A Primitive Place
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Primitive & Colonial Inspired Homes
I have been the Keeper of our Home since marrying my high school sweetheart in 1975. I grew up learning those home-
making skills from the best ~ my mom. She did it all including making the best meals and desserts, to making our dresses and winter coats, to canning and preserving her home grown produce and making jams and jellies, to curtain making and upholstery. She even punched copper panels much like we see done to tin now and she bought old pieces of furniture to refinish and distress. When she wanted something, she learned how to make or fix it or redo it. She was the original DIY gal and she instilled
in me a love for all things domestic and for being creative.
Primitive Musings by Linda Rudman
The Joy of the Christmas Season
This page was last updated: December 13, 2009
Greetings Prim Friends! My name is Linda Rudman and I am the Contributing Prim Writer here at A Primitive Place. Each month
I hope to entertain you with my Primitive Musings.
Linda Rudman
Contributing Prim Writer
A Primitive Place
Along the way, I defined my style while reading about life in Early America and visiting historic communities such as Old Sturbridge Village, MA; Historic Williamsburg, VA; Old Salem, NC; Strawberry Banks, NH and many more. Many of the things I collect and decorate with are colonial inspired or are actual items from the past ~ antiques even! Like my mom,
I love creating things with my own two hands and learning DIY skills. When I wanted samplers for my home, I learned how to cross-stitch.When I want a picture hung, I get out my own tools. When I want a room painted, I get out my brushes and get on the ladder. In addition to those skills, I enjoy cooking, gardening, needle punch, wool appliqué and penny rugs, taking road trips with my dear hubby, and my newest love is babysitting for our delightful new granddaughter Liliana.
I love living in New England with its very distinctive four seasons. Decorating for the holidays and changing seasons is a way for me to change up the décor and add warmth to our home. I especially love making our home a comfortable and welcoming place for entertaining family and friends. And even though I LOVE autumn in New England more than any other time of the year, I always strive to find the best in each season, whether it be the changing landscape, seasonal foods, traditions or décor and even the weather!
I will share some of that with you each and every month here in Primitive Musings.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Until next time,
Prim hugs, Linda
Linda Rudman
Contributing Prim Writer
A Primitive Place
The Joy of the Christmas Season
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They started weeks in advance as we made the trip downtown to see the store windows all decked out with lights and villages and Christmas scenes. We took rides to the see the Christmas lights and visited outdoor mangers and attended Advent worships.
Submitted by Behind My Red Door 2009
My dad was a letter carrier and he worked right up through Christmas Eve back then so we had no Christmas Eve traditions. But come Christmas morning, we made up for it! Every year our neighbors, the Haynes, sent over a special plate of her Christmas Cookies and another neighbor, Mrs. Babson, sent over a little gift for each of the 4 of us children. When we woke up Christmas morning, there was a scarf or robe belt tied around the banister opening and we knew we could not go down the stairs yet. This
Submitted by Behind My Red Door 2009
While we were eating we got to open the special gift and so we always felt like the festivities began in my parent’s big bedroom every Christmas morning. Then my dad made his way down the stairs and soon he gave us the word that we could join him and soon we began tearing open the gifts. After some play time, my father gathered the four of us and headed off to church leaving my mom at home so she could work on the dinner preparation. Hands down our favorite item on the Christmas menu is Potato Kugelis – a Lithuanian potato casserole much like a giant potato pancake. My mom’s recipe came from an old Lithuanian cookbook that was handed down to her from my dad’s stepmom. Everyone vies for the last piece and while we could make it anytime of the year, we choose to only make it for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. That’s what keeps it special!
The Christmas season is in full swing in the Rudman household. It has long been my tradition to decorate the day after Thanksgiving and this year was no different. It’s the perfect way to start the season and all the traditions surrounding Christmas. Growing up, we had many.
At home, my mom made dozens of different kinds of cookies. Yes, dozens. From painted sugar cookies and chocolate crinkles and date rolls and twisted candy canes to the most intricate of all, the marzipan fruit. She spent weeks baking and cooking and making gifts. Life was a little slower then. My mom didn't have a car so she had no choice but to stay home all day. She made very good use of her time all year long but at Christmas, she made it so very special.
gave my parents time to have their coffee, set up the movie camera with the huge bar lights (remember those?) and we all had to have something to eat - namely the special plate of cookies and a soft boiled egg.
Potato Kugelis
12 oz salt pork – diced small and cooked well
10 large potatoes peeled and shredded
1 large onion finely diced
¼ tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
¾ cup of milk
3 large eggs beaten well
Mix together and bake in a 9x13 pan on 400 for 15 minutes. Turn heat down to 375 and bake 45 minutes more. Serve hot with sour cream and applesauce.
When I married into a Swedish family, it worked out perfectly to celebrate Swedish Christmas Eve with my husband’s family and I was soon introduced to some of their traditions. David’s Nana made dozens of different kinds of cookies as well – but they were very different from the kind my mom made. The little teeny Swedish shortbread rounds that are my hubby’s favorite, soon became my favorite as well, and I still make them every year.
Opening gifts on Christmas Eve was also new to me as were the Swedish meatballs, hard tack and Bund Ost cheese, pickled herring, sausages and other items we called ‘delicacies’. Now that both of David’s grandmothers are no longer with us, those delicacies are no longer on the menu, but we still gather together and have our Swedish Meatballs and other traditional foods on Christmas Eve.
Nana’s Swedish meatballs
For every pound of lean ground beef:
2 slices of white bread – dampen with water
1/2 small onion minced very fine
1 egg
Dash salt and pepper
¼ tsp allspice
Mix well and roll into small meatballs. Bake in 375 oven on cookie sheet for 20 minutes, turning halfway. They freeze well so I often make mine in advance.
Of course when our children we added to the mix, we began some traditions of our own. David always saved some of his vacation time for the week or two before Christmas so he was around to help with the last minute shopping and other special events. He continues that to this day. We also took rides to see the Christmas lights and attended Advent Workshops and special church services, but instead of going downtown to see store windows, it was a trip to the mall to sit on Santa’s lap or a special trip to Edeville to ride the railroad. Every year we purchased an ornament for each of our children and relatives and friends often did as well. They both had a mini tree on the dresser in their bedroom and over the years we also gave them each Swedish items and other Christmas décor. Now that they are both out on their own, they have a wonderful assortment of ornaments and décor. One of our favorites was the German Candles. They are made of colored cardboard and covered with glitter. Jay’s was yellow and Jen’s was pink. The top of the candle pops off to reveal a hollow tube -just the perfect size for a note! Every year after we returned home from our Swedish Christmas Eve festivities, and the children were tucked into bed, David and I would pick one gift for each of them and hide it somewhere. We then sat down and wrote up notes with hints and clues they were to follow to find their gift. David and I then opened our cards to each other and exchanged a gift or two – it was our special quiet time. Come Christmas morning, once the stocking were emptied and the other gifts opened, Jay and Jen would run to the tree and find their candle and their note – and the treasure hunt began for those hidden gifts. After the last gift was open, we then had a Christmas breakfast of Swedish Danish and Christmas bread and for many years, we then made the drive to Cape Cod to have Christmas Day with my parents for the 12 years they lived on the Cape. Christmas on Cape Cod was always so much fun. There were always after Christmas activities planned in the various towns. My dad and David would take and the kids to those while my mom and I went to the After Christmas sales at the Christmas Tree Shops. It seemed to extend the festivities even longer.
Now that our children are grown, Christmas in our home has changed but many traditions remain the same and new ones are being made as our family has expanded. David and I still make a special day to visit the Swedish Bakery for our Christmas bread and Danish and have breakfast at the old counter like generations have done before us. We then make a stop at the Gift Chalet to get our wheel of Bundt Ost cheese, Pepperkoker ginger cookies, and Swedish potato and meat sausages and this year we will find just the right ornament to start our granddaughter’s collection. Instead of making the trip to grandparents home, now our home has become as one dear friend puts it, Celebration Central and our families gather here for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day meals. Our Christmas mornings may be less hectic and we are no longer awakened by little voices wanting to start Christmas before the sun comes up, but we still enjoy the same breakfast and then we start preparing for a busy afternoon of family, food and fun.
Christmas is the gift of Peace.
Christmas is the gift of Hope.
Christmas is the gift of Love
May the blessings of Christmas touch your heart and bring you joy through a wonderful new year. Merry Christmas from my home to yours!
Coming in January – Winter in New England!
