OT - Throwback Thursday
Do you have a favorite FAMILY childhood memory?
I have countless happy memories of doing things with my parents and siblings. But the ones that stick out in my mind are always in the kitchen. And EVERYONE - 5 kids and 2 adults - was in the kitchen/dining area. Someone setting the table, someone filling water/milk glasses, someone putting the 'extras' on the table (salt, pepper, salad dressing, butter...), someone cutting/slicing/chopping garnishes, someone getting serving spoons/forks/tongs....
It was crowded and crazy and AWESOME. The best times (IMO) were when Dad made rieska. Don't get me wrong: Mom was a great cook! But when Dad made that bread... we were all gathered around waiting eagerly for that first rieska (Finnish flat bread) to come out of the oven. Dad sliced it up, we burned our fingers buttering it, and burned our mouths on that first bite. It was so delicious, NO ONE cared about burned fingers and tongues. The only thing that mattered was getting a taste of that buttery goodness as soon as possible.
The rieska recipe came on the boat from Finland with my Dad's grandparents. The recipe has been in my family for generations (no, I will NOT share it). Every time we make rieska, it feels like generations of family members are in the kitchen, waiting for that first hot, buttery slice.
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That is so sweet! My
That is so sweet!
My grandparents used to have their house right on the main street of our little town, and every year there was a Fourth of July parade. It was a pretty big parade for a little town, and we could just sit in their yard and run into the street to collect the candy. They had a screened porch that went all around the house, so the adults would sit there eating things like hamburgers and sliced garden tomatoes with salt. Grandma always made cherry kool-aid. At night she'd make chocolate malts in the blender, or we would go to A&W for a root beer float. And the fireworks would always happen at the high school.
Cherry Kool-Aid is my fave!!
Cherry Kool-Aid is my fave!! Mom used to freeze it into popsicles in the summertime. Sigh...
That's so neat. Most of my
That's so neat. Most of my fondest memories are in the kitchen as well. I too am from a large family. 8 kids 2 adults. We never had fancy meals, but we were fed well. The homemade bread and corn roasts comes to mind. My mouth just started watering thinking about it. Considering some of my sisters were married with kids of their own when I was little, that kitchen was very crowded on weekends and Holiday gatherings!
Salems Lot, both of my
Salems Lot, both of my parents came from big families (6 kids in each), so I grew up with that. Family reunions were HUGE!!
We didn't eat fancy either, but we ate well! When I was about 10, my Dad was making good money and Mom started cooking fancier every now and again. She owned every Julia Child cookbook. The day she made curried chicken crepes, is the day I fell in love with cooking.
Christmas's were magical. Our
Christmas's were magical. Our home was decorated so pretty and there were so many presents.
In the summer the Milk Man would bring freeze pops and ice-cream sandwiches. YES we had a milk box outside our door. And yes we did have a Milk Man.
AND the Charlie Chip Man drove around the neighbor in his truck. He brought Big Cans of Chips AND Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Woolworths 5 and 10 sold M and M's in little white bags. I remember walking on their wooden floors with my Grandma who bought me a small bag of candy. BIG TREAT.
Ahhh Kool Aid---I remember Orange and Cherry Kool aid. My mom made that for us to take to the pool. A season pass cost $8.00
Halloween Parade organizers gave every kid a 50cent piece coin if you participated in the parade. THAT was huge. Boy we nearly froze walking and walking AND walking.
When we were little and went Trick or Treating the home owner would try to guess who you were. We would only go around the neighbor hood. Not like today when you don't know who is at your door.
What the HELL is Trunk or Treat....Has this generation become so over the top with made up corner churches Trick or Treating means you go to hell? (I am Catholic and WE drink and go trick or treating and no I am not going to hell)
I had a good child hood. Thanks Mom and Dad. RIP
Trunk or Treat. Sigh...
Trunk or Treat. Sigh... Unsafe neighborhoods make for desperate parents/children.
We were no longer allowed to Trick or Treat after 6th grade (parental rule). Most of my schoolmates were not allowed, either. Some of the parents let the kids have parties in the garage. Cars were removed, garage cleaned/swept, parents got a few hay bales, and made some snacks, and we dressed up, played the stereo, and had a blast. The good ol' days!
Love this post, brings back
Love this post, brings back warm memories.
Oh yes Friday night dinners were a big thing. Lots of food, everyone home and eating dinner together. We usually had company. Even when we didnt have company, my mom would always set an extra plate, in case. It was a tradition from many generations ago. If someone had no where to go for Friday night dinner, they were always welcome.
Sunday was The Big Dinner for
Sunday was The Big Dinner for us. Pot roast, Swiss steak, Lasagna, Spaghetti... something that took aaaaaaaall day.
Saturday nights, we had things like Pizza Night and Taco Night. Something that was laid out on the counter and we served ourselves from there. Full of love, laughter, and family. Lord, how I miss those days!! I'd give my eyeteeth to relive one of those dinners.
Me too Aniki!! Memories warm
Me too Aniki!! Memories warm the heart for sure.
Dovina, I think those warm,
Dovina, I think those warm, family memories are part of what makes step-family craptastics so difficult. Especially since there are plenty of skids getting twice as many presents, but they are not even half as thankful. You know, because if it wasn't for the evil step parent, Mommy and Daddy would surely be together!!! :sick:
Exactly, there was no one
Exactly, there was no one sitting at the dinner table with a scowl or disinterested look, and totally unappreciative. Or a SD telling you a "better way" to make a turkey (true story. LOL). No one tells the old lady how to make the turkey, especially a snotty SD. :jawdrop:
Dovina, let SD make the next
Dovina, let SD make the next turkey.... BAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!! No one wants food poisoning on a holiday!
Honestly took me a bit to
Honestly took me a bit to think of one that involved my "whole" family but here we go.
When I was 10 on Christmas my family really made me think there was a Santa. Dad NEVER bought us Christmas presents. He just wasn't involved like that even though he lived at home and everything was "alright." Anyways one Christmas we get done opening everything then just like "A Christmas Story" my dad notices something left behind the tree. It was way in the back.
I pull it out and there's no name but of course it has to be for me and my sister. We open it and just like the movie it's a bb gun. Looking back now I realize my mom was PISSED. No she did not buy it and no she did not know it was there. My dad actually went behind her back and got it. Wrapped it himself and hid it WAY in the back so she missed it. She swore up and down that morning she didn't buy it and he did the same so damn Santa must be real. I knew my mom wasn't lying and just could fathom my dad buying us a gift.
Years later of course mom explained that she really didn't know it had been there. She had told him NO because we lived in the city and she was MAD at him.
It makes me laugh now and just wonder why that out of everything? We didn't ask for it or anything like that. I mean my grandfather had one and we'd get to play with it every now and then when we'd see him since he lived right outside the city but we didn't need one ourselves. Why did he decide that was the gift to get us and why did he go behind mom's back to do it?
Every other year my mom just got all the gifts. Sure my dad paid for it since he worked and she didn't but he didn't take any part in getting them. I knew early on that "from dad" meant nothing. Even my Laptop that I got "from dad" for getting a high ACT score was really mom's doing.
That gift would certainly
That gift would certainly stand out from all other Christmases, birthdays...any time a gift was involved.
Did your dad ever say why he did that?
No he still hasn't admitted
No he still hasn't admitted and wont admit it was him lol.
Yeah I'm not joking I seriously started to believe again. I KNEW mom wasn't lying she did not get it.
I can not elaborate but my
I can not elaborate but my childhood was fun, How my parents survived us, and yes we are only 3, is beyond me...
those where the days where kids could play in the street, pinch fruit from fruit trees, deflate tires, stuffing potato's in exhaust pipes }:)
ride bicycles till dark, roller blade through the whole neighborhood, got spankings where ever you got caught being naughty by some one's parent and you never told your own cause that would've resulted in another spanking.....
swimming illegal in the public pool after climbing over the fence, at night... never mind every one had a pool at home, it was not fun,
almost burning down the school lab with experimenting when the teacher was not there...
making moonshine with everything you could find, in your bedroom lol...
smoking paw-paw pipes in the tree house....
oh those where the days
Acra, everything you said. It
Acra, everything you said. It was wonderful to live in a time where we had freedom to be children. xoxo