CityView Magazine - Fayetteville, NC
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/48901
editors' corner Happy Holidays T T he stockings are hung by my chimney with care ... and thankfully there's one up for every member of my family this year. In years past, military deployments have meant that my husband hasn't always been able to cel- ebrate Christmas with us, but this year he'll be home to share in all the joy (and in all the work!). Likewise, the troop withdrawal from Iraq before the year's end means many families here in Fayetteville will also be together for the holi- days, a rare treat that none of us take for granted. What a tremendous Christmas present for our city! Decorations are up all over town and downtown has been transformed into a holiday wonderland. Each year Fayetteville takes on a magical air as Christmas draws near. The hustle-bustle can be hectic, but there's no denying the excite- ment that Christmas lights, bows, garlands and wreaths inspire. This year, with the wars drawing to a close, Osama bin Laden no longer a threat and a thriving community that has weathered the national recession, here in Fayetteville we have many reasons to celebrate and to look forward to 2012. Hope you all have a merry Christmas and a happy new year! he month of December goes hand in hand with festive food and fam- ily traditions. Singing along to classic Christmas tunes from Bing Crosby, Perry Como and Brenda Lee — even when my baked goods do not turn out as I had hoped — I still feel like I'm cheerfully carry- ing on the traditions that my mother taught me. Using family recipes that her mother passed on to her brings me closer to home. Gathering recipes, making batches of cookies in decorative tins, filling the advent calendars with little trinkets and hand addressing Christmas cards are all labor inten- sive tasks, but I feel like it's my motherly duty leading up to the big birthday celebration that December is all about. This year the loss of my grandpa and, later in the year, my grandma, will leave a void in our hearts, but I have great memories. Taking up crocheting will never happen, but I plan to make homemade pie crusts in her pie pans — that would tickle her, being that I am not a baker. December — the time of year that brings joy and some sadness along with self-induced stress, is always over almost as soon as it begins, so make it merry! 8 | Food & Wine • 2011