Thursday 14 July 2011

{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

9 comments:

  1. This is an awesome project and a great way to preserve some of your family's history. I think it is cool that your niece is already claiming it as her own.

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  2. What a cool project! I love well-loved recipes too and we all need to keep the family favorites going strong. Love this.

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  3. What a great project!

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  4. That is an amazing project!!!
    I have several recipes from my grandma and mother-in-law that I have saved with their handwriting on them, but they are just stuck in my recipe box.
    I love your idea!

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  5. very nicely done.. thanks for sharing...

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  6. what a fun project--so wonderful!!

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  7. What a little treasure to preserve, nice job.

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  8. What a great idea that will leave your leagacy as well. Thanks for sharing. Thanks for coming to my blog and becoming a follower,too! I now follow you as well.

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  9. what a great idea and lovely keepsake. thanks for sharing , just become a follower!

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...my apologies for the WORD VERIFICATION...I have been getting A LOT of SPAM lately...
Thank you for your sweet words...I love each and every one of them <3
-Jazz