The Most Beautiful House

The other night our girl Valerie dreamed about orange leather and wicker. It made her remember a rattan stool with an orange leather seat. And it caused her to remember the most beautiful house in the world, according to the eyes of her childhood. She likes to remember things like Grampie Ellery's chair, where Grammie sat -- things like that.

Four rattan stools with leather seats stood around the breakfast bar in Grammie Muriel's house. It was SUCH a child-friendly house! No wonder she remembers putting her face onto the leather seat, hanging onto the stool and spinning happily around. I think the beauty of Grammie's house was really the essence of HER, for she was gifted at making children very happy and comfortable where ever she was. I still remember the little frogs she could tie, using a handkerchief. Cat's cradle. And lots of simple, but awe-inspiring things!

Aunt Valerie (Mom to lots of you) said she remembers how the children LOVED to visit Grammie Muriel's house, but when it came meal time they would rather not eat there. That's when they wanted to go to Grammie Ruth's table!

It is a fact that Grammie Muriel's food (though abundant) wasn't as good as Grammie Ruth's. I think it is because Grammie Muriel was raising her children in the depression and because they were so poor it was rare to have all the needed ingredients for most recipes. So cooks of that era just learned to "make do" with what they had. Another thing is that she was adventurous and had no problem trying something new or innovative.

Grammie Ruth, on the other hand was into accounting and precision and doing everything right! If she didn't have a needed ingredient, she would scrap the idea and make something else. When money was tight, Grammie Ruth started a meal with biscuits and then figured out what to have with them. And it was always GOOD, especially her biscuits.

Great Grammie Buza and Great, Great Grammie Kitt were the best cooks in the grandmotherly line. Unfortunately, you didn't get to eat their food very often -- Grammie Buza lived far away for most of your childhood and Grammie Kitt had poor health.

I am certain that many of you all MUCH prefer not to eat at my house because I cook wierd stuff: things like asparagus and onions and pea soup. Our cheese is yellow and sharp. Our bread is whole grain. Our peanut butter is natural. Our mac and cheese is preferably the homemade kind and not out of a box. Things like that.

Hopefully what we lack in the food department is replaced by love -- we have lots of that to go around!