Dinner with Anyone of your Choice

Today’s suggested blog topic is to write a post that answers a question that you have been asked. The other day my blog was Ask Me Anything and I received some great questions. Lia answered a question from one of our readers that she will post tomorrow but today I’m a answering a question asked by my blogger friend Jaime. She asked if you could have dinner with anyone of your choice (past or present), who would it be, why did you choose them, and what would you eat? It didn’t take me long to come up with a reply!

The Beginning

I grew up in a small rural town in upstate New York with my mom, dad, two sisters, and my maternal grandmother and grandfather. We lived in a three bedroom, one bathroom house and while my mom and dad worked, my grandmother was the one in charge. We had a large garden and my grandmother would can, freeze, pickle and dry the garden vegetables and wild strawberries, enough to last the entire year until the next season was ready to pick. She was the best baker, making homemade donuts, delicious cakes, cookies, biscuits and bread. I’m lucky to have some of her original recipes and will pass them down to Lia. When it came to meals, my grandmother could make a dinner for the seven of us that might be a casserole, beef stew, chicken or mac ‘n cheese that would fill us up and still have left overs for another night. Sunday evenings were always special, my grandmother and mom loved the Lawrence Welk show and it was also ice cream sundae time! Mom would get the ice cream fixin’s ready and we would all have a delicious ice cream sundae on Sunday evening while watch Lawrence Welk on our tiny TV screen!

My grandmother was also an excellent seamstress and everyone in the neighborhood would come over and she would do anything from repairing or hemming to making full outfits. She made my Senior Prom gown in 1966 and my wedding gown plus all the attendants gowns in 1967. I remember when I was in the junior choir at our church, my grandmother and mom made white choir robes with brugundy ties for the entire choir. She also made all the altar scarves, my grandmother was super talented!

Since I was always by her side watching and helping her sew, it was only natural that I loved sewing. It’s no wonder I wanted to become a seamstress as I got older! When I was 18 I as excited to start a small sewing business in our home doing hemming, alterations and moved on to dresses and mens wear. Eventually people would ask if I could make them wedding gowns so that was added. Before I knew it, I was making curtains, draperies, slipcovers and bedding. I kept thinking about how my grandmother was such a big influencer in my life and my choice of continuing her legacy of sewing.

Fast forward to 1994 when we located to South Carolina and hubby and I opened out first interior decorating storefront with an in-store workroom where we designed, fabricated and installed custom draperies, bedding, slipcovers and even boat interiors. If someone came in and asked if we could do something, I never said no. If I hadn’t done the project I knew I had to give it a try and once I tried I had it down! My motto has always been “If you want to find deeper oceans, you first have to leave sight of the shore.” If you don’t try, you’ll never know if you can accomplish it.

I can now see my grandmother in me when Lia and I bake, cook and sew. I know she must be so proud as she looks down smiling because she was the one that helped me in so many ways.

Dinner with anyone of your choice

After reading the above, did you figure out that if I could have dinner with anyone it would be my grandmother? I would also want Lia to be with us so Lia could visit with my grandmother and she could visit with Lia. I’m sure it would be a wonderful conversation reminiscing about the past. I’d thank my grandmother for all she taught me in my younger years and how I am now teaching Lia the same things that my grandmother taught me.

As for what we would eat, that’s easy. My grandmother made the best beef stew so I think a big pot of stew would be perfect. Of course dessert would be her delicious mayonnaise cake, that was my favorite with the white fluffy frosting topped with coconut! The platter that this cake is on was my grandmother’s also! Against my mother’s wishes, grandma would let me eat cake for breakfast before school because she said it was healthy! What a wonderful day this would be with my grandmother, Lia and me! My grandmother taught me, now I’m teaching Lia the things I learned from my grandmother.

I’m so glad you asked me this question Jaime, it brought back so many wonderful memories of my grandmother. And to think Rich and I are a week away from our 55th wedding anniversary where I think extra of grandmother when I try on my wedding gown each year.