This cross stitch was hanging in my Mamaw’s (paternal grandmother) kitchen. When she moved in with my parents my mom hung it in her kitchen. Now it is hanging in my kitchen.
What I did not know is that my mom made this cross stitch as a gift for my grandparents back in the ’70s. I took the cross stitch out to be reframed and found where Mamaw had written on the back of it the information. I saved it but cannot find it now. ARGH!
My paternal grandparent’s house was unique. It used to belong to a bootlegger. Every room, except the bathroom, had a door to the outside. Even the pantry! There was a trapdoor with a small hideyhole underneath the kitchen floor. I loved Mamaw’s kitchen. She had a big white Aga metal stove. There was a wooden pie safe and a radio that was always playing music. I remember “Rhinestone Cowboy” seemed to always be playing. Mamaw mixed cereals together and stored them in large mason jars in the pie safe. The toys from the various cereals were kept inside a drawer.
My grandmother gardened. She had lots of pecan trees, fig trees, and a garden. I remember Mamaw teaching me and my sister Rachael how to make fig jelly. We picked strawberries and dipped them in sugar. We shucked pecans by the pounds. Mamaw let me set up my Holly Hobby EZ bake oven on the kitchen table and cook. Rachael and I picked green beans and peas from the garden. We shelled peas and snapped green beans in the kitchen. The kitchen truly the heart of her home.
I searched for pictures of Mamaw’s house and kitchen but surprisingly could not find any. I still have a few boxes to sort through so maybe I’ll find some eventually.
What kind of kitchen memories do you have?
