Becca's Christmas Cards~Renae Brabham

Before I share this story there are a few things I would like to predicate it with. I have promised to share this true story in some way or another since the year that it happened in 2008. I believe we all know of friends and family who have gone through the uncertainty and devastation of cancer. There are many others who are stricken with other diseases, maladies and burdens. The intention of sharing this is not to make anyone sad. Actually it is a message of joy and strength and the true magic of Christmas. December 2009. I had this story saved on a computer that crashed recently. I took the hard drive to Office Depot, but the information on the drive was irretrievable. Go figure. So, I sit now at the keyboard to recall the events of the day. I didn't want to start because two very important parts of the story have eluded my memory. However, God has chosen not to re-reveal them to my memory and his way is better than mine. Christmas Season 2008. The economic downturn had hit our business extremely hard. I was cutting corners every way that I knew how. If it wasn't absolutely necessary, it wasn't coming into the house. It was a brisk cold Saturday morning, the perfect day to pull out those holiday scarves and sweaters. But, I knew that the list I had in front of me didn't call for any celebratory clothing. Saturday was my grocery shopping and errand day. Just the basics on my list, except for the Christmas Cards. I was held up it seemed all morning. A delay in walking out the door everywhere I turned. I was to the point of almost deciding to do this another day. I finally made it into car with my list. Singing along with the radio Christmas tunes, I drove right past Wal Mart. hmmmm. A thought popped into my head. "Let's go to Hallmark and get our Christmas cards." Where in the world did that thought come from? I can't afford Hallmark's Christmas boxed cards. Then, I drove right past Sam's Club too! hmmmm. Another thought, "Well it won't hurt to look at the pretty cards." I pulled up to Hallmark. The store is filled with people in Christmas sweaters and hats and scarves, Christmas music is playing and the tree is twinkling. "Well this is festive" I thought. The boxed card aisle is crammed with both people and cards. I'm looking at the cards and placing them back on the rack, trying not to gasp at the prices. I place them back with a nod of indifference that I hoped was telling others that it wasn't the price, but the wrong verse that made me put it back. I noticed a lady at the end of the aisle fumbling with one hand to turn over a box and look at the verse. Others were standing by her and she continued box after box. I had worked my way closer to her. She was trying to retrieve one in the back and struggled. It appeared she only had use of one arm. I reached down and handed the box to her. The next 15 minutes or so started with the illumination of her joyful face. I can't even type this a year later without getting emotional. She absolutely radiated joy. She was as colorful as any character in a Dr. Seuss book. Lime green and yellow scarf, a multi colored sweater hat, bright coat, bell earrings. She thanked me and told me still smiling that she had lost the use of her arm due to a brain tumor. I asked her if there was anything I could help her look for. She told me that she was looking for the most beautiful cards she could find with a Christian verse about joy. She wanted them to have Gold on them though and not the silver that was so popular this year. I plowed through them as we talked. She told me that she didn't have much money, but it was the best Christmas season she has ever had and wanted to find the best cards that she could to give to the special people in her life. She told me that she had found two of the greatest loves of her life that year. Jesus and a man that loved her dearly. She told me she woke up with a smile every single morning. She had been in a loveless abusive marriage for years, but had been totally devastated nonetheless when he walked out on her. She had stuck with him and now he was leaving. She said it was at this time she started having headaches. She passed them off as stress for a long time and then her vision was suffering. Test concluded she had a very large tumor on her brain. They performed surgery and she lost some vision in one eye and the use of her left arm. I told her how wonderful it was that they were able to get it out. We continued talking as she told me of her new loves. She said that God knew what she needed in her life and he sent this wonderful new man to her. She said she can see the love in his eyes every time he looks at her. By this time, all of the music and colorful sweaters and business of the holiday crowd subsided into the past. I was enamored by her and there wasn't another soul in this busy store. She talked of her kids and then we got to our plans for Christmas. I told her mine and she told me hers. Same exuberance as before, no change in mood or expression. She says "I may be with Jesus, the tumor has returned and it is inoperable." My eyes filled with tears and she stopped me and took me, a complete stranger by the shoulders in this store and turned me to her and said. "Don't be upset, I am the happiest I have ever been in my life and I will be happier yet when I am gone." She turned back to the cards and again said that she just wanted to find the best Christmas Cards that she could for those people so dear to her. We found those cards. They WERE the most beautiful cards. There were 3 boxes. She said she only needed two. I went to put the other box back, couldn't do it. I too had some special people to share with. We hugged, and both walked out of that Hallmark card aisle in opposite directions, both knowing that we would never see each other again. But, she left me with these true gifts of Christmas. God's love will sustain, Be happy in the moment, Share yourself with others, Cherish those who love you, Respect those who don't, Forgive those who hurt you, Live Purposefully. I adjusted the grocery list for that box of cards. There were two things I told you at the beginning of the story that I couldn't remember this morning. I couldn't remember her name, I have since named her Rebeccah. And, I couldn't remember the cards! I know now that it doesn't matter. She is God and the message is his love. I don't ever want to forget her spirit, her thankfulness and her joy at Christmas. My heart is full when I think of her.

Thanksgiving Whirlpool Whirlwind

Day 1) Twenty minutes after my first trip to grocery store for Thanksgiving dinner it began, my love/hate relationship with the Whirlpool refrigerator. I was so proud of my organization. I ripped up all unnecessary containers and hung my list with times and schedules on the frig door. The big white cube positively gleamed, then the pots start clanging and I start muttering. I have a depth perception affliction, so engineering space for pre-prepped meals in frig is about as appealing to me as folding fitted sheets but eight pounds of potato salad has to go somewhere. I shut the door finally and lean on it, exhausted, like I had just wrestled a bear. Don comes in and wants to know where the milk is. I answer "Far right behind the potato salad bowl, topped with plate of cranberry's and finial-ed with the deviled eggs. If you take the top two plates out, you can pull the milk out from the back." Day 2) I am clanging pots at 5:30 a.m. I watch the first hour of Macy's Thanksgiving Parade while choreographing the timing of the side dishes with the Turkey. Oops, times up, looks like the spiral ham will be for dessert. Yesterday's organization is history. I am stuffed and want the refrigerator to feel the same way. Mayhem. "Where's the .....? is answered with "It's in there somewhere, you'll have to look for it." Day 3) Gleefully, the garbage saw the carcass of the Turkey first thing Friday morning! Hmmm...that means I have yards of space in frig now. I went to the grocery store for drinks and came home with another turkey. I couldn't pass up a fresh turkey for ten dollars! So, I chops spices and brine it in the frig pace I just cleaned out. I start condensing. The 8 x 12 casserole dishes are now in one or two quart Pyrex bowls. The ham is off the bone ready to go into a pot of Pinto's. By the pm hours the deviled eggs are gone, the ham is history and we are talking zip lock containers now. yay! And to boot, The only traffic I encountered on Black Friday was the promenade to and from Mr.Whirlpool. Day 4) I am shocked that the light hasn't blown on inside of frig and I am certain I have a touch of frostbite from the repeated exposure to freezer and frig. Don't even mention Turkey right now. I am craving anything that comes out of a take out box. I tiptoe around the house in the early morning. Drinking coffee and trying hard not to wake up my family. I know the minute their feet hit the floor they are going to be hightailing it back to North Carolina. I open the frig door and shut it immediately. Ughh...Tin foil half covers dried out Macaroni and Cheese. Pies without lids beckon me to finish them off, I even left my spoon in the the Chocolate Pie dish last night. Day 5) I sit straight up in bed at 3:00 a.m. I had a few moments of anxiety before I realized what day it was. No pots to stir, nothing to thaw and the timers haven't been set for days. I lie back down sad. It's over. There are no bodies scattered around the house. I have a slight headache which I attribute to not enough wine or withdrawal from Tryptophan. Mr. Whirlpool and I go at it for a few hours. I put my apron on that my granddaughter handmade for me. She knows I love to cook. I wash up the last dishes while re-hashing the memories of the last few days. I take the Thanksgiving meal plans off of the frig and wipe the handle. Day 6) Grocery list. Wine, Cheese, Chocolate

Friendship Bread, Anyone? | Charlestongrit.com | Bold. Smart. Local. Now. | Charleston, SC

Friendship Bread, Anyone? | Charlestongrit.com | Bold. Smart. Local. Now. | Charleston, SC

Friendship Bread~ Renae Brabham

I was looking through an old recipe book and saw the recipe for friendship bread starter.  I had to laugh.  I have received the starter twice, I dutifully accepted the baggie of bubbly dough with fake smiles and an insincere thank you. The sensation was likened to that of receiving a chain letter. If you stick around long enough you are bound to get one.

A more modern interpretation of a chain letter would be the annoying social media situation of this post "If you really love Jesus, your sister or brother, share this with 10 friends in the next hour, see what happens"

Neither of the starters that I received were from friends, actually they gave the gift to me rather sheepishly as if they themselves had been dumped upon. The process is similar to re-gifting,just pass off a gift that you don't really want to someone it won't really matter to.

But...with the leavened bread starter, the recipient has to actually work the dough starter for a week or so into 4 batches. After which time, you are going to sheepishly walk up to someone and do the same as my "friends" did.
So anyway, there it sat, A sloppy glob gurgling on my desk with a worn instruction sheet on how I am supposed to "Love on it and others"
I thought seriously of a one handed swoop into the garbage can, no looking back. But, killing a starter. I mean, there is something about the activity in that bag that makes you feel like you would if you killed a lady bug or a small marsupial.

So... I took the starter home and followed the instructions.  Add a cup of this one day, a cup of this another, knead 20 times a day and then divvy it up into 4 bags. Ok, so now it's day 7 or 8 or something like that and I am anticipating the end of this process. I have my zip locks on the counter.Let's see, one bag I keep to re-start the whole process and the other I bake. Two bags are left. Now it's time to pick the lucky recipients. One was a co-worker "friend."  The guilt got the best of me after passing that one off so I decided to put a little more effort into it for the next offering. I thought of the pastors wife that worked with me in retail. I walked up to her and held it out, she threw both hands up like it was kryptonite and proceeded to tell me she didn't have time for that %#&t!
So I found another associate "friend" and handed it to her. I felt like the burden of the bread had been lifted. I concluded that if I were ever approached again, I would pull the sweet little pastors wife's two hand show out on them. And so it was for about 5 years.

And then, one Christmas a dear friend, an older lady that I cared for deeply, gave me the most precious gift. My friend knew the story of my previous starter experiences.  I had unexpected company late one evening. I opened the door and my friends daughter walked in wishing us a Merry Christmas placing a weighty solid package in my hand. The card read. "This cake was baked from a thirty-seven year old ~Friendship Bread Starter~ a family starter. I hope you enjoy it." Part of me didn't even want to eat it, but that passed quickly. The aroma, the richness and the beauty of that bread is forever etched in my mind.

I am here to tell you that I have never, and would venture to say, will ever eat another bite of bread while I am on this earth as good as that cake. So many things had to come together for that bread to be the best.  The quality of the ingredients, the time and care that was kneaded into the starter, for seven years to boot!, and finally the continuity, doing what we need to do each day, even when we don't want to. These are the things that make a bread like the one I was gifted the best I have ever had. A true Friendship bread. And aren't these the same ingredients that are in our true friendship's?

Unleavened bread has no past. No starter to pull from. No history to pass down. Dough without leaven represents haste, a break with the past, an absence of extra flavor, simplicity, inactivity, powerlessness and a lack of labor.
I am richly blessed with wonderful friends, with leavened bread. Our bread is good. We pull from the past, keep it tended and keep the starter alive.

What Christmas Is For: Chase Rivers & Rachel Owen

What Christmas Is For  Just beautiful!

Brabham's Painting is back!

Yeah I know, It's going to sound like I am tooting our horn. As an artist in any genre, you tend to look at the work of others in the same field with interest. It's just a thing we do. We see a new house, we check out the paint job. There are good paint companies out there. But, I seriously have not encountered the quality of work that Don performs with Brabham's painting. I believe it is because he brings with it a level of pride and professionalism that assures his customers a good working relationship. Brabham's Painting: Interior or Exterior Quality Painting. Please check out the before and after photo's,remembering these are novice photo's.Now imagine the true vectors of light. These clients were extremely happy. Well, we are one state down in the Carolina's now. SC has been out home for three years and we are back in the biz here. Check out the website. And click the links for a in depth feel of the company.

http://www.brabhams.net/

True Grit, Charleston Grit | Charlestongrit.com | Bold. Smart. Local. Now. | Charleston, SC

True Grit, Charleston Grit | Charlestongrit.com | Bold. Smart. Local. Now. | Charleston, SC