Memories of my Italian Grandparents

    I randomly heard or saw something the other day about Anise flavored Italian cookies. That brought back some memories for me about my Italian grandparents. They were my dad's parents. I have such great memories of them and their house from when I was a kid.


   There was always a houseful of people, especially at mealtimes. My grandmother, who we called Nanny, spent much of the day in the kitchen she had in the basement. To explain a little, her basement wasn't like the basements of today. It seemed to have stone walls, like it was cut into the earth. There was only a single bare light bulb hanging from the ceiling. Yet there were appliances down there, a stove and a refrigerator.  There were some cupboards and a big, well worn kitchen table as well.


    I believe she used that kitchen so as not to make her "good" kitchen dirty... Yet she did use the upstairs kitchen. I don't know the reasoning behind it. It seemed like she used the basement kitchen to make things that took a long time, like her homemade spaghetti sauce. I also saw her bring up from down there a big tray of fried dough. Yes, she made her own, and it was better than at the county fair.


    Anyway, there were always people in the house. As soon a dinner was done, more wine was poured and the instruments came out. Neighbors and other family members would stop by. My grandfather, who we called Poppy, played the mandolin and the accordion. My mom still has his mandolin. I would love to have it someday. There was always music being played.


    So my Nanny would make all the Italian cookies that you get on the platters. Usually one or two was anise flavored. I didn't like anise, it tastes like black licorice. Yuck. I think that as she got older, she forgot which cookies got the anise flavoring added to them. More and more of the cookies tasted icky. Eventually, all her cookies tasted like anise. She used it in all of them. That was when I stopped eating her cookies.


    Thinking and remembering about this really warms my heart. They are all gone now. I don't think families are like that anymore.  

and a good time was had by all

    I am so very glad, in a way, that the whole hoopla over the holiday is over. It was a difficult one, for me, because of the empty nest thing. Jess wasn't here. But we did get to see him today, and Julie too. We were invited to her mom's house for Christmas dinner, and we went. I usually have trouble getting Hubs to social functions. But this was a small one.


    We had a really good time! Not that it was a surprise, or anything. We just haven't gotten to spend much time with them. Last year, they all went to the Giants game on Christmas Eve, then we all met afterward at her house, and had a big wing-ding. That was lots of fun! This year she promised it would be quieter, just Linda and Chip, Julie's grandmother, Jesse and Julie, and us.


    We really enjoyed their company, and the food was good. I've never had German food before, being of Italian extraction.


    Santa was good to me this year. I got the Kindle Fire I wanted, even though I was told I wouldn't be getting one. I initially had some trouble connecting to the Internet, then I realized I was attempting to use the wrong router. Once I got that straightened out, I was golden.


    First thing I downloaded? Angry Birds! I love that game. Hubs also got me some gift cards, Visa and from Barnes and Noble. I also have a nook, that I absolutely love, and will never give up. Technically, I own the nook, a regular Kindle, and now the Kindle Fire. Hubs uses the regular Kindle. I don't see me downloading many books to the Kindle Fire. I think it will be for playing games. But we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?


    I feel I must report that even though I took my knitting with me, I didn't knit at all today.

Sharing Some Family Photos

    I am recuperating from the e-plague, and not getting any ideas for my post today. I was also looking at the photos in my laptop and it suddenly hit me - why not share some of those photos? I shall start at the beginning. Here's my parent's wedding photo, Jan. 22, 1955.

This is my dad's mom, Rose. She passed away a while ago.

Here is a recent photo of my dad's sisters, Kate and Mary Lou.

 

 

This one is my brother, David, and his wife Carol. I think this was taken at my daughter's wedding, 2010.                                      

 

 

 

Here is a photo, I believe it's the first ever, of my three kids together.

 

 

This is my favorite photo of Sara and her hubs, Mike. I love her hair this way...

Here's my handsome second child, James.

This is a photo from his wedding, June 2007. His lovely wife is Jessica.

Here is one of their two beautiful kids, Chloe and Mason. This is actually a bit old, Mason turned two in October.

 

Here is a more recent one, my Hubs with Mason, taken this past summer.

 

And lastly, but never least, is my youngest child, Jesse. I swear, he spends more time in his karate uniforms than in street clothes.

               I guess I should put a photo of myself in here, too. This is from August of 1973, Walt Disney World, Florida. Do you think I had an attitude?? Don't most 16 year olds?

Scent and Memory

    Believe it or not, scent is a very strong memory trigger. I read this years ago, and totally believe it. A roommate of mine was going to college and having a hard time. I told her to pick a perfume, cologne, or any pleasant smell and put it on a handkerchief.


    I told her to keep it nearby while studying, so she could smell it. Then when having an exam at school, use that same scent again. It will help you remember what you studied! She didn't believe me, so ended up not doing very well.


    I know it works, for a fact. When I was growing up, my dad would buy chunks of Pecorino Romano cheese and grate it himself. The smell would permeate the whole house. For those not familiar with this cheese, us kids called it Stink Cheese.


     Years later, I was standing at the Deli in our local supermarket, and I had picked up a container of the cheese, already grated. As I was waiting my turn, I opened the container and took a sniff. The memories of my dad flooded back, and the tears started rolling down my cheeks.


     For me, the smell of Ivory soap brings back memories too. When I smell it, I can see my brother and I in these big, rough textured tub/sinks that our Italian grandmother had in a room off her kitchen. She used to give us baths in these tubs, and scrub us with Ivory soap until we very nearly bled. (I used to swear that she used steel wool on us too, but I don't think that's true)


    The memories come back, so very strong. I'm sure you all have your own stories, and memories.

A Visit With The Aunties and Uncles

     Yesterday my Aunts and Uncles came for a visit, to my daughter Sara's house. These are three of my dad's four siblings. Uncle Joe lives in Florida, too far away to visit. My dad was the second oldest after Uncle John. Dad would have been 80 this year, so I know Uncle John is older than that. After dad was Aunt Kate, then Uncle Joe, and lastly Aunt Lou. Aunt Lou is only ten years older than me.


     Most of them live further upstate, and Aunt Kate and her husband Uncle Chuck were in Catskill for a bowling thing this weekend. So they went to Uncle John and Aunt Marge's house, and, along with Aunt Lou, they all came down for a visit when Aunt Kate was done bowling for the day.


     This is a photo of Uncle John, Aunt Kate and Aunt Lou.

    Here is a photo of all the Aunties and Uncles, and my mom too.

    From left to right - Uncle Chuck, Aunt Kate, Mom, Aunt Lou, Uncle John, and Aunt Marge.


    Aunt Lou is a hoot. My brother Chip stopped by for a while, and he looks so much like our dad that it makes Aunt Lou cry.  Here is a photo of my brother and his wife, Carol.

    So we all had a nice visit, Sara made food, and everyone got the tour of the house. The Aunts and Uncles had never been, it was their first visit. I think I'll even throw in a photo of Sara and Mike's house too!

   And lastly, here's a photo of Aunt Lou and Sara when everyone was leaving.

     My mom loves when she gets to see dad's brother and sisters, it makes her happy and I think she feels close to him. It was a good day. Thanks, Sara!
   

My Dad and Racism

    Last night, I stayed up and watched The Help on one of the movie channels. It was a really good movie. It got me thinking about racism. I was outraged that such behavior ever happened, is still happening. Then today as I was knitting, I remembered a story my dad had told us.


    You see, my dad was in the Air Force, in the 1950's. He spent time in the South. I'm not sure which state he was in. My dad was Italian, and a dark skinned one at that. Because of this, he found himself billeted with the African-American troops. He had to eat at the "colored only" facilities, and drink out of the "colored only" water fountains. He found himself discriminated against because of the color of his skin.


    This left a deep impression on him, and after his kids were born, he took pains to make sure that we never treated anyone the way that he and his fellow Airmen were treated. He made sure we were old enough to understand, and told us the story. He made it a positive story, that he made new friends, and learned to love country music. But he made sure we knew it was wrong.


   I was lucky enough to inherit his skin. I have a nice, olive tone to my skin. I tan very easily. In fact, my Hubs tells people that I can tan just by walking under a lamp. I have to say that as far as I know, I have never been discriminated against. Truly, it would never occur to me.


   I wanted to post a photo of my dad here, but I just looked through all my pics, and I don't have a good one of him. I must rectify that situation. I guess I will have to go visit my mom and take photos of the photos of him that she has.


   Anyway, this whole thing has made me really think hard, and thank my dad, not only for the service to his country, but for teaching me to treat all people the same.