Handwritten recipes.
Mother, sister, aunts.
Going through them is very emotional. Not only seeing handwriting of loved ones passed, but the memories of gatherings where those dishes were served. Flood of memories from decades ago when things were so different. How I miss those women, their focus on family, their laugh, the joy they shared when having everyone gather.
The importance to them of taking pen in hand to a decorated recipe card, and filing in a pretty box what their families requested, was to hopefully pass on. Little did they know, that many years ago, cursive would be deemed useless. None can be read by adult grands and great grands. Not even the title. I kept what I wanted, not for the recipe itself, but the memory of that dish. Also found some from the church cookbook of the 60's. But that's not the way I've ever seen pierogi spelled.
Carole had six boxes of cards in addition to books and magazine snips. Yes, she loved to cook!
How do younger postal workers know what is on that envelope? Zip code alone doesn't sort by route or street. Bills and most mail is in print, but what about script or written greeting cards? Invitations? Is reading cursive required for hiring? Honestly, if looked at closely, why couldn't it be understood with a little effort? Carole's handwriting is quite scratchy, hard for even me to read.
It's a bird day.
And the trees are loaded with cardinals.
We have a third piebald, even lighter than the first, but smaller in size.
Hope you are having a good day.
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14 comments:
Aww, Marly... I can feel your pain and totally understand. I can't look at an old recipe card from my grandmothers or mom or mother-in-law without my eyes welling with tears. Filling out recipe cards for a loved one and filing your own requested ones in a special box is a lost art, I'm afraid. You are so right about the cursive (although I confess to being a printer, too, but at least I can write and read it :) So many wonderful memories those recipes and recipe cards hold. Sending a hug your way today--hope the sunshine is helping. And of course, the sight of those amazing cardinals. ♥
I so get it. My mother had an entire cupboard (plus boxes on the counter) of recipes. She was a cook/kitchen manager and cooking/baking/feeding people was definitely her love language. Sadly, my brother got rid of her recipes...I don't recall exactly the circumstances surrounding that...he may - or may not - have asked if anyone wanted them...I just don't recall for some reason. In any event, I have only a few in her beautifully flowing script. That cardinal tree is amazing!!!! Your mum, sister, aunts must have arranged for a group "message" to strengthen your heart as you sorted through their recipes. ~Robin~ (LOL on the spelling of perogies!)
I have never seen pierogi spelled that way, either. The casserole sounds yummy.
Amazing pics of the birds!
And the turkeys!!!
Ha ha....and, yup...there be me misspelling pierogi also. ;-)
The cardinal photo is just beautiful. Such memories spring up from a collection of a Mother's recipes.... I close my eyes and hear the two versions
of Pierogi/pierohi as I heard it spoken way back when.. lilting language.
Marly, I so treasure the recipe cards I have that are handwritten by my mom, mother-in-law, and grandma. I’m sure it was hard to go through Carole’s recipes so soon but what a treasure you have in them. Our younger generations won’t recognize that sadly, as handwritten notes won’t mean anything to them. I’ve been wondering if “glow” bird was still visiting and happy to hear he’s brought friends! That picture is just beautiful! Cherie in WI
What a beautiful picture of the tree with these beautiful birds -- they are sending you lots of love from your family who passed away.
Have handwritten recipe cards from my Mum and copied some of them for our daughter who loved them too. Got these recipes when I was going to live on my own and she wrote them on cards or piece of paper from an old agenda....love these treasures!
A big hug for you and take care, Truus from Holland
What beautiful pictures of the turkey and the cardinals, Marly! So true about the cursive. I seem to print more (a habit I got into when I worked with children with special needs and their parents), but still write in cursive on occasion. Happy Friday!
My sister is going thru and redoing her recipes. I asked her if she wanted copies of ones from our mom and grandmother; of course she said yes! My grandmother's writing is really hard to read! I was talking to my grands about reading cursive and they can read a little. From now on every time they come to visit me we are going to work on them learning how to read and write cursive. How are documents going to be signed in the future? If they plan on computer generated signatures there is going to be more and more fraud!
I had an aunt that Mom & Dad would have to have me read parts of. Her handwriting wasn't the most readable at its best, and I guess when she got excited about something, her handwriting got excited too.
I gave up on recipe cards years ago - too small for my writing unless it was a very simple recipe. So 3-ring binders and notebook paper were my solution. Downside is it's way easy to stick untried recipes in those binders too - what a mess! I'm *very* slowly working on putting recipes from the binders on computer, and making an index of what cookbook & page the others are on.
I have Mom's and her Mom's boxes. Seeing Mom's writing as it was before she got sick - so nice.
Fantastic that you have a 3rd cardinal with the unusual coloring! And that flock of turkeys looks good too. I haven't seen "our" turkeys in months. Hope they didn't get done in by bird flu!
Birds are feeding like crazy here. I have my Mom's box of recipe cards - I love seeing her handwriting and making some of her favorite recipes. I also have a number of her cookbooks and I love opening one to find a pressed flower or fall leaf. Always makes me happy.
Those recipe cards are precious. I kept my grandmother's recipes even though she typed them! She lived in southern Arizona in a mountainous mining town, Bisbee, so some her receipts are very outdated. (I won't be canning rattlesnake any time soon.). But they offered a glimpse in time and I miss my female relatives. They were warriors in their own time!
My mother has been past for 38 years now. I never go through her recipe box anymore. I never open my grandmother's recipe box either. I sometimes wonder what my children will do with my box and these other two boxes. I am sure that after I die, I honestly will not care! I do know that the pain of losing our dear ones does get less painful with the gift of time. Although I was only 38 by the time both my parents passed, it really helped me finish growing up fast. I had to become both parent and grandparents to my children. When the birthdays or celebration dates come around, I can now smile and realize my parents would have passed anyway. Very few people live beyond 120! All of us are mortal. I do have such compassion because of losing my parents at an earlier age than most people. I also lost our youngest son when he was only 35. Because I have a very strong belief in Jesus Christ and his Atonement and Resurrection, I have a personal testimony that all of us live again after our mortal bodies pass. We will be resurrected in a perfect body. If we have lived a good life, we will be restored to a happy state forever. This has given me great peace and also great hope in my life. When I read of tragic events in the news, I am grateful that all people everywhere are given opportunities to receive this good news even if they must wait until death to learn it.
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