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On the Cover:
Lena Grady, Ian Grady (Center), and Jack Bashaw Photography By:
Taylor Howard (870) 917-8012 Publisher Christine Walker Art Director & Webmaster Garrett Johnson Office Manager Chasity Thomas Graphic Assistant Ikey Ray Editorial Assistant Cherie Sewell
Merry CHRISTmas! from your friends at Searcy Living Magazine
Makeover Coordinator Christine Locke Locally Owned and Operated
812 South Main Street Searcy, AR 72143 searcyliving@yahoo.com (501) 368-0095
For subscription information go to SearcyLiving.com
Copyright 2014 Shark Promotions LLC. Searcy Living, Cabot Living, and Your Hometown Magazine are trademarks of Shark Promotions. All rights reserved. Ownership, rights, and logos are property of their respected businesses. No part may be reproduced without written permission. Shark Promotions LLC is not responsible for claims, misprints, discrepancies, advice of any kind, or content in advertisements or editorials, but will rectify errors in forthcoming issues.
Copyright Š 2014 Shark Promotions LLC Searcy Living Magazine is a subsidiary of Shark Promotions LLC.
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You Finish or We Finish At Unpainted Furniture we have real wood furniture at VERY AFFORDABLE prices. You can finish it yourself or we can custom paint or stain for you. We are located across from Searcy Medical Center. Unpainted Furniture 607 Marion • Searcy • 501-279-1303 unpaintedfurnituresearcy.com
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Sassy Sweets
Gifts from the kitchen for your friends, family, employees, or customers. Make it special this year with something from Sassy Sweets. On The Courthouse Square 311 N. Spruce • Searcy 501-278-5463 www.sassysweetssearcy.com sassysweets@mail.com Find Us On Facebook! We would love to help with all your baking. SearcyLiving.com 11
Decorative Iron From gazing balls to giant animals and home decor, Decorative Iron in Judsonia has it all! 833 Hwy. 367 • Judsonia 501-729-0140
“It
is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child Himself.” – Charles Dickens
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Dear Searcy Business, You are invited to participate in the Tinsel, Trees, and Toys fundraiser to benefit foster children in White County! White County businesses will be decorating their own Christmas trees and setting them on display at the Providence Place retirement center (formerly River Oaks Village). These trees will remain on display until December 14 when they will be auctioned off via silent auction. A trophy will be awarded to the “best tree” as determined by the number of presents under the trees. To cast your vote for a tree, simply place a child’s present under that tree. All proceeds from the auction will be used to purchase Christmas presents for foster children in White County. If your business would like to participate, please deliver and assemble your tree between November 14th and November 23rd at Providence Place. There will be an administrator there to show you where to place your tree. Please be sure to also bring a small “bidding” box to place next to the tree during the event. On December 14th the presents under the trees will be counted, and the winner will be announced in the next issue of Searcy Living! Volunteers will contact the winning bidders to arrange pick-up of the trees. You can reserve a space for your tree or find out more by contacting Jamie Bates @ (501) 230-4670. Thank you and we hope that you will join us in making Christmas special for the over 100 foster children in White County!
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Christmas Wonderland
Decor, Gifts, Supplies & More!
Downtown Searcy 103 W. Arch Ave. 501.268.2536
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The Living Nativity www.livenativity.com
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Rodney G. Richmond, RPh, MS, CGP, FASCP Harding University College of Pharmacy
Diabetes and Blood Sugar Monitoring By Kimberly Heard, PharmD/MBA
In 2008, the estimated number of adult Arkansans with diabetes was about 372,000 and about one-third of those remained undiagnosed and untreated. Unfortunately, that number continues to steadily increase. If you or someone you know has diabetes, it is important for you to understand the critical importance of regular blood sugar monitoring. The primary goal for self-monitoring your blood sugar is to collect detailed information that your primary care provider can use to improve your daily glycemic (blood sugar) control—to put you in control of your own health. Whether your diabetes is managed through diet and exercise alone, or combined with insulin or oral medications, regular monitoring gives you immediate feedback on how well your treatment is working. Your primary care provider or pharmacist can advise you on how and how frequent to test your blood sugar, and what target levels are right for you. Other benefits of monitoring your blood sugar include: understanding how diet, exercise and other factors such as illness or stress affect blood sugar levels, and identifying blood sugar levels that are dangerously too low (hypoglycemia) or too high (hyperglycemia). Whether its hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia—these episodes can lead to health complications you want to avoid. This simple routine of regular blood sugar monitoring can have a huge impact your life. Talk to your doctor, or visit your pharmacy and let the pharmacist answer your questions and assist you in picking out the right monitoring device for your needs. For more information, visit www.diabetes.org.
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On The Cover
At the heart of Christmas is the family, and at the heart of local business Sassy Sweets is their children and grandchildren. Family operated by owners Deb Bashaw and Rachel Grady, their beautiful bakery and cafe is located downtown in the heart of Searcy.
The Design
The vintage glam theme was designed by Missy Carter-Mikell, interior designer and owner of designworks here in Searcy. The mixture of turquoise, black and silver makes a glamorous color combination. Bling accessories are the key to achieving this look! The sitting room was transformed by features such as a custom built fireplace and hand-sewn stockings. The entire bakery is a must see on your holiday list this year.
Oh Christmas Tree
Although a black Christmas tree is unusual, it fits perfectly here with the design. This revolving tree is adorned with snowflakes, sparkling gems, cookie cutters, and yummy decorated cookies from the bakery’s kitchen. When you visit this season make sure to order some of these custom cookies for your very own.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights... James 1:17 In their custom designed, handsewn pajamas, these good and perfect gifts beside the tree are the children and grandchildren of Sassy Sweets. Pictured are Lena Grady, Ian Grady (center), and Jack Bashaw. Eagerly awaiting Santa’s arrival they are the “sassy sweet” spirit of our cover this year.
Missy Carter-Mikell
A special thank you to Taylor Howard Photography for capturing the “sassy” spirit of Christmas! SearcyLiving.com 43
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2013 Pictured on Cover: Maitland Gann Parents: Taylor Gann Chris Gann Cover Photographer: Kimberly Brackins 501-279-1515
2012 Pictured on Cover: Caden, Olivia, & Carver Higginbotham Parents: Josh & Lesley Higginbotham Riley & Lena Beth Smith Parents: Chad & Elizabeth Smith Cover Photographer: Taylor Howard Photography (870) 917-8012 thowardphotography.com
2011 Pictured on Cover: Paxton Crum and Olivia Crum Parents: Parker and Amanda Crum Sloan Mercer Parents: Justin and Marcy Mercer Anna Claire Showalter Parents: Roy and Nancy Showalter Cover Photographer: Kimberly Brackins 501-279-1515 46 Your Hometown Magazine
2010 Pictured on Cover: Kristen Tranum Avery Tranum Parents: Lynn and Carrie Tranum Cover Photographer: George Dillin 501-268-9304
2009 Pictured on Cover: Jordan, Reagan, & Morgan Feltrop Parents: Frank & Cassandra Feltrop Cover Photographer: Kimberly Brackins 501-279-1515
2008 Pictured on Cover: Whitney Hays Parents: Monte & Tammy Hays Cooper McLeod • Lindey McLeod Parents: Todd and Casey McLeod Avery Lutrell Parents: David Lutrell Casey McLeod Cover Photographer: Maggie Hendrix • 501-388-3256
2007 Pictured on Cover: Christian Cox Parents: Jared and Casey Cox Cover Photographer: George Dillin 501-268-9304
2006 Pictured On Cover: Jadyn Ramsey Parents: Johnny & Betina Ramsey Landon & Keaton Hambrick Parents: John & Vicki Bates Photographer: Kevin Taylor SearcyLiving.com 47
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Over
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in Prizes!
• Win one of 4 packages. • Each package has a value of more than $550!
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Name: __________________________________________________________ Address: __________________________________ City: _________________ Phone: ______________________ E-Mail: ___________________________ One entry per person. Photocopies of entry forms ARE permitted. No purchase necessary. Entries must be postmarked by December 17th. For a complete list of rules go to SearcyLiving.com Mail to Searcy Living address below: One Entry Per Person
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you could win one of Package 1 Byron’s Jewelry .41 ct. wt. Diamond Stud Earrings $800.00 Becky’s Hallmark Santa’s Workshop 1st in the North Pole Village $40.00 Artistic Florist Gift Card and Box of Chocolate $35.00 B+K Custom Framing Gift Card $25.00 Blackbird Boutique Gift Card $25.00 Bliss Salon Gift Card $25.00 Brooks Parts & Supply Gift Card $25.00 Corner Florist Gift Card $25.00 Cosmetic Studio Gift Card $25.00 Dale’s Clothing Gift Card $25.00 ReNu Spa Gift Card $25.00 Stotts Drug Gift Card $25.00 Symmetrix Salon Gift Card $25.00 Sassy Sweets Gift Card $20.00 The Bible House Gift Card $15.00 The Mixing Bowl Gift Card $15.00 The Plum Peacock Gift Card $15.00 The Sassy Stitch Free Monogram on any in store purchase $10.00 Good Measure Market Starfire Farm’s Homestyle Salsa Total: $1200.00 Package 2 Jason Bolding Zoom Whitening $350.00 Becky’s Hallmark Santa’s Workshop 1st in the North Pole Village $40.00 Artistic Florist Gift Card and Box of Chocolate $35.00 B+K Custom Framing Gift Card $25.00 Blackbird Boutique Gift Card $25.00 Bliss Salon Gift Card $25.00 Brooks Parts & Supply Gift Card $25.00 Corner Florist Gift Card $25.00 Cosmetic Studio Gift Card $25.00 Dale’s Clothing Gift Card $25.00 ReNu Spa Gift Card $25.00 Stotts Drug Gift Card $25.00 Symmetrix Salon Gift Card $25.00 Sassy Sweets Gift Card $20.00 The Bible House Gift Card $15.00 The Mixing Bowl Gift Card $15.00 The Plum Peacock Gift Card $15.00 The Sassy Stitch Free Monogram on any in store purchase $10.00 Good Measure Market Starfire Farm’s Homestyle Salsa Total: $750.00 54 Your Hometown Magazine
four prize packages! Package 3 The Bee’s Knees A day at The Bee’s Knees $300.00 Becky’s Hallmark Santa’s Workshop 1st in the North Pole Village $40.00 Artistic Florist Gift Card and Box of Chocolate $35.00 B+K Custom Framing Gift Card $25.00 Blackbird Boutique Gift Card $25.00 Bliss Salon Gift Card $25.00 Brooks Parts & Supply Gift Card $25.00 Corner Florist Gift Card $25.00 Cosmetic Studio Gift Card $25.00 Dale’s Clothing Gift Card $25.00 ReNu Spa Gift Card $25.00 Stotts Drug Gift Card $25.00 Symmetrix Salon Gift Card $25.00 Sassy Sweets Gift Card $20.00 The Bible House Gift Card $15.00 The Mixing Bowl Gift Card $15.00 The Plum Peacock Gift Card $15.00 The Sassy Stitch Free Monogram on any in store purchase $10.00 Good Measure Market Starfire Farm’s Homestyle Salsa Total:$700.00 Package 4 Searcy Athletic Club 3 Month Single Membership $155.00 Becky’s Hallmark Santa’s Workshop 1st in the North Pole Village $40.00 Artistic Florist Gift Card and box of Chocolate $35.00 Fuji Steakhouse Gift Card $30.00 B+K Custom Framing Gift Card $25.00 Blackbird Gift Card $25.00 Bliss Salon Gift Card $25.00 Brooks Parts & Supply Gift Card $25.00 Corner Florist Gift Card $25.00 Cosmetic Studio Gift Card $25.00 Dale’s Clothing Gift Card $25.00 ReNu Spa Gift Card $25.00 Stotts Drug Gift Card $25.00 Symmetrix Salon Gift Card $25.00 Sassy Sweets Gift Card $20.00 The Bible House Gift Card $15.00 The Mixing Bowl Gift Card $15.00 The Plum Peacock Gift Card $15.00 The Sassy Stitch Free Monogram on any in store purchase $10.00 Good Measure Market Starfire Farm’s Homestyle Salsa Total: $585.00
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The Season To
Give
Donate To Your Favorite Charitable Organization This Christmas Season.
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By Irene Gray When you see this title, you might think of the usual things we associate with Christmas but this article has to do with those who serve us in a way you might not associate with the Christmas season.
Those of you who know me
probably know I am very patriotic and I love my country. I guess this all started as I was growing up when my Dad was drafted in WWII even though he was married with two children, and was serving in the U.S. Navy and we never knew where he was or if he was o.k.. Letters that came would be all cut up as they could not give any clue that might have anything to do with the war. My first cousin, who hung out at our house a lot, and was more like an older brother, was a high school senior, playing football, etc., but he went to the U. S. Marines. He was on the other side of the world in the thick of things and was actually on Iwo Jima when they raised the flag there. He was always teasing me before he left but he was a changed person after he returned as he had seen so many horrible things. My Dad got a small injury but would not allow our government to reimburse him for that after he was discharged. The Christmas I was seven years old and my Dad was gone to war, my six year old cousin, whose much older brother had also gone to war, both received identical dolls for Christmas 64 Your Hometown Magazine
and were told they came from my Dad and her brother. In later years I decided they probably came from my Granddad who wanted us to have a connection with our loved ones who were off defending our country. I had another cousin who was a POW for many months and we didn’t know if he was dead or alive but he did return home. They sent him to Pensacola, FL, and that was good for me as we went to see him and it was my first time to go to FL. Later my husband served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean Conflict, other cousins served in WWII, and my youngest brother served in our U. S. Coast Guard, so you can see that I had Christmases without loved ones at various times during all of this and it makes me very mindful of how important Christmas is to our servicemen and servicewomen serving our country as they are away from loved ones at one of our most family oriented times of the year. Because of my feelings about all of this, several years ago my Sunday School Class, the Murray Class at First United Methodist Church in Searcy, decided we would send Christmas cards to our wounded men and women who had returned from Iraq and Afghanistan, and after we decided on doing this we discovered we could not send them to one of the hospitals where
these people were recovering without their names on them. Of course, we had no way of knowing their names so this was a big disappointment. However, God moves in wonderful ways, and one of my dear friends had a daughter serving in the U. S. Navy at this time. She was married, and her husband was also in the military, and had a child. She was also due to be called up to Iraq but God stepped in again as she was not feeling well and went to the doctor and was expecting another child. Because of this she was sent to Camp Pendleton in CA to be in charge of some of these guys who were wounded and returning to the hospital there. She was a pretty tough task master, too, according to some of them. She wanted to do anything she could to see them get better and return home to their loved ones. I wrote and asked if she would give me names of the guys under her and let us send them Christmas cards and notes and I would send them all to her in a large packet so she could distribute them. Class members took names but we had more names than class members so some took two names and I was one of those who did that. Ian and Daniel were my two “wounded warrriors”. I sent them Christmas cards, then wrote them little notes of encouragement all along. Finally, they were able to go home, Ian back to TX and Daniel to MI. They had a lot of adjusting to do and we really were concerned about Daniel especially for quite a while as he was not adjusting as well as we had hoped. His girl broke up with him but he had gotten started going to church and he finally became a Youth Worker at his church and the kids seemed to really like him. He got so involved that he wanted to go to Africa on a Mission Trip so some of us helped him a little financially and he was able to make that trip. He loves baseball and fishing and collecting vinyl records so he has things to occupy him now, which is a blessing.
Ian has a cute little girlfriend so he has someone to occupy him. I keep in touch with them both via computer and am so glad to see them doing so well after such a struggle. These Wounded Warriors are many young people who are the backbone of this wonderful country of ours. My involvement with them all started because of Christmas Cards, so you can see why this is a Christmas story with a different twist to it. Because of this, and because my own son-in-law is one of those “wounded warriors” that is a program dear to my heart. We are so fortunate right here in White County to have a Wounded Warrior Duck Hunt Program, where some of those guys come every duck season and are treated to duck hunts, good food and good fellowship by our locals. Jim and Julia Ann open their home to them, places like Chick-fil-a and other food establishments help with food, as well as people helping, and I am lucky enough to get to go over and spend some time with these guys every year when they are here. My DAR Chapter bakes cookies for them to enjoy while they are out hunting as that is what we are all about. This Christmas when you are preparing for your holiday season, please remember the folks we having serving us all over the world. There are ways to send them Christmas packages, just look for some of them, and when you see our servicemen or servicewomen be sure to thank them for defending our freedoms. We owe them so much and while we are enjoying Christmas with our families they are off doing all they can to keep us safe and free. And from me, I want to wish each of you a very blessed Christmas.
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By Jason A. Marzewski I call him Dziadziu. Pronounced
“Ja-ja,” the name is Polish for grandfather. If one had to create a portrait of this venerable Pole with the twinkling eyes, silvered hair, and hands each like a maze of wrinkles interspersed by the rivers of blue veins and the mountainous knuckles, the artist would undoubtedly choose to paint in the soft tones of water colors to capture the gentle nature of his subject. I once saw a shirt that in red lettering demanded, “Just gimme my darn senior citizen’s discount!” Dziadziu is practically everything this statement is not. Patient and humble, he is an immigrant from Poland and a product of the Great Depression; he never had much growing up, especially not Christmas presents. Dziadziu says he hates Christmas, but he doesn’t really. And he condemns this holiday often, especially on the long ride home from the airport when we’re his captive audience. He and Bopcia (pronounced “Bopshe,” the Polish word for grandmother) have come to visit us every Christmas that I can remember. Each December they fly down from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in a big silver sleigh, always a Northwest jumbo jet that lands with a groan at the Memphis International Airport and spews forth passengers like a surplus of pushy
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elves. The sight always brings tears to my eyes because two of those “elves” are my grandparents and the year that’s gone by suddenly seems like an eternity. I always run up and welcome them the same way: Dziadziu gets a firm handshake and Bopcia gets a BIIIIIG hug. Eventually we stop greeting and make the usual mad dash down corridors, past signs to the baggage claim stash. We arrive out of breath, all except Dziadziu who habitually takes several minutes to catch up because he walks slowly and methodically, taking his time. “He’s take ‘em time he’s be all right, he’s rush he’s be no good,” he mutters as he ambles over to stand beside my father. Their baggage is always easy to spot. Almost as visible as the big silver propane tank in our back yard, but not nearly as attractive, Dziadziu’s luggage consists of three brown plastic Shop Rite bags bound in frayed lengths of white rope that he pulled out of a box in his cellar. Bopcia’s bag is the somewhat more upscale pink hardshell suitcase she’s had since the Carter Administration. As Dziadziu always says, “To each his own.” As is his custom when we drive home from the airport, Dziadziu pulls a small tan handkerchief from
his pocket and loops it over the earpiece of his glasses. The fabric falls over his cheek and he looks sort of like an Arab with his keffiyeh on sideways. I grin to myself, but I feel sorry for him. He had skin cancer when he was younger, and had to have extensive surgical treatment. Now he avoids the sun as much as possible. In this case, he uses his device to protect the side of his face from the harmful rays of the setting sun barely peeking through the van’s tinted window. The ride home is uneventful as usual, sprinkled with conversation about the weather, friends, and the deceased. It was just before noon today when we left to pick up my grandparents and now it is early evening. This evening is very special: In addition to the company of close family members, it is Christmas Eve! And to celebrate, we indulge in our traditional Christmas Eve feast inspired by Bopcia’s Italian heritage: Italian hoagies fresh from Philadelphia. Dziadziu carefully unties the ropes that bind his luggage and separate us from the wonderful dinner. My youngest sister Sara tries to pressure him into cutting the ropes with our orange-handled scissors to expedite his efforts. But Dziadziu likes to recycle his ropes and takes his time, carefully untying each knot. Finally, he is done! Out of one of Dziadziu’s crude plastic “suitcases” come the Italian rolls and lunchmeats, expertly wrapped in waxed paper and insulated by more plastic bags. Bopcia unwraps the meats and mom places them on our large, silver serving plates. The feast that ensues can only be described as magnificient. After supper, my mom and dad sit up late into the night talking with Bopcia about the bunions on her feet. Dziadziu
eats a big bowl of Fiber One and goes to bed early. The night passes quickly. I awake to the sound of shrill voices. Dziadziu has misplaced his hearing aid and can’t hear Bopcia asking him where he left it. I open my eyes. Sunlight is filtering through the curtains. Christmas day has arrived! “BwwwweeeEEEEEeeep!” I hear Dziadziu’s hearing aid ringing a strident Christmas melody from the guest room down the hall. He murmurs an epithet as he tries to adjust its volume. “I see Mr. Sun is shining and there’s no snow,” he then comments laconically. He’s right. For the fourth year in a row, we haven’t had a white Christmas. At least we have a white haired Dziadziu in our midst; although I saw him yesterday, I get a lump in my throat like I always do when I go in his room and shake his hand the morning after he arrives. “Breakfast is on!” mom sounds her time-honored half pleasant alert, half warning. “Tell ‘er I’ll be right there,” Dziadziu instructs me, as always taking his time. When he eventually pads into the kitchen it becomes immediately obvious why he is late: Lingering in his bedroom, he had removed his hearing aid and had hidden it. Sporting a smug look that indicates he believes he is fooling Bopcia into thinking he is still wearing the device that he detests but still had in when she left him, the increased volume of Dziadziu’s speech is a dead giveaway. “Hi-ya’, Dave!” he booms like a kettledrum, bidding my father good morning. The conversation that ensues between the two is very loud. Speaking at volumes normally reserved for those brief instructions barked during a tornado, the two discuss politics and immigration laws until Dziadziu interrupts and begins to tell a story. Dziadziu is like classic literature: his tales are conceived by a Great Author, and he reads well--and SearcyLiving.com 67
frequently. Certain pages of his recollection seem dog-eared, for he returns to them regularly. In this case, he vigorously describes how he escaped the Nazis and immigrated to the United States from Poland. My family and I listen, mesmerized by this horrific story. Between sentences, Dziadziu insists on eating the horrid breakfast that has confounded me for years: Shredded Wheat soaked in luke-warm grape juice. “It all goes down the same hatch,” he’s always told me. Better his than mine. Just as he does each year after Christmas breakfast, Dziadziu meanders into the bathroom and doesn’t come out for a long time. During his leave of absence, my father and Bopcia stroll into the living room and sit down on the sofa in front of the tree. Mom joins us and we all sit waiting for Dziadziu, talking quietly and trying to ignore the occasional bumps and thumps that resonate through the bathroom’s plaster walls. Eventually, we hear a rustling, then a shuffling, then a garbled “MERRY CHRISTMAS!” Our family tradition of “Dziadziu Claus” has arrived! Somehow during his stay in the bathroom, Dziadziu underwent a complete metamorphosis, like a sort of grudging winter butterfly. Gone is the navy blue vest and brown polyester pants he religiously wears; he now sports a maroon velvet bathrobe that he has fastened at the neck with a rusted safety pin and turned around backwards. On his head is a bright red Santa Claus hat of such a strikingly different color than the bathrobe that the two clash horribly. The hat is encircled by a large band of white fur that falls over his glasses giving him the docile and lost 68 Your Hometown Magazine
appearance of a sheepdog. In front of his face, Dziadziu holds a stiff white beard made of fabric sewn around a piece of specially cut cardboard. His other hand hangs limply at his side, clutching a white plastic garbage bag meagerly packed with a few last-minute gifts. “Ho, ho, ho!” Dziadziu sputters through the beard. “Hey, Stumblebum!” Bopcia calls to him, just as she does each year when Dziadziu Claus makes his grand appearance. “Look at him,” Bopcia continues, “poor thing, he wears clothes that even the homeless would be ashamed to be seen in.” Perhaps she’s right. But although Dziadziu Claus looks pathetic on the outside, the kindness radiating from within is beautiful. “Dziadziu Claus, Dziadziu Claus, little son of Santie Claus!” my father begins to sing the simple refrain over and over, clapping his hands to keep time. “Here comes the Polish Price!” Bopcia squeals with delight as the gaunt red figure saunters past the Christmas tree. As he does, Dziadziu Claus glances down at the presents under its silver tinseled branches and then stops and faces us. His yearly condemnation of wrapping paper comes next: “You know, it’s a shame to spend so much money on fancy paper that you’re gonna’ rip apart and throw away. Why don’t ya’s use newspaper instead?” “Sit down, you!” Bopcia snaps, narrowing her eyes. Dziadziu Claus does as he is told, depositing himself like a stiff sack of toys in our big, burgundy recliner. As always, Dad sits on the floor by the tree and hands presents up to the “Polish Prince” who is now ensconced in his throne.Dziadziu Claus reads the to/from card on each package and then passes the gift to the appropriate recipient. The living room becomes a flurry of colorful wrapping paper and a cacophony of excited voices as we
open our goodies with gusto. Soon there is but one present left under the tree. It sits like an orphan on the snow-white tree skirt until dad hands it to Dziadziu Claus. The Polish Prince takes the box carefully in his gnarled hands, just as he’s done with all the others. His eyes scrunch, slowly absorbing the information on the tag. “Tooo...JASON!” Dziadziu calls out, his eyes illuminated with a mirthful glow. I don’t remember what was in the box, nor do I necessarily care to. What I do recall very vividly is seeing him sitting there in his dilapidated Dziadziu Claus outfit, smiling and enjoying a holiday that war and poverty prevented him from formally celebrating as a child. It is a wonderful memory and one I’ll cherish forever, a gift much better than I’ve received this — or any — year. “Tis not the weight of jewel or plate or the fondle of silk and fur; tis the spirit in which the gift is rich, as the gifts of the wise ones were.” -Eliza Cook Jason Andrew Marzewski lives in Searcy, Arkansas, with his wife, Tisha, three dogs, and two cats, and owns JAM Designs, his freelance graphic design and advertising business. “I
do recall very
vividly is seeing him sitting there in his dilapidated
Dziadziu Claus outfit, smiling and enjoying a holiday that
war and poverty prevented him from formally celebrating as a child.”
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awh
•••
Sunday, December 7 1 – 4 p.m.
Matt and Emily Boyd, 107 Mystic Cove Jack and Billie Boustead, 141 Cottage Lake Road J. R. and Tonya Crabtree, 12 Ridge View Court Bruce and Ann McLarty, 100 Lott Tucker Drive Treva Pryor, 13 Harding Drive Tickets are $20. Purchase your tickets at: Artistic Florist, The Boutique, Carren's, Heart and Soul, RadioShack, alumni office at Harding or at the door of each home on tour. All proceeds benefit need-based scholarships at Harding University.
Matt and Emily Boyd, 107 Mystic Cove 70 Your Hometown Magazine
Jack and Billie Boustead, 141 Cottage Lake Road
J. R. and Tonya Crabtree, 12 Ridge View Court
Bruce and Ann McLarty, 100 Lott Tucker Drive
Treva Pryor, 13 Harding Drive
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Last Year’s Christmas Tour of Homes
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D nner •••
By Tanya Leckie
& A MAGAZINE
•••INGREDIENTS 5.3 ounces Greek Vanilla yogurt 2 Tbsp good peanut butter 2 tsp honey 1/8 tsp cinnamon Plenty of your favorite fruit, whatever they are...,bananas, apples, grapes, strawberries....etc.
Whether you need a quick contribution to your holiday office party or you simply need to encourage your kids to eat healthier snacks, this recipe easily fills both needs. I’m not a huge peanut butter fan (don’t send me hate mail, I beg of you!) but this dip is absolutely delightful! Give me a good crisp, juicy organic apple with this dip and I am one happy girl! Using a good Vietnamese cinnamon would be well worth it, too (found at Good Measure Market)!
Directions In a small bowl combine yogurt, peanut butter, honey and cinnamon; mix well and chill until ready to serve. Slice fruit and serve with dip. Easy!
76 Your Hometown Magazine
•••INGREDIENTS 6 slices French toast, cubed (about the size of regular marshmallows) 3 eggs, beaten 1/2 c. milk 1 tsp vanilla 4 1/2 ounces EACH, sliced ham and turkey, chopped (Choose wisely! There are several brands sold that contain no nitrates/ nitrites, MSG, or artificial colors or flavors!) 8 ounces Swiss cheese slices Powdered sugar to sprinkle on top Raspberry jam to serve alongside (Smuckers Simply Fruit makes a fabulous raspberry jam!)
If you’ve ever been to Cheddar’s restaurant and ordered their Monte Cristo and loved, you will appreciate this even more. Assembled the night before you need it, it makes a delightful breakfast for family and guests. Perfect if you have company in your home on Christmas morning! You can make French toast ahead of time and just store it in the freezer; it only takes 6 slices, so if you make French toast soon, make extra and store the leftovers until you need to make this. This serves approx 6-8 people, so plan accordingly.
Directions In a mixing bowl, combine bread cubes, beaten eggs, milk, and vanilla. Stir gently just to coat bread cubes. Pour HALF of this mixture in a well buttered 8” X 8” glass baking dish; top with meat mixture, cheese slices, then the remaining HALF of the bread mixture. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. The next morning bake in a 375* oven WITH FOIL LEFT ON THE PAN for 30 minutes; remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes. Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar and serve with raspberry jam.
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78 Your Hometown Magazine
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80 Your Hometown Magazine