Familiar

Favorite Foods

I enjoyed a wonderful surprise this morning when I opened my e-mail and found "Things in the life of an Italian child" which brought a flood of memories of a lovely Italian lady who we adopted to be our grandmother. Her name was Christine, a homemaker, and her husband was Caesar, a game warden, who made home made 'dego' red wine which he shared with us.

We could buy Italian dough for our homemade pizza at the local bakery and Grandma Scottie, as we called her, taught us how to stretch it out and what to put on it. Always delicious and such fun to put together around her kitchen table. The picture with the hands tells me I was not the only pinch and snip cook in the this world, as I watched her take a little bit of this, and a little bit of that and make a long cookie dipped in powdered sugar.

Looking at the pictures makes me want to fix an Italian dinner and enjoy a glass of red wine, which I'd gladly share if you were only here.

Growing up in a 'league of nations' neighborhood was fantastic and we could use the words like 'dego' or 'jickey' and be called a 'mick' without feeling we were committing a sin, as the words were said in love, not in prejudice or bias. We had other grandparents in our lives, not only Italian, but French and English and Scottish grandparents for my children. Minnie Mouse and Hobo, taught us about good neighbors, how to make a 'jickey pudding' and Sunday Hobo got out the grill and made hot cakes just for us. The grandparents live in our hearts now and I light a candle in thanksgiving for knowing and loving them.

One little e-mail and my heart is full. I hope your heart fills with love today when you remember grandparents, even the 'crusty' ones. Ti amo.