Celebrating: Family Reunions!

Celebrating: Family Reunions!: This past weekend was spent in Collierville, TN a small quaint little town in the suburbs of Memphis.  The reason - our annual Griffin Family reunion, commonly referred to as "The Get Together." So on Saturday the masses (unfortunatetly not all of us) gathered for a day of great food, great stories and great fellowship.  My Aunt Ouida hosted all of us this year in her beautiful home in Collierville.  My cousins Al & Ann welcomed me into their home in Collierville to spend Friday evening.  My cousin Alvin has made some very original furniture and other really unique items that are just amazing.  Ann has a love of "collecting" and it was fun looking over her grand collections and seeing the displays Al had made for them.

The "Griffin" clan (my Mom's family), grew up in a small, small town in Mississippi, where the days were long, the chores were tough, the money sometimes scarce, but the love was fierce!  There were 5 sisters and 1 brother. There are 4 remaining sisters today, but the memory of their brother, sister, Mother and Daddy remains even after all these years.  For the "Griffin" girls love to tell familiar old tales of their childhood and keep the memories alive for all of us! Such fun we had reminising about the lazy (for us kids, that is!) days of summer spent on the Farm in Calhoun City.

Each of my aunts have inspired me in many ways. All of them have shown me a love for God, a generous spirit, a helping hand and passion for life.  I am so proud of all the "Griffin" girls and am glad they have been a part of my life.  They have shown me courage, faith and love and I feel honored to have them as my family.

Aunt Ruby, Aunt Niece, Aunt Oiuda and Mom (Liz)

And, as usual, a great feast was put on the table!  All four of them love to cook, so you can just imagine the "spread" we had!  Of course, there are a few foods that HAVE to be present (in my humble opinion!)...fried okra, field peas, green beans and stewed corn.  Honestly, you would have had to have 2 plates just to get a little bite of everything!   Plus, we had enough home made desserts to choose from that would rival the finest restaurant!

this is just a sample of the feast before us!

Another item that could not be absent from the table is Molasses Candy.  Growing up on the farm was often hard, but as I understand it, this candy was a special treat! Peanuts were plentiful, as was molasses and making this candy was often  a great winter past time. They would go out to the barn and pick off the peanuts and then parch (roast in wood burning oven) They would then use a sausage grinder to grind the peanuts. To this day, their eyes still  light up recalling the memory of making Molasses candy!  So, I would be remiss in not posting this favorite childhood treat!

Molasses Candy

1 cup Molasses

1 cup sugar

2 cups ground parched peanuts 

1 TBS butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp. baking soda

Cook sugar and molasses to the soft boil stage.  Add butter, vanilla and baking soda.  Stir thoroughly.  Add peanuts.  Mix well.  Pour into a greased platter.

It was also great to see Uncle George, Jerry, Bobby, Carmen, Collin, Griffin,  Amy and Jessica and to meet the newest addition to our family, adorable little Gaston, who kept us entertained all day!
you all made my day special!  We did miss the ones who were unable to attend this year - but next year  will be here before we know it!

Ya'll come back!

Susan

May the Lord bless his people with peace and happiness and let them celebrate!  Psalm 64:10

*Originally posted  June 1, 2012