When I was a little I'd visit my family in Akron, CO. They're mostly still there, I still visit. Some have passed away and some have moved away.
I'd stay with my grandma and grandpa more often than not and I'd see dad on his lunch breaks and when we'd go for an outing or a gathering or something.
Staying with grandma and grandpa meant you got to go to coffee! It's an event. Not just, "hey, I'm getting coffee." It's "I'm going TO coffee." Grandpa would go down to the cafe and get his coffee and sit and chat with all the other old guys getting their coffee. They'd all already read the paper but this was basically the extension of the news around town. We'd sit up at the bar and I would get a glazed donut and a little glass of milk. To this day, I would hurt someone for a glazed donut and a glass of milk. I can't really kick my feet so much while sitting in a stool now.
With grandma, we had a different routine. We'd go visit great-grandma in the afternoon and they'd sit and talk and drink coffee or iced tea. Great-grandma always had a little plate set out with Zebra Cakes, chocolate cakes, or Fancy Cakes, and I got a glass of milk or tea. To this day, I would hurt someone for a Fancy Cake and a glass of milk.
Great-grandma was a doll collector so I got to play with the ones that were ok for touching. She had one that was almost as big as me. When she died I was allowed to pick out two dolls from the basement. Being young and stupid I picked a Cabbage Patch (which I don't think I have anymore) and I think a stuffed bunny? I could have chosen any number of porcelain dolls or likely antique porcelain dolls.
Back at grandma's house we'd have lunch at noon when grandpa came in after he heard the noon whistle. They'd say their before meal prayer, which I did NOT understand until I was almost an adult. I didn't grow up with this so I had no idea. They've said it thousands of times. It's totally autopilot. I never thought to ask what they were saying. "Dear Lord Jesus, be our guest, bless this food prepared for us. Amen." It melds together into like 3 long words and said in a very mellow tone. This is how the German/Danish folk tend to do things.
Grandma always asks what you want to drink..."tea, milk, water, or what?" Same thing every time.
Just like she always says "See you in the funny papers!" and "It takes all kinds!" She's pretty much the cutest.
There were always cookies in a tin on the counter where all the extra coffee cups were. If I see a tin, I will assume there is something good in there. All tins contain good things. I'd have ice cream and cookies for dessert and I'd crush the cookies up in the ice cream. Still love it. I forget how wonderful it is until I do it. I thought of all this the other day and it occurred to me why I love Little Debbie cakes and sandwich cookies SO MUCH. Now I'm wondering if it also has something to do with my coffee cup collection, though I didn't really drink coffee until the last few years. She had tons of them. She has pristine cups that are as old as me.
Grandpa always has the weirdest foods one can find. He gets Spam for gifts. He'll pull out a bag of pork rinds or some random thing and offer it to you just to see if you'll eat it...cause it's "larapin."
Never knew what in the hell that meant and he wouldn't tell me. I finally read it in a Kinky Freedman book, of all places. There was almost always mint gum in the cabinet. I don't recall seeing him chew gum all that often but he always had it.
I remember staying at dad's once and he had Toaster Strudels in the freezer. I was pretty little still but I feel like that was possibly a defining moment in my development. When I'm a grown up, I can have a freezer full of TOASTER STRUDELS. Omg. There's little packets of frosting in there!
My father also taught me that cake and ice cream is, in fact, a meal and that peanut butter goes with hotdogs. Oh, you try it. Now days when I visit he'll sometimes break out the good old specialty of biscuits and gravy.
There's so much more but it's bedtime. Maybe I'll have a little glass of milk before I go.
I'd stay with my grandma and grandpa more often than not and I'd see dad on his lunch breaks and when we'd go for an outing or a gathering or something.
Staying with grandma and grandpa meant you got to go to coffee! It's an event. Not just, "hey, I'm getting coffee." It's "I'm going TO coffee." Grandpa would go down to the cafe and get his coffee and sit and chat with all the other old guys getting their coffee. They'd all already read the paper but this was basically the extension of the news around town. We'd sit up at the bar and I would get a glazed donut and a little glass of milk. To this day, I would hurt someone for a glazed donut and a glass of milk. I can't really kick my feet so much while sitting in a stool now.
With grandma, we had a different routine. We'd go visit great-grandma in the afternoon and they'd sit and talk and drink coffee or iced tea. Great-grandma always had a little plate set out with Zebra Cakes, chocolate cakes, or Fancy Cakes, and I got a glass of milk or tea. To this day, I would hurt someone for a Fancy Cake and a glass of milk.
Great-grandma was a doll collector so I got to play with the ones that were ok for touching. She had one that was almost as big as me. When she died I was allowed to pick out two dolls from the basement. Being young and stupid I picked a Cabbage Patch (which I don't think I have anymore) and I think a stuffed bunny? I could have chosen any number of porcelain dolls or likely antique porcelain dolls.
Back at grandma's house we'd have lunch at noon when grandpa came in after he heard the noon whistle. They'd say their before meal prayer, which I did NOT understand until I was almost an adult. I didn't grow up with this so I had no idea. They've said it thousands of times. It's totally autopilot. I never thought to ask what they were saying. "Dear Lord Jesus, be our guest, bless this food prepared for us. Amen." It melds together into like 3 long words and said in a very mellow tone. This is how the German/Danish folk tend to do things.
Grandma always asks what you want to drink..."tea, milk, water, or what?" Same thing every time.
Just like she always says "See you in the funny papers!" and "It takes all kinds!" She's pretty much the cutest.
There were always cookies in a tin on the counter where all the extra coffee cups were. If I see a tin, I will assume there is something good in there. All tins contain good things. I'd have ice cream and cookies for dessert and I'd crush the cookies up in the ice cream. Still love it. I forget how wonderful it is until I do it. I thought of all this the other day and it occurred to me why I love Little Debbie cakes and sandwich cookies SO MUCH. Now I'm wondering if it also has something to do with my coffee cup collection, though I didn't really drink coffee until the last few years. She had tons of them. She has pristine cups that are as old as me.
Grandpa always has the weirdest foods one can find. He gets Spam for gifts. He'll pull out a bag of pork rinds or some random thing and offer it to you just to see if you'll eat it...cause it's "larapin."
Never knew what in the hell that meant and he wouldn't tell me. I finally read it in a Kinky Freedman book, of all places. There was almost always mint gum in the cabinet. I don't recall seeing him chew gum all that often but he always had it.
I remember staying at dad's once and he had Toaster Strudels in the freezer. I was pretty little still but I feel like that was possibly a defining moment in my development. When I'm a grown up, I can have a freezer full of TOASTER STRUDELS. Omg. There's little packets of frosting in there!
My father also taught me that cake and ice cream is, in fact, a meal and that peanut butter goes with hotdogs. Oh, you try it. Now days when I visit he'll sometimes break out the good old specialty of biscuits and gravy.
There's so much more but it's bedtime. Maybe I'll have a little glass of milk before I go.
1 comment:
Loved this!!!
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