Raisins and the Christmas Party

We went to a neighborhood Christmas party last evening. It was so much fun. The house was beautifully decorated and Christmas music filled the air. A fire in the fireplace greeted us, making the atmosphere so warm. There were all ages there from some in their 40's to 95....I love this because when you are older...we tend to talk about the same things. Our health, politics,the weather, grand kids...you know what I mean, but with young people there...it's so much more fun. Laughter and just good old fashioned fun. The party was very relaxed...snacky food on all the counters, beverages of all kinds, even a game that stumped many. We were given a sheet of paper with a list of hints about the names of Christmas carols. Some of the carols were really hard to get. Jokes about the prizes...I won 2nd place, by the way. At first they said the 1st prize was a trip to the Bahamas and then as we played this hard game...the prizes changed. At the end we were told that the 1st prize was actually a trip to Keokuk, Iowa and that the bus was waiting outside to take us there. As the party went on our host brought out a jar, of what he called, "Paul Harvey's Cure for Arthritis" He meandered around the room with the jar and a spoon ...asking if we would like to try it. The contents of the jar looked pretty grim. Golden, shriveled, yellow things floating in liquid. It was hard to tell what those things that were floating in clear liquid were. Taking a taste...I found out. They were golden raisins floating in pure gin. He had had them fermenting for about a year. He took a spoonful after me and did a little dance, "See how it helped my arthritis," he said. I laughed and said that I had come with a backache and now it was gone. We all laughed so hard as he went around the room, giggling and passing out the "cure" If you want the "cure" here is the recipe...

The consumption of homemade gin-soaked raisins has become a popular folk remedy for arthritis When most hear of this practice, their response tends to be something like "are you serious?". Some are serious and swear that the gin and raisins remedy helps relieve their arthritis pain.
Gin-Soaked Raisins for Arthritis: What is the Recipe?
Although there are several versions and variations of the gin-soaked raisin remedy, the general recipe seems to go something like this:
take a box of golden raisins. (note: they must be the golden variety, sometimes called white raisins, not ordinary black raisins).
place the raisins in a shallow container.
cover the raisins with gin.
let the raisins soak in the gin for a few weeks until the gin evaporates.
you then eat nine of these drunken raisins a day to help your arthritis. (note: nine a day is the number you see most often, but you'll find many variations of the number).

I looked this up on the internet and found it is actually true...I will always remember my friend jumping around and feeding us a spoonful of the "cure"...even his 95 year old dad had a few...we all laughed when he did a little jig.

Well, it was late and we all started to head for home. It was just about the best Christmas party that I have been to. My cheeks hurt from all the laughing...and actually...my backache was a little better, as I climbed into bed :)

Balisha