Warning this post is more than a little sentimental. After the death of my dear mom last month my siblings and I began the difficult process of clearing out her apartment. Part of this process was to look around the apartment and see what things we or her grandchildren might be interested in. Sometimes there was great interest from many on a few items and some were only of interest to little old me. Here are a few of the undisputed items I brought home with me.
Sorry about the edgar tail in the last shot. All but the lobster ( my mom has Nova Scotian blood in her) cracking and poking tools are as old as I am and hold very special memories of my childhood days in the kitchen watching my mom cook and bake for her very large family. For this post the flour sifter and the spatula remind me of all the hundreds of dozens of sugar cookies my mom baked over the years for all the special occasions of which Valentine's day was always one of them. When we were all grown up and had left home she would bake them for the grandchildren and neighborhood young ones. She taught us all to roll and cut them out into the prettiest of shapes. And then came the sprinkles. I still remember thinking every color had a special flavor. She would let us invite a number of friends over and we would have "cookie parties". An afternoon of rolling, baking, decorating and of course tasting our art work. My mom would gather up older siblings and my father to judge the goods and prizes were awarded. I carried on this tradition with my own children and when we were cleaning up the apartment I came across a letter my eldest had written to her granny describing the most recent cookie party we had hosted.
My daughter wanted to bake cookies for the local senior's residence for their Valentine craft activity she had organized. We pulled out our very worn copy of the Joy of Cooking and it said " Aunties and grandmothers who roll cookies for and with children are scarce these days. But shaping cookies is such fun that children should be encouraged to learn to make them for themselves." Fun for adults too!!!
The craft involved making valentines and buntings while being read classic love poems chosen by Tamara.
here is the the list:
Wind and WIndow Flower by Robert Frost
Bright Star by John Keats
She walks in beauty by Lord Byron
Wild Nights by Emily Dickinson
A red, red rose by Robert Burns
Sonnet XVIII by William Shakespeare
I carry your heart with me by ee cummings
It's all I have to bring today by Emily DIckinson
the love song of J Alfred Prufrock by t.s.Elliot
xxoo
