the season.  It’s a sure way to jump start the Christmas Spirit, even if you’re having some Charlie Brown difficulties!