I remember my Grandfather, my father's father, my other grandparents died before I was born or shorty after. In those days if you lived to 50 you were old. Anyway Grandpa lived until his 70's and and for most of my life he lived with us in a house that he owned, complicated arrangement between him and my parents. He was so good to us, every day on the way home from work he bought a candy bar and cut it into 4 pieces to share with my brother, sister and I. He bought us roller skates when all the other kids had them and our parents said they were too expensive. He bought me a typewriter when I was in high school because I wanted to be a secreatry and my parents wanted me to go into the garment trade sewing clothes in a factory. Thank you Grandpa, I think of you often and you helped me become the person I am today. As a secretary I left my neighborhood to work in the city and over the years worked at similar postions that opened up new worlds to me. I'm going to write this down and add some memories of him and his stories of growing up in Brooklyn, NY in the early 1900's. I'll put it in the frame with the picture I have of him and his taxi cab in New York around 1911 0r 1914.

Also, long overdue to write about the large ironstone macaroni platter that was my mother's mothers. My granddaughter Catherine would like it and I need to write grandma Louise's history down and the passing of her platter down from her to my mother to me, also the proper way to add the sauce, macaroni and grated cheese onto the platter. Sad that I never knew grandma Louise but her platter is part of our family history. Thanks for beginning this posting and all the memories it has generated for us. May in Jersey

Hope I can get this on my Watched Topics List

Tell us the way to make macaroni like your granny did. I never heard of doing it that way. I'd like to try it. linda

I have been doing genealogy with my Mom for a long time, so that provided a channel to ask questions and keep communication open. However, few days after my Dad died, I had a dream that I was following him all over their place asking him questions. Each time I asked a question, he would turn and walk to another part of the property, never answering my questions. I awoke abruptly from this dream, screaming at him "Why wont you answer me?"

weird, huh?

This is the way my mother said her mother used the platter to serve macaroni.

First you ladle a few big spoonfuls of tomato sauce on the platter, then some of the drained cooked macaroni, then some sauce, macaroni, the last of the sauce and then she grated romano cheese over it all. Meatballs were served in another dish.

Over the years I've changed the way my mother taught me to make tomato sauce, I use a lot less oil, crushed not whole tomatoes and I buy my romano cheese is already grated. Only problem nowadays is that it's just the 2 of us and I don't make big macaroni dinners. Have to admit I sometimes use bottled tomato sauce, Classico Tomato Basil is what I like best. May

PS. We called it macaroni or spaghetti, never pasta.

Thank you! I have never had macaroni that way. will have to try it. linda

My mother who has been gone now for 25 years did beautiful crocheting and counted cross stitch...something I was never good at. I have a lot of pieces that I had framed and hung. My sister came to visit not too long ago and saw them..the first thing she said was why did I have all these and you ( meaning me) were always her favorite. I just said "I asked her to make them for me". She was so pleased to be asked and I was thrilled to have them. Several years ago I took two of her doilies, had them framed and gave them to DS and DD as a remembrance of their grandmother. Many, many years ago my mother was into the "paint by number" thing. I thought they were so ugly but my dad made beautiful oak frames for each and every one of them. I used those frames for the needlework so the kids would have something from each.

One of my granddaughters asked me for a recipe and that started me making a 5 x 7 looseleaf book with the recipes I make most often and also including many family favorites. I've named some of them, example: Ex-Aunt Flora's Corn Casserole, the nicest thing she ever did for our family. I bought some plastic sleeves for the recipes and grouped them by dinner, desserts, etc. I have so many recipes that I had to buy another looseleaf book. May in Jersey