I lost my grandmother this month. Ms. Alice Claire lived a whole 92 years on this earth can you imagine!? She had the best laugh – always from her belly and never faked. She raised three wonderful children, my mom the best among them. She was a great penpal. Made the best tuna salad, and taught me to love camping, crafting, and Tab soda. For 42 years I was her favorite granddaughter which is both factual and just barely untrue enough to make her laugh, which is all I ever wanted to do. It’s hard to lose someone who has been part of your life for all of your life but here we are, with a heart full of memories and traditions to carry on.
I’ll go back to California next week to celebrate Mommom’s life and laugh with my family telling stories about her this Christmas Eve. Gosh she will be missed but I’m thankful for all of it, really.
How are YOU? I hope you’re easing towards the holidays and the end of the year. It’s been enough of a year, wouldn’t you say? Let’s go as gently as possible into these next few weeks. I feel like we’ve earned that much. The offering this week is below. I’m so glad you’re here – just take whatcha need.
• Life is not measured in just years, but is surely measured in eras. Eras I Regret, and why I regret them. When I look back I can see my life in eras of varying degrees of embarrassment. As I’m thinking about 2024, I realize that I’m not just ideating goals for a new year, I’m working on a whole new era OOOOKAY let’s see about it! (Substack)
• I wanted to love this list of 52 Things I Learned in 2023 but the author just seems like the “Well, actually….” guy at the dinner party. I think the more apt list for this year is simply taking advice from women 52 and older. (Medium, TikTok)
• Last week Amy mentioned curbing impulse buying and I’m in the same boat. Technology is stacked to make it easy for us to give away our hard-earrned dollars. I loved this series from Vox: Buy Less Stuff. This article Getting Dressed 101 the Influence of Allison Bornstein combined the dizzying every-five-minute fashion trends on TikTok has me feeling like I’m going to wear the straight leg Levi’s in my closet… forever. I’m just going to stick at my current fashion state from here on out, good luck to meeee! (Vox, Vogue)
• I love this list of The Ultimate Italian Food Crawl Through New Orleans. I took my family to Mosca’s in the first few years I lived in New Orleans and still think about that chicken. (Savuer, Mosca’s)
• As soon as I figure out where to buy chestnuts, I’m going to take Kaleb’s advice on how to roast the dang things. I think that holiday tradition didn’t make it all the way west to Los Angeles. (Instagram)
• Highly recommend spending part of Christmas Eve morning making these Christmas Morning Orange Rolls so they can rest in the fridge overnight and bake fresh after church. I mean, right!? Also we’re putting eggnog in our coffee all week – those are just the rules. (Joy the Baker)
• I’ll admit I haven’t been much of a reader this year but I plan on devouring Ann Patchett’s new book Tom Lake over my holiday time at home. It’s a find from Kim’s fiction book recomendations. (PS sign up for Kim’s newsletter if you haven’t already and yes this blog is now an Ann Patchett fan site.) (Parnassus, Instagram, Sunstack)
• Food52 says that The Best Vanilla Extract Substitute is any dark liquor you have in the bar cabinet but especially highlights dark rum. My trick? I top off vanilla bean paste with dark rum to get every last bit out of the jar. (Food52, Amazon)
• I’ve dubbed this Gingerbread Swirl Bundt Cake The Cake of December because of the flavors, obviously. But this cake also stays soft and tender for weeks on end so it’s a perfect little cake to just have around. (Joy the Baker)
• I have our friend Timothy’s Vintage Christmas Playlist queued up for next week. (Spotify)
• I’m singing My Favorite Things at Will’s holiday family singalong this Sunday, and well… it’s a good thing I can’t be toooo embarrassed in front of family. I’ll give it my best Julie Andrews, but I can’t help but think that they way my neighbor avoided sharing an elevator with me the other day was because she’s heard me practicing. HA! (Youtube)
Enjoy you Sunday.
My love to you.
xo Joy
27 Responses
I’m so sorry about your grandmother. She sounded awesome.
So sorry for your loss, Joy. How lucky are we when we find incredible people to share life with? Sending you and your family much love
I’m sorry to hear about your Grandma.
It’s looking like we’ll be home for Christmas this year and I’m considering switching up my traditional cinnamon rolls (your cream cheese ones ?) for these orange rolls. Nom nom nom.
May her memory be a blessing.
I’m so sorry to read about your grandmother. They hold a special place in our hearts. Yesterday while making cookies, I threw some heath chips into some coffee shortbread cookies! My grandmother used to say, it doesn’t call for this, but we’ll put it in anyway ;) She was the best!
Keep those memories close to your heart.
Love the photo of the two of you ????
Joy, Im very sorry for your loss. 92 is a long life but its not nearly enough for how wonderful she was. I lost my grandmother (my mom’s mom) too young:68. I still think of her often. She was sarcastic, often caustic and hilarious. I was lucky because she liked having me around (we loved books, movies, TV and gossip.) She was a wild thing and I got to be around her so I feel blessed. I hope you get to enjoy her memories too.
Dear Joy, so sorry for the loss of your beloved grandmother. May your family find peace in all the memories and love you experienced with her. Safe travels to California, and yes, may we all ease into the holidays.
I’m sorry for the loss of your mommom May her memory bring you and your family peace as time passes.
Oh I am sorry for the loss of your grandmother. Grandmothers are so special. Yours sounds wonderful.
I’m so sorry for the loss of your grandmother!
I’m sorry for your loss Joy..what a great name she chose as her grandma role “mommom”.We will be making your orange Christmas rolls and bake them Christmas morning.I can’t wait to sit with coffee by the tree and count blessings from this past year.I just adore you and have followed you from the beginning.Blessings to you and yours in 2024.
The photo sums up a whole lotta love. I’m sorry for the loss of your grandmother. May her memory be a blessing.
I am so sorry for your loss, Joy. Your grandmother has left an important legacy that you will continue to honor with love and laughter, I am sure.
Joy!! Thank you for linking to my Substack again. Ann Patchett hive, rise up! When I saw you linked to me this morning, I was worried it was about the gingerbread cookies lol. IYKYK (only Joy knows). XOXO – Kim
Loved reading about your grandmother. You were both so lucky to have each other. She must have been so very proud of you.
Joy~
I’m so sorry for your loss. As someone who had a wonderful grandma too, I know how much you miss her.
I’m glad you have such sweet memories to honor your grandmother. May she rest well.
I glad you had such a close relationship with your grandma, something to cherish.. Blessings to your family ..
So very sorry for the loss of your grandmother Joy. And how lucky you have been to have her in your life for so long. May her memory be a blessing.
Many sympathies for your loss, never easy but especially at this time of year. May your family find more laughs than tears …
Joy, I am sorry for your loss. Wishing you a comforting and joyful time with your family at this difficult time.
Joy, I am sorry for your loss. Wishing you a comforting and joyful time with your family at this difficult time.
Oh Joy -I’m so very sorry for you and your family’s loss of your Grandmother. May her memory be a blessing. And may her love for you help carry you through your grief. -MaryBeth
It’s good that you’re getting to go home to celebrate your grandma’s life with family. So sorry for your loss.
I hope 2024 is a really good year for you, Joy. Your blog has been a highlight of 2023. Thank you!
May you have a very Merry Christmas and a really Happy New Year!
I am so sorry for your loss. Grannies sure are special. Prayers and Love to you.
So sorry for your loss, Joy. Grandmothers are the best. Sending love and comfort.