{Little} Pieces of Love

I find Family Recipes fascinating.

These small pieces of ingredient-stained paper,

that have long out-lived their creator.

They have been lovingly prepared for family dinners, potlucks and parties,

but their secrets never shared.

  When I started this project a few years ago I started out by asking

my Grandparents, Parents, and Great Aunts for Family Recipes.

I was amazed at their eagerness to share, as if they

had been waiting for years to pass these secrets along.

Proudly showing me wooden boxes, tightly packed

with hand-written note cards, with titles like

'Great-Grandma's Carrot Cake' or 'Aunt Jo's Baked Beans' scrolled across the top.  They would clutch their favourites, close and tight, while telling me stories

of making these recipes with their parents or grand-parents.

Everyone had it's own story, each one special.

Then they would hand them to me, letting me copy them

word for word, but not before making me promise to keep them in the family.

I felt, not only honoured, but privileged, knowing that I had been trusted with these special bits of paper.

I am not sure why I started scrapping each card, maybe I wanted to leave my mark, maybe I felt that they deserved more than just plain paper.  Whatever the reason, it has been a project that will probably last my lifetime, well, at least until I decide it is time to pass them along. 

{My niece has already claimed them, telling me at the age of six 'Aunt Jazzie, when you die, I want these.'}

Jasmine