Grandma's Kitchen

I re-posted this on Facebook and got a few good replies, so I thought I'd share them on my blog.

• My HS classmate Becky Nelson Case said she'd have Pepsi and Pinwheel cookies. She even included a photo of the cookie package. I am shocked to announce that I do not remember Pinwheels. I thought we'd had them all! 
• Another HS friend says she'd have a homemade donut - doesn't that sound delish? 
• A pal who is the top boss at the Iowa City Landfill says sugar on tomatoes - sounding good this time of year!
• Classmate Toni Robinson Mason says homemade noodles and chicken along with divinity. I should not be reading this whilst hungry. Our "pretend" grandma, babysitter Lulubelle Herbert used to make homemade noodles - to used after she served used fried chicken the night before. We were eating good when the folks went out of town!
• The very best hairstylist says half & half on bran flakes with a touch of sugar. That sounds so very grandma-like, doesn't it? 
• Cathy Hjortshoj Hansen, another Atown friend, says sugar cookies were it. Nothing like fresh sugar cookies! Lulubelle made those too. 
• Longtime friend and HS classmate Ted Simpson stumped me with Pfeffernusse, Spaghetti-O's, and Sugar Pops. Talk about opposites! He says they are peppernuts. The other two were staples in the Bullock household. 
• When I saw this Meme, I thought of the times I stopped at my grandparents' home after walking downtown for library books and candy. Momo (my grandmother) would whip me up some ice milk (lower calorie ice cream?) and Hersey's Syrup out of a can. My sis Betsy says she'd have honey on her ice milk. Momo did also whip up some other good food - our Thanksgiving meals. I like reading her journals when she describes the meals she whipped up. 

Me with my grandparents and dog Charlie - I was a little weepie as my parents just gave me a horse for my bday! 

I'm sorry I didn't know my mom's parents well enough to even remember my grandma cooking. When we went to their house in Cedar Rapids it was always special and went to restaurants. Maybe my older sisters have some memories. 

Isn't it wonderful that we have these memories of our grandparents and food? If you read the list, most of it wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but somehow our grandparents made it magical! If you have memories from your grandma's kitchen share them on this Facebook post. 

After a morning of buttery buttery toast

When we stayed at my parents' in Atlantic, I'd hear her enticing them with the breakfast menu - "buttery buttery toast". Mom did turn into a very good cook after we all left home. Too bad she died so young - only 68. 

So far Paul and I are grandparents to dogs - who are easy to please! They all like squeaky toys and Franklin is the quickest at ripping them to shreds. 

Front Porch

Jud and Kara moved into their new home last week.

Doesn't it have a beautiful front porch? As my Aunt Marty says - it looks like a happy place. Complete with a front porch swing. I can't wait to visit.

All of the homes Paul and I have owned have had small front porches - stoops really. Nothing as grand as this. It reminds me of my grandparent's home at 909 Poplar in Atlantic. I have so many great memories of that home - the place my father and his sisters grew up.

It's on Zillow now, so I was able to get photos of what it looks like today. Someone has taken good care of this beauty!

I wonder if there are still peonies along the left side of the sidewalk?

We always went in through the back door - so this was our view. The kitchen. This was where my grandma, Zora Clayton Stewart Bullock whisked the turkey to when the card table holding the turkey collapsed - tossing said bird to the ground. It was Thanksgiving and my great uncle Max Bullock was attempting to carve the turkey. That's my recollection anyway. My gran, Momo, proudly brought the turkey back out moment later saying, "good thing we had a spare!"

Beautiful fireplace

We spent many holidays in that home, playing games in the front hall. We'd play with the toys our father and aunts once played with - board games from pre WW2. Tiddly Winks into the corn bread container. Sometimes we would bravely go down into the cellar - unfinished and chilly. Or the attic, where I was told the insulation (by sister Cindo no doubt) would swallow me alive. In each of those places there were remnants of my aunties and Dad - prom gowns, toys and books, like the Bobbsey Twin and Nancy Drew.

So much built in storage

 There were four bedrooms upstairs at the home. It was fun to stay overnight with Momo and Bubba (Wallace Orville Bullock). And sleep in the room at the top of the stairs. Once retired, my grandfather took oil painting lessons in Omaha. He became quite good, winning ribbons at area art shows. I have a couple of his works. I remember the front bedroom filled with easels, paints and paintings in various stages of completion.

In the early 1970's my grandparents moved to a condominium (Bub couldn't ever say that work right - he called it a condo -ninium). It was lovely and fit their needs with everything on one floor. My former boss at the gas station, Harry Hjortshoj and his wife purchased the house on Poplar. We were glad to see it go to someone who would love it as we did.

And so it goes from life's front porches. No matter where we live, be it a house with a big front porch, or an apartment in a city or a townhouse. We are all connected - creating memories. We are family.

A photo from 909 Poplar - living room

I'm wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving.