AD.

WALKING ON THIN ICE

PRECURSOR TO A RECURSOR

Grandma and have a picnic breakfast a couple times a week. This week we went to a lakeside park…

We walked up to the lake but they wouldn’t let us in.

“We are in jail,” I told Grandma. “We’re landlocked.”

Grandma and I have this love of dressing up like ragdolls, with striped shirts, the color pink, patterns. Quite often when I pick her up, we’re wearing something eerily similar.

Her father named her after Lenin. He had two families, our family, and a secret family. He gave all his money to the communists. Grandma had to go begging to him for money. All this responsibility for a little girl.

Sometimes I call her “my little baby Grandma.”

At various times, Grandma and her brothers were in an orphanage. Her mother had periods of insanity (brought on by syphilis given to her from Grandma’s father.) Sometimes Grandma ran away from the orphanage, back home to her mother.

At one point, Grandma was living with her mother, and her brothers were still in the orphanage. She went two streets down and found a brother playing in a school playground. She grabbed his hand and took him home.

“You see this skirt?” she said. “I wore this skirt for you. I thought you’d like it.”

Lady K in 48 years? Maybe. I’d be glad to look like Grandma.

“Do you remember how I used to dress?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said. You wore black or blue polyester pants and you had a couple shirts you wore regularly. You dressed this way most of my life. Then, one day, Grandpa took you shopping, and told you to buy pink for a change. You started wearing all these colorful clothes.”

Lady

Ragged Robin

Ragged Robin Cookies

1/2 C raisins (yellow, not brown)
1/2 C nuts (of course, chopped–not too fine)
3 C all-purpose flour (prefer _off_ brand)
1 t baking soda
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1/4 t salt
1/2 C butter
1/2 C shortening
1 C sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Scald nuts and raisins: bring 2 C water to a boil and add chopped nuts and raisins. Simmer.

Meanwhile, sift flour, soda and salt (or mix).

Grandma is perturbed about our measuring cups:

In separate bowl, cream butter, shortening and sugar; add eggs. Beat. Add vanilla. Add flour mixture gradually. You may need to use your hands!

Scoop nuts and raisins into dough and incorporate (it’s OK to get some of the water into the dough to help with its pliability).

Drop onto greased sheet (approximately 1 T of dough per cookie). Bake 12-15 minutes until light golden brown.

Grandma: This was the first recipe in my file. I copied it from the American Weekily Section of the Plain Dealer. I am now 86 years old–was 15 when I copied it. If anything seems unusual, it’s because I make slight changes to suit myself!