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Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Thanksgiving memories

I think Thanksgiving is my most favorite holiday. It holds warm memories of family gatherings at my grandparent's house. And then when our numbers grew too large the family gatherings moved to our house. Thanksgiving always meant family and of course good food. When I was a little girl we would go for a visit to my great grandmother's house. This was my mom's grandmother. Her name was Vida Valentine Egan Kidd. She was a pioneer woman, Vida could put together an excellent meal in a matter of minutes. And she always made the same delicious cookies. Raisin filled cookies. -- Each year at Thanksgiving I always say to myself I'm going to make those cookies, but, never seem to make the time. Well this year I did it. However, the first recipe I took from the cookbook didn't turn out so well. So I emailed my aunt (dad's sister) and she sent back the recipe that grandma (dad's mom) used. And I had much better results. Now this is a cookie that taste better if it has a day or two to blend it's flavors together. I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving and sharing this memory with my family.

Do they look good enough to eat?


Another fun memory I have of Vida Valentine (I just like saying her name) is that she was a quilter. As a little girl I slept under one of her quilts it was a double wedding ring. I remember tracing the rings as I went to sleep at night. I'm lucky enough to have one of Vida's quilts. When it came to me it was worn and thread bare in many places. But, with a friends help who gave me fabric from the 40's and 50's I was able to put the quilt back to good repair. And now I can enjoy this quilt as my own. This quilt has a story and maybe I will share it in the future,

I hope you have warm memories this Thanksgiving with your families and friends

4 comments:

NinaCherie: said...

What a beautiful heirloom that is! I once 'doctored' a worn out 'grandma made it' quilt for a friend of mine; what a rewarding project.

Bill's sister had a quilt made by their great-great-grandmother that was too 'love-worn' to be repaired, so she salvaged 7 squares from it and framed them for herself and each of her siblings, with a letter on the back of the frame telling the history of the quilt (one of the best gift ideas I've ever seen).

The quilt that lives on my bed was the last quilt my grandmother made before her passing; she called it 'Joseph's coat' because she made it from all of her quilt scraps from the past several years. The corners don't match as well as when she was younger, and the pattern is not consistant, but she was in her mid-80's when she made this one so it's understandable. I noticed shortly after receiving it that the hand-quilting on several of the squares hadn't been finished; I considered finishing those spots myself, but then I decided to leave them, as a testimony to where she was in life when she made it. It is my absolute favorite.

Karen said...

The quilt is a beauty!

Jodi Nelson said...

LoVe the quilt! ;o)

Wendy said...

Love your quilt and the cookies. Would you share your cookie recipe? They look delicious! Email is: stitchduchess2@yahoo.com Thanks Wendy