I was so lucky to grow up where my mother grew up and not far from my father's home. My grandmothers were both good cooks and sometimes they did not have a lot to work with. My grandmother would make rice with cinnamon and sugar and we thought it was a wonderful treat. Years after I asked my mother why she did not eat rice. Her answer was that she had a lot of rice when growing up. They did not sew a great deal but my mother did.
Even with being close there were a lot of things I did not ask. We have been in to genealogy for 30 years and always encourage folks to talk to their older family members before time goes by. If one just gathers birth, marriage, and death information including names, dates, and places. You may not be interested but someone after you might.