I haven't made "Special Punch" in a very long time. Special Punch started quite a few years ago as a mischievous joke on my very Baptist mother and aunts. I had decided to start having a hen party for Mama on her birthday, and as I was thumbing through my Southern Living cookbooks, looking for party recipes, I ran across a champagne punch and decided to add a little bubbly to the festivities. Aunt Vivian was on board from the get-go, but Mama and Aunt Joyce were torn: Champagne—even one bottle of it in a vat of fruit juice—is clearly Against the Rules. On the other hand, it's a Southern Living recipe, and surely Southern Living would not lead us down the path to iniquity . . .
I stopped having the hen party when Aunt Vivian got sick. It just made the rest of us sad to try and celebrate without her, and now that she and Aunt Joyce aren't with us, every get-together feels a little off—not sad entirely, but just a little off. Not long ago, my cousin Vivian Ann gave me this punch ladle. She had tucked it away as a special Christmas present for her mother. It's Buttercup—my pattern and Aunt Vivian's. And I think maybe it's time to dust off the Special Punch recipe and invite all the women in the family over. There's a whole generation of long-distance cousins I barely know, and I guess I take after Mama—I want to know my family, my WHOLE family. The young ones should hear the stories. They should know that when Aunt Joyce worked at Mr. J.W. Donahoo's mercantile, and he asked her if she could stock those shelves a little faster, she responded, "I am NOT jet-propelled." They should know that Grandme nicknamed Aunt Vivian "CBS"—a nod to her gift for gathering and sharing news. (Aunt Vivian could spend 15 minutes in a hospital waiting room and come out of there knowing the names of all the families, their religious affiliation, what surgical procedures their loved ones were having, and whether they were kin to anybody in Talladega County.) The young cousins should know "The Sisters." And all of us old gals should celebrate them. I'm thinking October, ladies, so get ready . . .
October is perfect :)
Posted by: Gracie Lane | July 15, 2011 at 08:22 AM
Great! Now I'd better stock up on pineapple juice:)
Posted by: valerieluesse | July 15, 2011 at 04:55 PM
Are we "Really" old cousins invited too ?
When in October? What can I bring? How do we
get to your house? What time? ;)
Hugs to you !!
Posted by: candy hicks | July 17, 2011 at 07:46 AM
Ha! ALL the McCranie women! When I get my act together, I'm going to create a family FB page and put all the details there. Not that we don't want 1500 people showing up (which happened to some teenager who announced her birthday party on FB!) I'll be in touch soon!
Posted by: valerieluesse | July 17, 2011 at 04:11 PM